Immigration Services Latvia

Latvia offers highly skilled workers the opportunity to move and work there, the scheme, known as the "Blue Card" is an EU programme designed to attract highly skilled / qualified workers to the EU.

The Blue Card is a combined work visa and resident permit to allow workers with skills that are highly desired to enter Latvia and fill a specific position. This visa is specifically aimed at non-EU nationals with high levels of education or skills and aims to attract people who can make an immediate contribution.

An employer has to offer an employment contract of at least one year as the Blue Card will not be issued for any less than this. The maximum residence permit term is 5 years.

The advantage for the employee is that they can change employer without having to apply for the Blue Card again. This is an approved EU-wide work permit allowing recipients to work and live in most EU countries with the exception of Denmark, Ireland and the UK *

The process

1. Having identified a suitable role for which they are qualified the potential employee contacts the person recruiting and concludes a work agreement**.
2. The next step in the process is submission of an application for the role
3. If successful, the final step is to move to Latvia.

*For those who plan on achieving EU Permanent Resident Status the EU-blue card is advantageous because the total time legally spent in EU will be added up (to get EU-permanent residency you need to live in EU for 5 years). For example the foreigner can spend 3 years with EU blue card in Latvia, then move to France and receive a blue card in France. After 2 years in France he can apply for an EU-permanent residence permit fulfilling local requirements (usually a language test). Total time spent outside EU should not be over 18 months total or 6 months in a row.

** For those foreigners with whom the employer does not agree to conclude an employment agreement remotely, there is an alternative option – the foreigner can come to Latvia with a simple visa (up to 30 days or longer if required), meet with future employer for an interview, take tests or whatever is required. If after his interviews the employer offers an employment contract the foreigner can apply for a blue card without leaving Latvia via local Immigration Office. You don't even have to go there to apply – we act as your representative and submit all documents. In 10 days' time you will receive a Blue card.

Main requirements are:

• Higher education
• Minimum salary is LVL 668 (about EUR 1000)

This service is available to those clients wishing to participate in regular commercial activities as employees of a company with a representative office in Latvia.

The multi-entry Schengen visa option applies to applicants from non-EU countries that are planning to travel for business purposes within the Schengen Zone, but will not permanently reside in Latvia (duration of stay in Latvia or other Schengen state must not exceed 90 days in a six month period).

Benefits

• Enter Latvia or other Schengen country an unlimited number of times each year
• Enter any other Schengen country with the same visa and stay there up to 90 days

Key Points

• No share capital
• No visit required for representative office registration and bank account
• Foreign representatives allowed
• No salary requirements for representative
• No proof of sufficient financial means required for visa application
• No accounting maintenance required if non-trading entity

Our Service

• Remote set-up of representative office
• Provide a legal address in Riga's centre with mail forwarding for one year
• Submission of invitation to Latvian Migration Department required for visa-application
• Certified Latvian translation of foreign company documents required

Procedure for obtaining Schengen visa:

Step 1 – Latvian limited liability company registration
Step 2 – Schengen visa application

The Company issues an invitation to the representative, which must be approved by the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Department.

We provide the applicant with a confirmed reference number; they personally submit their documents together with an application for a multi-entry Schengen visa at the Latvian Embassy in their country of residence or in any other country where a Latvian Embassy is located. The applicant will be interviewed by an Embassy official.

The applicant applies in their own country for a Multi-entry Schengen Visa as an employee of a foreign company with a Latvian Representative Office.

The Latvian embassy issues the Schengen business visa for one year, permitting a stay in Latvia or the EU for up to 90 days in a six month period.

Note: When obtaining a Schengen visa via the Latvian Embassy, the first visit to the Schengen zone must be to the Republic of Latvia.

Timescales

There is no requirement to visit to Latvia for Representative Office set-up which takes 4-6 days.

The visa invitation is normally approved by the Immigration Service within 5-7 days and is valid for 6 months

A residence permit is necessary if you wish to reside in the Republic of Latvia for a period exceeding 90 days in half a year starting from your first day in Latvia.

A Latvian residency permit holder can travel through Schengen Zone visa-free, but the period of stay cannot be longer than 3 months within a 6 month period (known as the 90/180 rule).

The residence permit lasts for a maximum period of 5 years though has to be renewed every year. After 5 years, an application can* be made for EU Long-Term Resident status or a permanent Residence Permit; in order for your application for residency to be successful you must have lived in Latvia for at least 3.5 years of the previous 5 years.

New legislation allows a residence permit holder to live in Latvia for only a few days each year, which could be advantageous for those who would prefer to spend less time in Latvia, and more time traveling in other Schengen countries. A residency permit holder may also request residency permits for his/her spouse and children under age of 18.

The Residence permit can be renewed in Latvia 30 – 90 days prior to its expiry date

Residence Permit Requirements

To be granted residency in Latvia, you need to satisfy one of the three following conditions:

• Invest a minimum of 200,000 LVL (300,000 Euros) into a Latvian Bank account for at least 5 years
• Invest at least 25,000 LVL (32,000 Euros) in a Latvian company's share capital and pay no less than 20,000 LVL (28,000 Euros) in taxes each subsequent year
• Purchase Real Estate in Riga for not less than 100,000 LVL (142,000 Euros)

The Process

You must submit your application at a diplomatic or consular representative office; you will also need to submit specific documents that will vary depending on the investment route selected**.

The consular representative office sends all documents to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA). The investor will be invited to an interview by the consular representative office **.

As long as the authorities do not submit your application to additional examination your application will be reviewed within 30 days**.

OCMA sends its decision on granting a residence permit to a diplomatic or consular representative office of the Republic of Latvia. The decision remains in force for 3 months, which means that the investor must visit Latvia during this period and receive a residence permit (see below). Otherwise the decision becomes void and in order to get another residence permit, the applicant must go through the whole procedure once again.

The investor must personally appear before OCMA and submit a valid health insurance policy and the above mentioned certificate. After that, OCMA will issue a residence permit.

The investor must register a residence permit annually (otherwise, the residence permit will become void). A permit holder must come to Latvia 30 – 90 days prior to the residence permit expiration date and personally submit to OCMA a valid passport and the following documents:

A renewed health insurance policy, a certificate showing that he does not suffer from active tuberculosis and a document confirming minimum subsistence income (e.g. bank statement, salary, etc).

As part of the renewal process the applicant must provide evidence that his / her investment remains unchanged e.g. a current bank statement confirming the deposit, proof that taxes have been paid or a document confirming the absence of tax debts for real estate.

Whichever route you select we will provide you with support and advice throughout the process.

*After 5 years spent on temporary residence permit he/she does not have to apply for permanent residency status if he/she does not want or does not meet requirements (i.e. didn't' live in Latvia continuously (continuously means – the absence outside EU wasn't over 18 months total or 6 months in a row) or did not pass language test.

**There are new rules (since September 2011) that allow an application for a residency permit not only through the Latvian embassy but also in Riga, if the foreigner has a valid Schengen visa. Moreover all required documents can be submitted by the representative attorney (we will provide this service). After travelling to Riga the residence permit can be obtained in 10-15 days. The foreigner only has to come personally to the immigration office to take a picture for the residence permit sticker and to bring health insurance (costs EUR 50) and tuberculosis clearance.