Latvia Digital Nomad Visa

Latvia issues a long-stay visa for remote work, which the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) calls the remote work visa. It lets a non-EU national who works for an employer registered in an OECD country, or who is self-employed and registered in one, live in Latvia while keeping that job or business.

• Status: active, under Section 18 of the Immigration Law in force since Sept. 15, 2026
• Income: at least €4,537.50 a month
• Length: up to 1 year, plus one repeat visa, for 2 years in all
• State fee: €90
• Work for Latvian employers: No

The route opened in 2022 under the old Immigration Law. The law that replaced it kept the visa, and OCMA says the long-stay visa procedure hasn't changed.

It's a visa, not a residence permit, so time on it doesn't count toward permanent residence. The Latvia guide compares it with the country's investor route.

The visa is for non-EU nationals who can do their work from Latvia and fall into one of two groups:

• Employees of an employer registered in a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who have worked for that employer for at least six months.
• Self-employed people registered in an OECD member state.

Income must reach €4,537.50 a month. The figure moves every year: Cabinet Regulation No. 676 sets it at 2.5 times the average monthly gross wage for the previous year, using the latest figure from the Central Statistical Bureau. The bureau put the 2025 average at €1,815, which gives the current amount. Employees show their salary; self-employed applicants show income over the last six months.

OCMA's remote work page, last updated Feb. 11, 2026, still shows a lower amount worked out from the 2024 average. Because the regulation points to the latest published average, the higher figure is the one the rule produces. Applicants near the threshold should confirm the amount with OCMA or the embassy before filing.

• Russian citizens can't get this visa: Section 18(3) of the Immigration Law excludes them.
• Family members have no dependant status on this visa in OCMA's rules, so each needs a visa or permit on a ground of their own.

OCMA lists these documents for a remote work visa:

• Passport: a valid travel document, or a copy when the file goes to OCMA by post.
• Visa form: the completed and signed e-form.
• Photo: taken within the last six months.
• Health insurance: a policy valid in Latvia and the Schengen states, with cover of at least €42,600 for the insurance period.
• Accommodation: documents showing the planned place of residence in Latvia.
• Employees: proof of current employment from the tax or social insurance authority of an OECD country, and a letter from the employer confirming at least six months with the company, pay of at least €4,537.50 a month and that the work can be done remotely.
• Self-employed applicants: a document from an OECD country's tax authority showing income from self-employment over the last six months at the required level.
• State fee: proof of payment.

Since Sept. 15, 2026, documents for a visa application may be in Latvian or English, according to OCMA.

• State fee: €90 for a long-stay visa, per OCMA's fee list, in force since Jan. 1, 2025.
• Late filing in Latvia: €180 when the application reaches OCMA less than three working days before the applicant's current legal stay ends.
• Service provider fee: charged separately where an embassy uses an outside provider; it isn't a government fee.
• Health insurance: the policy must cover at least €42,600, and premiums depend on insurer, age and length of cover.

Translations and document legalization, where needed, add to the bill; prices vary by country.

Where to apply: A Latvian embassy or consulate abroad, or OCMA (electronically or by post); applicants already legally in Latvia file with OCMA. No earlier than three months before the planned entry.

1. Complete and sign the visa e-form in OCMA's online questionnaire service.
2. Pay the state fee of €90.
3. File the form and documents with the embassy or consulate, or send them to OCMA electronically or by post.

Embassies may take applications through an outside service provider, which charges its own fee on top of the state fee. No official decision period for long-stay visas was found, so applicants should leave a margin before their planned move.

A remote work visa runs for up to 1 year.

Renewal: One further remote work visa of up to one year; after the second visa expires, no new long-stay visa on the same ground for six months. That caps the stay on this ground at 2 years.

Travel in Schengen: a valid Latvian long-stay visa also allows stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the other Schengen countries, under Regulation (EU) No 265/2010.

Path to residence

No direct path: a long-stay visa is not a residence permit. Permanent residence needs five years of continuous stay with a residence permit plus A2 Latvian and a history and culture course. Staying on after the second visa needs a residence permit on another ground in the Immigration Law, such as the share capital investor permit.

Latvia has no special tax regime for remote workers on this visa. The general test applies: under Section 14 of the Law on Taxes and Duties, a person who stays 183 days or more in any 12-month period that begins or ends in the tax year, or who declares a place of residence in Latvia, is tax resident.

Residents file an annual return that includes income earned abroad, which the State Revenue Service collects on a separate annex. The visa itself doesn't set tax status; the day count and a declared residence do. Nomads who expect to pass the threshold should get advice in Latvia and at home before they do.