Latvia Golden Visa: Company Investor Residence Permit Guide (2026)

Latvia has issued temporary residence permits (termiņuzturēšanās atļauja) to investors since 2010. The scheme is not a separate program with its own agency. It is a set of grounds in the Immigration Law, and PMLP (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs) decides applications. For more than a decade most investors bought property. Under the 2002 law, property worth at least €250,000 (one property in Riga, Jūrmala and nearby towns and municipalities, or up to two properties elsewhere), plus a payment of 5% of its value to the state, earned a permit of up to five years. A €280,000 subordinated liability with a Latvian bank, plus a €25,000 state payment, was the other passive route^[5].

The Saeima first passed a new Immigration Law on 11 June 2026. President Edgars Rinkēvičs sent it back, asking parliament to make the investor rules "complete and sufficient" and to look again at property. On 20 August 2026 the Saeima passed the law again by 60 votes to 26, adding security checks for investment-route applicants. It rejected Economics Minister Viktors Valainis's proposal for a €300,000 property route. A proposal by Andris Kulbergs, then an MP, to keep five-year permits for the €50,000 company route had already been rejected before the first vote in June^[7][17]. The law was published in Latvijas Vēstnesis on 1 September 2026 and took effect on 15 September 2026, when the 2002 law lapsed^[1][5].

Three investment grounds now exist on paper. Two are company investments under Section 27(1)(10) and one is a fund investment under Section 27(1)(36). All three require a €10,000 payment to the state's "Economic Development Programme" budget account. That payment is one-off and is refunded only in cases the Cabinet defines^[1]. In practice only the company routes are open. The permit makes you a lawful resident of a Schengen state: you can travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180, and Section 44 of the law gives investors on these grounds unrestricted access to the labour market^[1].

Latvia business investor visa: €50,000 in a smaller company

You invest at least €50,000 in the share capital of a Latvian company, either by founding it or by subscribing to a capital increase. The company may employ no more than 50 people, and its annual turnover or balance sheet may not exceed €10 million. Each company can support permits for no more than 10 foreign investors, and each of them must invest €50,000 and pay their own €10,000. The permit stays valid only if, in every reporting year, the company pays at least €40,000 in taxes to the state and municipal budgets, according to its tax returns. Tax that is refunded or refundable does not count^[1].

€100,000 in a larger company

If the company, alone or with Latvian-registered subsidiaries, employs more than 50 people and has turnover or a balance sheet above €10 million, the minimum is €100,000. The annual tax test rises to €100,000, and the subsidiaries' taxes count toward it^[1]. This route suits buying into an established Latvian business more than starting one.

Latvia golden visa fund: €150,000 through a state fund manager (not yet available)

Section 27(1)(36) grants a permit of up to five years to anyone who signs an agreement and transfers at least €150,000 for at least five years to an alternative investment fund manager set up by the state, and who pays €10,000 to the budget. The permit lapses if the manager cannot confirm that the agreement is still in force and the balance is still at least €150,000^[1]. No such manager or fund exists yet. PMLP states plainly that the provision "is not yet applicable"^[2]. The law gives the Cabinet until 1 December 2027 to adopt a long list of implementing regulations, and nothing has been announced on the fund's structure, fees or expected returns^[1]. Treat any offer to "reserve" a place in this fund with suspicion.

Routes that ended on 15 September 2026

Real estate purchases and subordinated deposits in Latvian banks are no longer grounds for a permit^[2][3]. Existing permits stay valid until they expire. Holders and their family members who want to stay on the same ground can apply for a renewal of up to five years, provided they apply while the current permit is still valid and the investment still qualifies. They pay €1,000 for each year of the previous and the new permit, less what they paid to the state under the old law (transitional provision 10)^[1]. For the property route's history and other closures across Europe, see our tracker of investor residence programs that have closed.

For a single investor on the standard 30-day track, the unavoidable outlay is about €60,260: €50,000 of share capital, the €10,000 state payment, €160 for the review and €75 for registration, plus the invitation fee. That is about US$67,600. Add formation and adviser costs and a first-year budget of €65,000–€70,000 is realistic. The headline number hides the real constraint, though. A company that must pay €40,000 a year in Latvian taxes has to be a working business, with staff payroll taxes, corporate tax on distributions and net VAT. Over a five-year path to permanent residency that is at least €200,000 of tax. A genuine trading company pays that anyway. A shell would burn it with no return. Every two-year renewal costs each family member another €235 in review and registration fees^[1][4].

