According to the definition in the Immigration law (hereinafter-the Law), temporary residence permit  (hereinafter- permit) is a document, which allows the holder to stay in Latvia temporarily or permanently.  

In June 2010 in the Law the new amendments were adopted. New amendments  provided that a temporary residence permit can be obtained on the basis of the acquisition of real estate, from which the number of applications increased. 

According to dynamics of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in period between 2006 and 2017, starting from 2011 issued permits increased up to 30%, thanks to adopted amendments. Over time, this trend started to grow.

In 2013 the number of issued permits (issued for the first time) has already reached 40%  of the total number of issued permits, respectively, in 2014 this number was 53%.

In 2014 new significant amendments in the Law followed. According to amendments from 01.09., the value of the acquired property has increased, as well as, there was a new regulation about the 1 of 2 functionally related property purchase, previously acquired properties could not be functionally connected. Additionally, while obtaining a permit on the aforementioned basis, additional state fee was introduced. Due to these introductions, the number of issued permits fell sharply. Already in 2015, the number fell from 53% to 21%. In 2016 this number fell to 10%, in 2017 there was only 6% total from all number of issued permits. 

The statistics provided above did not mean that it is impossible or complicated to obtain a temporary residence permit. By adopting amendments to the Law resulted in a decrease in the number of issued permits, regarding the investment program, however, obtaining a residence permit is still relevant. The Law provides wide opportunities of reasons on the basis of which it is possible to obtain a residence permit. Contrary to statistics, investments in real estate, holding a position of a member of the board in a company is quite popular among other basis provided by the Law. Since the Law provides more that 20 different grounds for residence permits, the most popular grounds will be considered in more detail.

I Acquisition of the property

To obtain a permit for the acquiring the property the Law provides 2 options-purchase property in Riga and Jurmala or in the nearest areas with a minimum purchase value of 250 000 euros, or outside these areas, purchasing a minimum 2 properties, cost of each is at least 125 000 euros.

In addition, while acquiring a property as a ground for permit, cadastral value of the property also has to be taken into account. If the purchase price is 250 000 euros, cadastral value shall be not less than 80 000 euros. Accordingly, at at purchase price of 125 000 euros, the cadastral value should be half that, basically 40 000 euros. If cadastral value is lower, then according to the assessment of a certified appraiser, the value of the property should not be less than 250 000 euros. In other words, if the cadastral value is lower than the required value, property valuation is required. Besides, The Law provides a number of other conditions:

• the immovable property has been acquired  from a private person who is a citizen of Latvia, a non-citizen of Latvia, a citizen of the European Union or a foreigner who is staying in the Republic of Latvia with a valid residence permit issued in the Republic of Latvia, or who is a citizen of European Union, or who is legal person registered in the Republic of Latvia or a European Union Member State, European Economic Area State or the Swiss Confederation, which is a taxpayer in the Republic of Latvia;
• purchase price is paid by non-cash settlement;
• property does not have unpaid debts for the property tax;
• the immovable property does not include land for agricultural use or forest land;
• upon requesting the first temporary residence permit, foreigner pays 5% of the value of immovable property into the State budget.

Temporary residence permit issues for a 5 year period, with registration once a year. Registration means the change of the card ID and payment of the state fee for the review of documents, the amount of which depends on the period of reviewing of documents for registration – 30 days, 10 or 5 working days.

After 5 years when permit expires, it is possible to re- submit documents for permit (every 5 years). According to new amendments to the Law in 2017, when a person re-submits documents for the permit, it is obligatory to pay state fee in amount of 5000 euros. This fee can be waived if the basis of the permit is changed or a second permit is requested within 90 days after.

Also, The Law provides for the opportunity to obtain a permit for the spouse and minor children of the investor. The family receives a permit on the basis of the investor’s permit.

It is essential to notice, that if the investor’s permit is canceled, the family also automatically loses it. If one of the family’s permit is canceled, the rest, including the investor’s permit remains in force.

As the primary advantages of a permit on the basis of the property acquisition is an ability to rent the property in the absence. A person does not need to reside permanently in the territory of Latvia and use the property, unless it is planned to obtain a permanent residence permit. The permit provides the opportunity to stay in another Schengen country for up to 90 days in each half year.

On average, obtaining a permit takes 1-2 months, taking into account whether the desired property is found, it is purchased, the sale transaction is started, etc.

II Position in the company

The Law provides that if a person is registered in the commercial register of Latvia as a member of the Board, Council member, Procurator, administrator or liquidator, the company in which the person holds the position is registered for at least 1 year, before submitting documents for obtaining a permit, the company is active and brings economic benefits to Latvia, the person can obtain a residence permit for up to 5 years.

