Latvia Residence Permit by Investment

Residential and commercial real estate both qualify. The property must be purchased from a Latvian citizen, EU/EEA citizen, or Latvian company — not from another investor using the same property for residency.

Yes. Latvia charges a state duty of 5% of the cadastral value of the property (not the purchase price), paid to the Latvian government at time of residency application.

There's no legal minimum-day requirement for the temporary permit itself — one visit per year to re-register the residence card and confirm the investment is still held is enough. That's much lighter than the presence needed to qualify for permanent residence (see next question).

PR can be applied for after 5 years, but unlike the annual maintenance visit, it requires near-continuous residence — roughly 183 days/year for at least 4 of the 5 years, with absences capped around 6 consecutive months or 12 months cumulative. It also requires a Latvian language test and a history/Constitution exam.

After 10 years total (5 years temporary residence + 5 years permanent residence) — maintaining that same near-continuous presence (~183 days/year) throughout, not just the first 5 years — plus passing a Latvian language test and a Constitution/history/anthem exam. Important: Latvia only permits dual citizenship for NATO, EU, and EFTA member states plus a short list of others (including Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil) — applicants from other countries must renounce their prior citizenship.

The investor residence permit authorizes residency in Latvia and travel in the Schengen Area. Work authorization in Latvia is generally included for the investor, though employment rules vary.

Yes. Besides real estate (EUR €250,000+), Latvia offers three other routes: business investment (from EUR €50,000 for a small enterprise, or EUR €100,000 for a larger one), a 5-year bank deposit (EUR €280,000), or government bonds (EUR €250,000, held for a minimum of 5 years). See full details for each route in the Investment Options section below.

An amendment before Latvia's Parliament, if passed, would remove the real estate, bank deposit, and government bonds routes from 1 January 2027, leaving only the business route (plus a possible new investment-fund route at EUR €150,000). The amendment has not yet been approved — Parliament is expected to reconsider it in November 2026 — and applications submitted before any new law takes effect are expected to remain grandfathered under current rules. If you're considering the real estate, deposit, or bond route, we recommend consulting ITC iLand before any change takes effect.