Latvia Golden Visa

Latvia's investor residence permit, often called its golden visa, now has one open route: an investment in the share capital of a Latvian company. The new Immigration Law, in force since Sept. 15, 2026, closed the real estate and bank routes to new applicants and shortened investor permits.

• Status: active for the share capital route
• Investment: €50,000 in a company with no more than 50 employees, or €100,000 in a larger one
• State budget payment: €10,000 with the first permit
• Permit length: up to 2 years, renewable
• Family members allowed: Yes

What closed

The 2003 Immigration Law also granted permits for buying real estate worth at least €250,000 and for placing at least €280,000 in subordinated liabilities of a Latvian bank. The new law doesn't carry those routes over, so OCMA no longer grants first permits on them. The law has transitional provisions for people who already hold permits on those grounds, and holders should confirm their position with OCMA.

The new law adds a route for €150,000 invested for five years with the manager of a state-created alternative investment fund, plus €10,000 to the state budget. It can't be used yet: OCMA says the fund hasn't been set up.

The route is for non-EU nationals who invest in the share capital of a Latvian company, either when it's founded or through a capital increase. Section 27 of the Immigration Law sets two thresholds:

• Smaller companies: at least €50,000 in a company with no more than 50 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet of up to €10 million. One company can support permits for no more than 10 foreign investors, and each must make the full investment and the state budget payment.
• Larger companies: at least €100,000 in a company that, alone or with its Latvian subsidiaries, has more than 50 employees and turnover or balance sheet above €10 million.

The permit stays valid only while the company pays enough tax: at least €40,000 a year in state and municipal taxes on the smaller-company route, and at least €100,000 a year with subsidiaries on the larger one.

Section 28 lets the Cabinet suspend investor permits for citizens of named countries for up to five years, so applicants should check whether a suspension covers their nationality.

OCMA's share capital investor page, last updated April 22, 2022, before the new law, lists these documents:

• A full copy of the passport, with the applicant's own declaration that it's valid.
• The residence permit request form.
• One photo.
• Proof of means of subsistence at the level OCMA sets.
• Proof that the state fee was paid.

The Latvian company must get its invitation approved by OCMA before the investor files. Children who come along need the same documents, proof of the relationship and the other parent's consent to live in Latvia, notarized or signed before an official.

First applications may be filed in Latvian or English. Renewal documents, and anything an inviting company attaches to its invitation, must be in Latvian under the new law, OCMA says.

• Investment: €50,000 or €100,000, depending on company size.
• State budget payment: €10,000, once, with the first permit.
• Application fee: €160 for a decision within 30 days, or €280 for 10 days and €560 for five days, under the fee rules in force since Jan. 1, 2025.
• Renewals after five years: a one-off €2,000 payment to the state budget with each renewal.

Permit registration and card fees, translations, legal help and the cost of setting up or recapitalizing the company come on top and vary by case.

Where to apply: The Latvian company first has its invitation approved by OCMA; the investor then files with a Latvian embassy or consulate abroad or with OCMA in Latvia.

1. Make the investment, at founding or through a capital increase, in a company that meets the size test.
2. The company submits its invitation to OCMA for approval.
3. The investor files the request, documents and fee receipt with a Latvian embassy or consulate, or with OCMA in Latvia.
4. OCMA decides within 30 days of accepting a complete file and can extend that to no more than four months.
5. The decision to issue the permit gives the bank details for the €10,000 state budget payment.

Investor permits now run for up to 2 years, down from up to five years under the old law, and the new law dropped the yearly permit registration.

Renewal: Renewable while the investment and company tax conditions still hold; after five years of stay each renewal carries a one-off EUR 2,000 budget payment. Filing more than 90 days after expiry, or changing the investment, counts as a first application. Renewal documents must be in Latvian.

Permanent residence

Permanent residence after five years of continuous stay with a residence permit, with sufficient means, Latvian at A2 and a Latvian culture and history course. Absences may not exceed six months in a row or 10 months in total over those five years.

The new law also obliges foreigners to learn Latvian and take a course on Latvian history and culture, a duty OCMA says takes effect Dec. 31, 2027.

The permit carries no tax break. Tax residence follows the general test in Section 14 of the Law on Taxes and Duties: 183 days or more in any 12-month period that begins or ends in the tax year, or a declared place of residence in Latvia, makes a person resident.

Residents report income earned abroad in their annual return, on an annex the State Revenue Service provides for it. The company behind the permit has its own duty: it must keep paying the minimum taxes set in the Immigration Law, or the permit loses its basis.