For comparison, our ranking of the lowest-cost residence programs worldwide puts Latvia's company route at the bottom of the EU price range. The passive alternatives in the EU start at about €250,000.

• Nationality: any non-EU/EEA/Swiss national, except citizens of Russia and Belarus. Section 27(7)–(8) bars them from both the company ground (point 10) and the fund ground (point 36)^[1]. The fund-route bar was added by an amending law adopted on 18 June 2026 and published on 26 June 2026. It took effect with the new law on 15 September 2026^[22][21]. Separately, Section 28 lets the Cabinet suspend the company and fund routes for nationals of named third countries for up to five years, after assessing the effect on national security or economic development. No such suspension had been announced as of 2 October 2026^[1].
• Investment: paid into share capital, either on incorporation or through a capital increase, in a company that meets the size test for the €50,000 or €100,000 tier^[1].
• State payment: €10,000 for a first permit on the ground^[1]. PMLP's guidance says the bank details for this payment are given in the decision to issue the permit, so in practice it falls due after approval and before registration^[15].
• Company tax record: the company must pay the required €40,000 or €100,000 in each reporting year. A permit is refused or cancelled if the company's tax debt exceeds €150, unless the debt is covered by an approved payment schedule^[1].
• Standard conditions: a valid passport, sufficient means of subsistence, health insurance, a clean criminal and security record, and an approved invitation from the company to PMLP^[15]. PMLP's English page for share-capital investors was last updated in 2022 and does not yet reflect the new law, so check document lists with PMLP or a Latvian lawyer before filing^[15].
• Stay: the law sets no minimum number of days in Latvia to keep the investor permit. Real residence matters only if you want permanent residency later^[1].
• Integration programme from 31 December 2027: Section 48 will require anyone whose permits add up to at least 18 months to complete an early integration programme. It covers a Latvian culture and history course and A1 Latvian, and the applicant pays for it. Investors are not on the list of exemptions, although people under 18 or over 75 are. Holders of permits issued under the old law are also exempt^[1].

Under Section 27(3), a family member of the investor can request a temporary residence permit for the same term as the investor's permit. Family members do not pay the €10,000 state payment, which is charged per investor, but each pays the per-person review and registration fees^[1][4]. Family members of a person with unrestricted work rights also get unrestricted work rights (Section 44)^[1]. A child who was a minor when first included can keep renewing as an adult child (Section 29(2)). If the investor's application is refused, the family's applications are refused too (Section 34(3))^[1].

Which relatives qualify follows the law's definition in Section 1: the spouse, the minor children of the investor or the spouse (including children under guardianship), and persons in their legal custody^[1]. Parents are not in that definition, and adult children qualify only if they were first included as minors. Check any other relative with PMLP before relying on it, because the English-language guidance has not been updated.

The sequence below reflects the law and PMLP practice. The new implementing regulations are still being drafted, so confirm the current forms before you file.

Holding the permit does not make you tax resident. You become a Latvian tax resident if you declare your place of residence in Latvia or spend 183 days or more there in any 12-month period. Residents are taxed on worldwide income^[13][12].

• Personal income tax (2026): 25.5% up to €105,300 and 33% above, plus an additional 3% on annual income over €200,000. Interest and capital gains are taxed at 25.5%^[12].
• Your company: Latvia taxes companies only when they distribute profits. The rate is 20% on the grossed-up amount, an effective 25%, and retained earnings are not taxed. Dividends paid out of already-taxed profits are generally free of personal tax (apart from the 3% surcharge). From 2026, companies owned only by individuals can opt for a 15% corporate rate with 6% personal tax withheld^[14][12]. Corporate tax paid on distributions is a tax paid to the state budget, so it should count toward the company's €40,000 annual tax test. PMLP has not published guidance on which taxes count.
• No special regime for newcomers. Latvia has no non-dom or flat-tax scheme for investors and no net wealth tax. Gifts from non-relatives are taxed as income above €1,425 a year^[12][19].

If tax is a main driver, compare Italy's investor visa and flat-tax regime or Cyprus permanent residency and its non-dom rules.

