Latvia remains the least popular golden visa scheme in Europe, despite being the cheapest golden visa in Europe. Latvia golden visa scheme initially launched in 2010 offered residency to foreign investors who invested in business, real estate or purchase of securities. Investors receive five year residence permits once the application is approved by migration office of latvia
According to the latest data published by migration office of Latvia, up until Jul 1, 2019, a total of 91 golden visas issued to foreign investors and 187 family members, bring a total of 278 permits for investment.
The report shows real estate is slightly popular than business investment.
Russians are the biggest investors in Latvia golden visa scheme (LGV). There has been a big spike in the number of Vietnamese investing in LGV scheme. Latvia is not popular with chinese.
The following are the eligible investment categories for golden visas.
| Latvia Golden Visa | Minimum investment |
Residence permit |
|
Real estate |
At least EUR 250,000 + 5% payment to the State budget |
Up to 5 years |
|
Business |
At least EUR 50,000 or EUR 100,000 investment into capital companies depending on the company’s size (i.e. turnover and the number of persons employed) + EUR 10 000 payment to the State budget |
Up to 5 years |
|
Subordinate liabilities of credit institutions |
At least EUR 280,000 + EUR 25,000 payment to the State budget |
Up to 5 years |
|
State securities |
At least EUR 250,000 + EUR 38,000 payment to the State budget |
Up to 5 years |
| Renewal of a residence permit for investors in points a, b and c – EUR 5000 | ||
Since the launch of the golden visa scheme, Latvia has granted a total of 8,553 visas to investors and family members, as of Jul 1, 2019
Latvia Government has received millions of euros as fees from golden visa scheme. This is the current fee structure.
- €10,000 payment to state budget for company shares or business investment
- €25,000 fee to state budget for real estate investment
- €10,000 fee to state budget for bonds/shares
From our rough calculations, we estimate close to €100 million euros the government added to state budget through LGV scheme.
