Residence permit. You can apply for residence permit if you plan to stay in the Republic of Latvia for more than 90 days within half a year, starting from the day of arrival, and have legal reasons for staying here – if you come to a spouse or have invitation for work or study.
EURO CONSULTING GROUP - assistance in applying for residence permit, work permit, getting visa, immigration to Latvia.
Residence permit can be obtained by a person who invested no less than 25 thousand lats in the fixed capital of an enterprise. At least half of the employees should be citizens of Latvia, non-citizens of Latvia, citizens of the EU countries or European Economic Zone. In addition a foreign investor, within the bounds of economical activity, has to pay taxes to the amount of no less than 20 thousand lats per year to the state or institutions of local government. Residence permit can be also obtained by foreigners who own real estate in Riga and its surroundings or republican cities to the total amount of no less than 100 hundred lats or no less than 50 thousand lats if the property is located in other region.
A residence permit allows a foreigner to conduct business, study , work as an employee or a self-employed person, to use medical and other public services. It also entitles a person to travel freely in the territory of the Schengen Agreement member states for a time period not exceeding three months in any half year.
Temporary residence permit is primarily applied for at consular representations of Latvia abroad. It is issued for a period of time from 1 to 5 years (depending on the reason of application) and can be prolonged after expiry. After 5 years you can apply for a permanent residence permit.
See detailed information for each case on Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs web-site.
Citizenship of Latvia is at the same time the citizenship of European Union. Thus Latvian citizens can enjoy all the same rights as citizens of EU except the right for work in some countries but this limitation will also be eliminated in the coming years. Latvian citizenship can be obtained through naturalization by a person who has permanently and legally resided in Latvia for at least 10 years, has successfully passed naturalization test and denounced his/her former citizenship.
About 16% (372, 421) of Latvian permanent residents possess a specific status known as Aliens.
 Latvian language – dictionary and tips for learning
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