In the mid-2010s, Latvia offered one of the best residence permit programs for wealthy foreigners. Since then, its conditions have become more stringent, but still the Baltic country issues hundreds of “investor visas” a year (if you count the family members of the applicants).
Citizens of non-EU countries have several options to obtain a residence permit in Latvia for money:
- Purchase real estate in the amount of 250,000 euros and once paying a state fee of 5% of the value of the property. When buying real estate in Riga, Jurmala and other municipalities around the capital, only one object worth at least a quarter of a million can serve as the basis for submitting an application, in regions more distant from Riga it can be two related objects – each worth at least 125,000 euros.
- Invest 280 thousand euros in the subordinated capital of one of the Latvian banks for at least five years and pay a fee of 25,000 euros.
- Invest in the fixed capital of a Latvian company, thereby increasing it or creating a business from scratch. If the company is relatively small (up to 50 employees and the turnover does not exceed 10 million euros), the minimum amount of such investments is 50,000 euros, if there are more than 50 employees and a turnover of more than 10 million, the investment must be at least 100 thousand euros. In both cases, you will also need to pay a fee of 10 thousand euros.
- Purchase interest-free special purpose bonds in the amount of 250,000 euros and pay 38,000 euros to the state budget.
The investor will also be required to prove the availability of funds (15,480 euros per year for the main applicant, 20,640 euros per year for the main applicant and spouse, 22,188 euros per year for a family of 2 parents and one child) necessary for him and his family could lead their usual way of life in Latvia without applying for social assistance.
It is not required to live in Latvia to extend the residence permit. However, if a foreigner is counting on a permanent residence permit, it is worth considering that it is possible to apply for it five years after obtaining a residence permit and that for this it is necessary to live in the country for four years from this period. In addition, you will need to pass an exam in the Latvian language for category A2 (one of the easiest categories). After another five years, the holder of permanent residence can apply for and go through the naturalization procedure.
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