In the fifth issue of 2024, the financial and legal magazine RUP published an article “Multiple increases in state fees for several operations” by Cuesta Law Office’s partner Jaak Siim and lawyer Brigitta Jõgi. The published article discusses Act on amending the State Fees Act and other related laws adopted by Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) on 12 June 2024, which will enter into force on 1 January 2025. This Act amends mostly the State Fees Act, but also the Consular Act, the Vital Statistics Registration Act, the Population Register Act and the Weapons Act. Changes in the law will lead to a significant increase in state fee rates for several operations. The increase in state fee rates is justified by the need to bring the fee into line with the actual costs of operations, and thus it is also hoped to increase state budget revenues. The article talks about the following topics:

  • applying for an ID-card and passport is becoming more expensive both in the regular and expedited procedure;
  • state fees for operations carried out under the Aliens Act are increased;
  • getting married and divorcing becomes more costly;
  • state fee rates for acts under the Weapons Act are also increasing;
  • the impact of changes in the law on the state budget.

The full article is available to the subscriber of the magazine and the registered user of the RUP portal.