Personal Details Updates and Family Records Certificates

Personal Details Updates

Every Estonian national has the obligation to update their data in the Estonian Population Register. If you reside in the United Kingdom more than 183 days a year, you have the obligation to update your place of residence with your UK address.

In order to do so, please fill out the application form (PDF) and send it digitally signed or scanned by email to [email protected], or by post. Please also include a copy of your passport/ID-card.

It is also possible to update your address online with a valid ID-card (requires valid pin-codes and an ID-card reader) or with Mobile-ID. You are not obligated to change your address if you are staying in the UK temporarily for studying purposes.

Did you have a child, got married, divorced or changed your name in the United Kingdom?

If you had a child, got married, divorced or changed your name in the United Kingdom, you need to inform the embassy of the change. This can be done by sending us the following documents by post:

Birth

  • An original apostille’d document (with both parents names)
  • Copies of both parents passports or ID-cards

Marriage

  • An original apostille’d document
  • A copy of your and your spouse’s passport or ID-card

Change of name

  • Name change document (e.g. Deed Poll) (apostille’d)
  • A copy of your passport or ID-card

The original documents will be returned to you within a couple of weeks after your data in the Estonian Population Register has been updated. For any questions, please send us an e-mail on [email protected].

Marriage in the UK

In order to get married in the UK, please check with the authority where you are planning to get married (a register office, a church) which documents are required.

In the UK you might be asked to prove that there are no obstacles by Estonian law for you to get married. This document is called a Certificate of No Impediment and Estonian citizens who have registered their place of residency in the UK can apply for the certificate through the embassy by post.

Please fill out the following application form (PDF) and send it to us together with a copy of your and your future spouse’s passport or ID-card, and the state fee by Postal Order (cheque from a post office; payable to Estonian Embassy) or by bank transfer. According to the Estonian regulations, the certificate will expire if the marriage is not contracted within six months after the certificate has been issued.

In case you are required to submit your Estonian birth certificate and divorce certificate, you can apply for the English version of the document through the embassy by post, or through the e-population register.

After getting married in the UK, you need to send your original marriage certificate (apostille’d) together with your and your spouse’s passport copy to the embassy, so that your marital status in the Estonian Population Register can be updated. You also have the right to either keep your old surname or take your spouse’s surname, until your first Estonian citizen’s identification document application since the marriage. You can apply for a new passport/ID-card with your spouse’s surname by submitting your marriage certificate (apostille’d), a letter of request and a copy of your and your spouse’s passports/ID-cards.

If you wish to submit your UK marriage certificate (and a new passport/ID-card application) in Estonia, please make sure to have your marriage certificate apostille’d at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Marriage in Estonia

In order to get married in Estonia, the couple must submit a written application to a Vital Statistics Office, notary or minister of religion who has the right to marry couples. For detailed information about the required documents and the possible need for translations, please contact the notary, the church or the Vital Statistics Office in Estonia where you are planning to get married. The list of required documents can also be found on the Tallinn Vital Statistics Office website.

British citizens will need their valid passport, birth certificate, certificate of no impediment (and divorce certificate if previously divorced) in order to get married in Estonia. British citizens can apply for a certificate of no impediment at their local register office in the UK. The UK birth certificate, certificate of no impediment (and divorce certificate if divorced) have to be apostille’d by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Please note that the UK issues certificates of no impediment only to British citizens. Therefore, if an Estonian citizen who lives in the UK is required to present a confirmation that he/she has not married in the UK, then it is not possible to get such a document from the UK. In this case, an Estonian citizen has to make a written statement while getting married in Estonia to confirm that there are no obstacles for him/her to get married. If required, it is possible to apply for a reissue of your Estonian marriage certificate in English through the Embassy by post.

Change of Name

In the UK, after marriage you have the right to either keep your old surname or take your spouse’s surname, up until your first Estonian citizen’s identification document application since the marriage. You can apply for a new passport/ID-card with your spouse’s surname by submitting your marriage certificate (apostille’d) and copy of your spouse’s passport/ID-card along with the passport application.

In order to make changes later on, or to make any other changes to your name (take both surnames or change your first name), you need to apply for a change of name as per the UK name change system. In the UK change of name can be done with a deed poll document.

Your deed poll has to be certified in the UK by a solicitor or notary public, and then apostille’d. An Estonian citizen can also apply for a change of name in Estonia at the Vital Statistics Office in Tallinn. If required, it is possible to apply for a reissue of your Estonian change of name certificate in English through the Embassy by post.

Family Records Certificates

A Family Records Certificate (about a birth, death, marriage, divorce or change of name) can be issued to the person directly or to one’s guardian. Estonian citizens who have registered their place of residency in the UK can apply for the required certificate through the Embassy by post. For this, please fill out the following application form (PDF) and send it to us together with a copy of your passport/ID-card.

The state fee for a certificate will need to be paid by bank transfer. Once your application reaches the embassy, the embassy will be in touch by e-mail to confirm the correct state fee amount and forward the embassy’s bank details. Please note that due to exchange rate fluctuations, state fees can change monthly.

These certificates can also be ordered through the e-population register portal.