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Eu-citizenship-entitlement

Residence permits

Residence permit in Latvia, through the purchase of real estate is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get an attractive investment object in a steadily developing country and travel freely throughout the EU countries.

Thanks to amendments to the Immigration Law adopted in July 2010, in exchange for property investments, foreign buyers may obtain a temporary residence permit and a Schengen visa for 5 years, which gives them the right to travel freely throughout the European Union and Schengen area countries, as well as being able to stay in the country for an indefinite period of time.

In less than 5 years, in exchange for investments, 13,518 foreigners (including investors and their family members) have obtained Latvian residence permits, of which 83% were from purchasing real estate. According to the statistical data, the amount of invested funds has exceeded 1 billion euros, of which: 83% of the funds were investments in real estate, 12% were investments in banks, and 5% were investments in Latvian companies.


Notes of obtaining a temporary residence permit:

  • The law only applies to purchases of real estate completed after 1 July 2010.
  • On 1 September 2014, amendments to the Immigration Law were enacted, concerning an increase amount of real estate necessary to obtain a residence permit.
  • A residence permit for up to 5 years may be requested by persons investing at least 250,000 euros in one real estate property in Rīga, Jūrmala, the Rīga Region or provincial cities, as well as throughout the territory of Latvia – the cadastral value of such properties must be at least 80,000 euros, or, if lower, a property valuation is necessary to confirm compliance of the transaction amount with the market value.
  • A proposal was approved to pay 5% of the transaction amount, when first requesting residence permit, to the Latvian national budget starting 1 September 14.
  • The real estate may not be composed of agricultural land or forest, and must be a developed property. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that foundation or non-commissioned buildings are considered as a development; however, such a building must be registered in the Land Register.
  • There must be no real estate tax debts.
  • The total transaction amount must be paid via a bank transfer payment.
  • The property must be purchased from a legal (taxpayer’s) entity – registered in the Republic of Latvia, a European Union member state, a European Economic Community member state or a Swiss Confederation, according to the procedure established by the tax legislation of the Republic of Latvia; or from an individual who is a citizen of Latvia, or a non-citizen of Latvia but a citizen of the European Union, or a foreigner residing in Latvia on the basis of a residence permit.

Advantages:

Together with a foreign national, applications for a residence permit may also be submitted by:

  1. the foreign national’s spouse;
  2. their underage (in their custody) children;
  3. persons under their guardianship.
  • A Latvian residence permit is issued with a right of renewal.
  • For individuals obtaining a Latvian temporary residence permit, the minimum annual period of residing in Latviais not specified by law.
  • The Latvian residence permit entitles an individual to travel throughout the Schengen area.
  • The residence permit entitles an individual to work in Latvia.
  • After the expiry of a Latvian temporary residence permit, the property owner and their family are entitled to apply for a permanent residence permit.
  • After the property owner obtains a permanent residence permit, his relatives to the third generation may also apply for a Latvian temporary residence permit, for up to 6 months per calendar year.

Since Latvia is a European Union member state and is party to the Schengen agreement, property owners, investors performing commercial activities in Latvia, businessmen and their employees, as well as their family members, are able to obtain a long-term Schengen visa for up to 5 years.

For foreign investors (both those performing commercial activities and those investing in real estate) this is a very big advantage, since, thanks to the new law, they may freely travel throughout Europe for 5 years.

Important:

A decision to issue a temporary residence permit is valid for three months. If a foreign citizen has not received a decision within this term, the whole procedure must be repeated. The temporary residence permit insert will be issued for one year, and 30 days before its expiry a foreign citizen must submit the following documents for re-registration of the residence permit:

  • a health insurance policy valid for the next year;
  • a local government certificate for the payment of real estate tax;
  • a document confirming the payment of the state duty.

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