Permanent residency after five years

Section 31 allows a permanent residence permit after five years of continuous residence on residence permits, if you have sufficient means, speak Latvian at least at level A2 and have completed a Latvian culture and history course. Residence is continuous if you were never away for more than six consecutive months and no more than ten months in total over the five years. The new law also repealed the separate act on EU long-term resident status^[1]. Investor years count only if you actually live in Latvia, so the permit offers no shortcut for people who stay away.

Citizenship after a further five years

The Citizenship Law counts the five years needed for naturalisation from the day you receive permanent residence, so the realistic minimum is about ten years from your first investor permit. You must be fluent in Latvian, pass tests on the Constitution, the national anthem and Latvian history and culture, have a legal income and take a loyalty pledge^[6].

Dual citizenship

Naturalised citizens may keep their previous nationality only if it is of an EU, EFTA or NATO state, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand or a country with a dual-citizenship agreement with Latvia. Everyone else must renounce it^[6]. For most investors from Asia, Africa, the Middle East or Latin America, a Latvian passport therefore means giving up their own. Our guide to EU citizenship through investment and naturalisation compares these rules across the bloc, and residence programs with the quickest naturalisation ranks the timelines.

• 11 June 2026: the Saeima passed a new Immigration Law. On 18 June it voted to bar Russian and Belarusian citizens from the planned fund route. That amendment was published on 26 June and took effect with the new law^[17][8][22].
• 19 June 2026: President Rinkēvičs returned the law to parliament over its investor provisions^[7].
• 20 August 2026: the Saeima passed the law again (60 for, 26 against). It rejected a €300,000 property route and added security checks for investors^[7].
• 1 September 2026: the law was published in Latvijas Vēstnesis, No. 167^[1].
• 3 September 2026: Progressive MPs tabled bill 1521/Lp14 to delete the €150,000 fund route. No payments had been received under that route^[9].
• 15 September 2026: the law entered into force, ending the property and deposit routes. Files lodged by 14 September are decided under the old law^[1][2].
• 3 October 2026: Saeima election. The 15th Saeima first sits on 3 November 2026^[18][23].
• By 1 December 2027: the Cabinet must issue the implementing regulations, including those on suspensions under Section 28 and on refunds of the state payment under Section 30. Until then the old regulations, including fee Regulation No. 731, apply where they do not conflict with the law^[1].
• 31 December 2027: the early integration programme (Section 48) takes effect, with a culture and history course and A1 Latvian for most holders of permits totalling 18 months or more^[1].

Watch three things. First, whether the new parliament keeps the fund route and whether the state fund manager is ever set up. Second, any Cabinet regulation under Section 28 that suspends permits for particular nationalities. Under transitional provision 12, such a regulation does not apply to company-route files lodged before it takes effect. Third, whether the company route's two-year term survives. A complete application lodged under the current rules is normally decided under them^[1].

It suits entrepreneurs who will actually run or buy into a Latvian business, such as an IT, logistics, trading or services company with staff, and want an EU base with Schengen travel at low entry cost. It also suits families relocating to Riga who value the work rights for both spouses, and investors already planning a Baltic operation that will pay €40,000 a year in tax anyway.

Look elsewhere if you want a passive, hands-off permit, if you will not live in Latvia but want an eventual EU passport, if your nationality does not allow dual citizenship with Latvia and you want to keep your passport, or if you are a Russian or Belarusian citizen. Investors who were planning to buy property in Riga can no longer do so to qualify.

For a passive investment, the nearest options start at about €250,000. The Greek golden visa still accepts property, from €250,000 for conversions to €800,000 in Attica and the islands, with five-year permits and no stay rule. Hungary's guest investor permit takes €250,000 in a real estate fund for a permit of up to ten years. Portugal's fund and cultural donation routes need €500,000 or €250,000. Malta's permanent residence programme grants permanent status from day one for about €99,000 in fees plus property or rent. Bulgaria's investor residence needs about €512,000 in funds or bonds.

Entrepreneurs should look at Italy's €250,000 start-up investor visa. Budget-led buyers who do not need Schengen can consider Montenegro's property-based residence from €150,000, or Serbia's residence for property owners. See all eight EU programs side by side in our comparison of European investor residence programs, read how residence-by-investment differs from passport programs, or browse every live option on the golden visa hub.