Apart from that The Law provides that the share capital of the company should not be less than 2800 euros. In other words, it will not be possible to obtain a permit by registering a new company, or if the company is of little capital.

Mostly, if a person wants to obtain a permit on the basis of a position in the company, the person acquires the already existing company with the necessary share capital in advance. As mentioned earlier, the company must be active, it must operate, pay taxes, the company must hire employees. Generally, a person who holds a position in the company, takes it on the basis of an employment contract, with a fixed salary, company is paying taxes for the employee. Another option is when a person is appointed to a position in a company on the basis of the decision of shareholders, in which the person is assigned a remuneration for the position.

One of the primary conditions for a permit is payments of taxes. After 1 year of permit, a person provides information for company tax payments during the year, statement that there is no debts and the amount on paid taxes matches to the size specified in laws.

To obtain a permit on the basis of the position in the company, it is necessary to issue an invitation for a person. The company invites person, which wants to obtain a permit on the basis of a member of the Board in the company or other position. The company can issue an invitation only after the person is already registered in the company as a member of the Board or a member of the Council, a Procurator, an administrator or a liquidator. 

Basically, one of the first steps to obtain a permit is appoint a person to a position in a company in Commercial register. Registration in the Commercial register takes an average of 3 working days. 

It is necessary to note that obtaining a permit on the basis of a position in the company is a relatively quick process that takes a little more than a month, if state fee for the review of documents is paid in a simple manner, 30 days.

Aforementioned permit ground also gives an opportunity  to obtain a residence permit for family members – spouse and minor children.

III Employment

Current regulation of laws of Latvia, including The Law provides an opportunity for a company registered in Latvia to employ not only locals or citizens from EU countries, but also citizens from so-called third countries.

It is common knowledge that Latvia is experiencing a shortage or available labor force in Latvia, taking into account that residents of the country are migrating from Latvia every day, the employment of citizens from third countries is becoming more and more relevant for both job seekers and employers. Since employment is one of the reasons for obtaining a permit, which is more interesting for employers, the article will provide information precisely in terms of hiring a foreigner.

The first thing to mention is a profession- position of an employee and publication of a vacancy. For the potential job seekers, who are in the job seek in their country, it seems impossible to find necessary internet sources with local vacancies, for instance, State Employment agency home page, where vacancies and CVs of job seekers are placed. Mentioned home page is an official state level vacancy page, for this reason the employer must place his vacancy before hiring foreign employee. The Law and the rules of Cabinet of Ministers No.55, denote the list of professions, where vacancy is not needed, or the publication period is substantially less than in the usual way. The usual way implies that a vacancy is valid for at least 1 month. After the expiration of 1 month, it is presumed that the employer has found the employee, a foreigner, and wants to employ him.

To obtain a permit on the basis of employment, the employer needs to issue an invitation to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. As soon as the invitation to the employee is confirmed, the employee may apply for a permit. The employee submits documents to the Latvian embassy in his country of residence, or if there is no Latvian embassy, then in the nearest Latvian embassy.

A permit based on employment means that the employee must be employed under the same conditions as locals. One of the differences is wages. A foreign worker’s salary has to be  higher than the minimum salary established in the country. Every year it rises.

In order for an employee to obtain a permit based on an employment and be employed, the latter must meet the criteria of the employer. This conformity must be proved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, by submitting a document confirming the existence of the necessary education or a document confirming the existence of the necessary work experience for the candidate position. If the profession or position is regulated, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs requests a certificate of recognition of qualifications or a copy of an equivalent document confirming that the qualification meets certain requirements of the Republic of Latvia.  

Obtaining a permit on the basis of employment implies that the employee can be employed by a particular employer, which binds the employee to this employer, and does not allow to change employers within the framework of the received residence permit. Likewise there is an option to work without any restrictions, or, for instance, there is possibility to work no more that 20 hours a week (part-time). Part time job is particularly relevant if studies are conducted in parallel. 

It is vital to point out, that if a citizen of a third country already has a permit on the basis of employment in another country (in the Schengen area) and wants to be employed in Latvia, the latter is obligated to obtain for another permit, in Latvia,

since regulation in Latvia does not imply a procedure when an employee with a permit of another country works in Latvia.  In the above mentioned case, the employee may be employed in the territory of Latvia no more than 90 days per half-year.

If  compare this residence permit with other grounds, the basis for employment is relatively not large in terms of costs.

These 3 mentioned grounds for a permit are not only ones, the Law provides fairly wide range of grounds for a permit. In addition to the grounds mentioned above, it is worth mentioning family union, marriage, education in Latvian institutions, self employment, etc.

After the expiration of 5-year permit, a foreigner may submit documents for re-residence permit, or if the situation meets the conditions of the Law, may submit documents for permanent residence permit, registration of which occurs once per 5 years.