Requirements – Residency by investment program has several key requirements. The main applicant must be 18 years old or over and have clean criminal record. To secure temporary residence permit Latvian government requires maintaining purchased real estate for the entire temporary residence period.

Family – As part of this program every applicant is entitled to include their spouse and minor children under 18 years old.

Living, Working, Studying and Traveling – After obtaining resident status, investors and their families are free to live, work and study in Latvia. Country has a large pool of Russian speaking community with approximately 50% of all population in total. Despite that, many Latvians have strong knowledge of English language as well. Temporary residence permit holders are granted visa free travels within Schengen area for up to 90 days a year, whereas permanent resident status allows moving to any other Schengen country for permanent establishment. If citizenship is successfully obtained, rights of living, working and studying are expanded not only to Schengen area, but as well to the whole EU. Latvian citizens have visa free access to UK, USA and many other destinations worldwide.

Real Estate Investment – Qualifying under real estate program main applicant has to invest at least 250 000 EUR. Such investment cannot include agricultural land or forest.

Financing possibilities – Fastmigration offers real estate financing possibilities through a credit institutions. That will help reducing the initial investment by up to 70% so own funds of less than 100 000 will be required. In addition, we may currently offer properties that qualify for immigration with a constant cash flow as rental income.

In addition to property investment, Latvian government requires investor paying 5% of real estate investment price upon first time application. 2% of investment sum will be requested to cover stamp duties, property registration and related expenses. Extra payments such as application processing, residence permit production, medical examination, insurance, clerical duties and notary fees will be around 1 100 EUR.

*Choosing financing option
**Payment per applicant

Taxes – Taxation in Latvia works under favorable regime as worldwide income tax is set not by resident status, but by the actual residency period. Only if foreigner is settled for more than 183 days a year, tax on income generated outside Latvia shall be paid. On the other case, income flat tax rate of 23% is charged just for earning inside country.

Residential property is taxed at a rate 0,2%, 0,4% or 0,6% depending on value of the property. The lowest rate is applied for amounts up to 53 000 EUR, 0,4% rate is set for values from 53 000 to 100 000 EUR and the highest tariff is used for any sum over 100 000 EUR. Nevertheless, if properties are used for business purposes, tax level increases to a flat tax rate of 1,5% calculated from the cadastral value.

There are no inheritance taxes in Latvia.

Step 1 (3 – 5 days)

Pre-due diligence allows avoiding possible issues and assure eligibility. It also allows for ineligible applicants to save unnecessary costs, time and  effort.

Step 1 requires:

• Contract form (fill and sign)
• Passport copies (including dependants)
• Residential address
• Full information about dependants
• Banking details (name, address, SWIFT/BIC code, IBAN No, account number

In cases of questionable pre-due diligence outcomes, enhanced background checks may be required, including possible cooperation with the relevant authorities.

Step 2 (1 month)

Collection and preparation of documentation usually takes approximately 1 month to prepare all documents which must be translated to Latvian, apostilled and notarized. Our lawyers will assist in the process to assure smooth and successful following steps. At this step, prior the application submission, real estate must be acquired and documented. Ownership transfer usually takes 1 week on average and might be as well arranged by Power of Attorney.

Step 2 requires:

• Application form (all applicants)
• Passport size photo per applicant (3X4 cm)
• Property sale-purchase agreement
• No criminal record (applicants over 14)
• Bank statement confirming available required funds to support living
• Bank certificate confirming accomplished purchase of real estate
• Power of attorney (if applicable)
• Cadastral registry certificate
• Passport copy (all pages)
• Cadastral evaluation of property (if applicable)
• Document, confirming no real estate debts, (if owning real estate for over a year)
• Receipt for paying state fee

Step 3 (1 day)

Application process towards temporary resident status requires investors and family members physically attend either Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in Riga or Latvian diplomatic mission abroad. Regardless the chosen location our legal representative will always be available to assist investors and their family members during the application process.

This step as well requires in advance payment of application consideration, medical examination and medical insurance.

Step 4 (1 months)

Application processing regarding temporary resident status takes from 5 working days to 1 month (considering urgency and paid fee), after which the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs shall notify with the decision to approve, delay or deny. In case of success the approval in principal is issued.

Step 5 (2 – 10 day)

Once approval is issued, applicants must visit Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs or diplomatic mission abroad for the second time to provide biometric data and order temporary residence permit (regular or fast-track basis). Manufacturing process of residence permits takes from 2 to 10 working days, depending on urgency and paid governmental fees, that vary from 15 to 30 EUR.