Estonian company Veriff is no longer included in list of startups
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia has again listed a number of companies that have exceeded the ten-year deadline and therefore can only be considered "startups" conditionally. One of them is now Veriff.
Starting in 2023, the authorities identify those Estonian technology companies that have become "mature", that is, they have exceeded the agreed ten-year deadline, so they can no longer hire employees under the startup visa program.
In this regard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs updates from time to time the list of "companies recognized as startups", whose employees can continue to hire employees in so-called exceptional cases without the approval of the committee. The task of this committee is to approve startup visa applications, visa extension applications, temporary residence permit applications, and temporary residence permit extension applications, as well as to determine whether a company founded by a foreigner is a startup.
Founded in Tallinn in 2015, Veriff is an online identity verification unicorn that protects businesses and their customers from online identity fraud. The company has offices in the US, UK, Estonia, and Spain. In the spring of 2025, Veriff opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is due to the increase in the company's business volume in Latin America in 2024, which grew 2.5 times. The founder and CEO of Veriff is Kaarel Kotkas.
