Be informed of Immigration Law

Even for citizens is difficult to follow all arrangements of Laws to be competent and to do everything right without additional information. Government works on changes every week but Laws asks you to prolong residency or register your stay in Latvia every year according to updated Regulations.

Let’s take a look on some regular changes and changes from 2017.

Amount of minimum subsistence is changing every year on January 1st. It could be difficult to get expected decision about residence permit from the first try if you submitted documents for residence permit at the end of the year, but decision came after January 1st. OCMA takes into account new rules. We suggest to make bank statement about finance with more than minimal amount. In 2018 minimum allowance is 430 EUR per month.

OCMA sometimes makes changes in amount of state duty payments. Actual state duty payments are mentioned here

Changes from 2017 maybe you didn’t know about..

The Law introduces procedures for obtaining a visa for seasonal workers and for obtaining residence permits for employees displaced by company.

Deadline of process for persons requesting a European Union Blue Card processing  became shorten up to 10 working days. The European Union Blue Card is also granted in cases where persons have not completed the relevant higher education but have at least five years of experience in the field. The law also provides for the possibility of abolishing foreigners and their family members who have acquired alternative status for a permanent residence permit.

The Law imposed additional requirements. The company abroad must be registered for at least five years, must employ at least 50 employees, and its annual turnover should exceed 10 million euros.

You don’t need to be lawyer to know everything, so why you can use services of company.

Popular immigration destinations among European countries and worldwide

Here is the list of popular immigration destinations among European countries and worldwide:

Immigration to Austria
In order to visit Austria legally, a visa-requiring immigrant needs to be in possession of a valid Schengen visa issued by either Austria or another Schengen state. Austria's legal regulations on the immigration of non-EU citizens to Austria set out the requirements for an individual to have such a visa issued by the state of Austria, as well as defining 'visa-free' countries, citizens of which do not require a visa for short-term visits.

Immigration to Czech Republic
In order for immigration to be lawful, an immigrant needs to adhere to all the requirements set out in Czech law. The main law, which regulates the immigration of non-citizens of the EU in the Czech Republic, is the Law on Residence of Aliens in the Czech Republic. There are several possible options, depending on the purpose of your visit. You may need a work permit, visa or Schengen visa in order to visit the country. If you plan to reside there for a long period of time – you need to acquire a residence permit or a long-term visa.

Immigration to France
In order to visit France legally, immigrants need to follow all the requirements provided by French law. The main law, which regulates the immigration of non-EU citizens in France, is the Code of Entry and Stay of Foreigners and Asylum in France. There are several options, depending on the purpose of your visit.

Immigration to Germany
In order for immigration to Germany to be lawful, an immigrant needs to follow all the requirements laid out in the immigration law of the Federal Republic of Germany. There are several possibilities, depending on the purpose of your visit. If you are not a citizen of a visa-free country, you will need a visa or Schengen visa in order to visit Germany. If you plan to immigrate to Europe and reside in Germany for a long period of time, exceeding 90 days – you will need a residence permit, which can be acquired on several grounds, as detailed in German immigration law.

Immigration to Latvia
There are several major pull factors for lawful immigration to Latvia. First, prices in Latvia are comparatively small. Second, there are many options that can be used to acquire a residence permit. Third, Latvia is a part of the Schengen area and the European Union.
In order to visit Latvia, an immigrant needs to follow all the requirements set out by Latvian immigration law. There are several possibilities, depending on the purpose of your visit. You may need a work permit, visa or Schengen visa in order to visit Latvia. If you want to reside here – you need to acquire a residence permit. The grounds for issuing one of these documents are laid out in Immigration Law.

Immigration to Poland
In order for immigration to Poland to be lawful, an immigrant needs to follow all the requirements laid out in the immigration laws of the Republic of Poland. There are several possibilities, depending on the purpose of your visit. You will need a visa or Schengen visa in order to visit the country. If you acquire a residence permit via options listed above, you may travel to any Schengen country without an additional visa. If you plan to immigrate to Europe and reside in Poland for a long period of time – you need a residence permit, which can be acquired on the following grounds: establishing a company in Poland, getting an education or getting a job.

Immigration to Spain
In order to visit Spain legally, an immigrant needs to follow all the requirements set out by Spanish Immigration Law. The main law, which regulates the immigration of non EU-citizens in Spain, is the Immigration Act 2009.

What is immigration?

People immigrate for many reasons including to see the world actually, to expand their knowledge and seek new horizons, to better themselves, take note, to better themselves – means you are good to start with but want to make yourself and life better. Some people migrate for business, some for money, some seeking change, some seeking work, but the idea remains the same - to better their future, to secure the future! Disparities in income, standards of living and the availability of jobs within and across societies can be considered as some factors as well.

What is immigration?

Immigration is the international movement of people into a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle or reside there, especially as permanent residents or naturalized citizens, or to take up employment as a migrant worker or temporarily as a foreign worker.

How can you immigrate?

First of all, you need to choose your destination, where you want to immigrate!

You have to check the immigration law for the country you want to immigrate because usually, to reside in a host country you need to have a passport or other equivalent document and you need to obtain a residence permit - a document that grants you the right to reside in a certain state.

It can be done by our assistance: visit our webpage

Illegal immigration is travelling to or staying in a country without the appropriate documents, entering at an inappropriate place or by an inappropriate method. Usually, illegal immigrants try to enter a wealthier country, with a better quality of life, leaving a poorer country behind. It is not the best desition to choose!

E-residency offer from Estonia

Everyone heart about residency and residence permit but did You know about e-residency? Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world.

It gives foreigners the ability to apply for a digital residency in Estonia even if they don't actually live there. How does it work? For example, e-residency allows an Indian entrepreneur to establish an Estonian company from Singapore to serve clients based in Italy. He'd also be able to use his digital signature to sign contracts throughout the EU. All would be done online remotely.

Here (Video ) is a video to find out more about e-residency.

What benefits for businessmen and businesswomen?

• Possibility to digital sign contracts and other documents
• Verify the authenticity of documents and encrypt documents securely
• Allows to start, register and run company online in a trusted EU environment
• Get access to banking services online includes payments providers to accept payments from customers and clients worldwide
• Declare taxes online and get all the information regarding taxation and annual report submissions

How to become e-resident?

• Apply for the e-residency
• Submit your application and pay €100 state fee
• Pick up your digital ID card
• Find Estonian address for the company. Solutions are to contact a business service provider to obtain a legal address and a contact person service.

At the moment, 5033 companies are established by e-residents from 154 countries.
E-residency is a step into the future and easiest way to entrepreneurship. Is it something new for you?

Investment in Real Estate in Latvia and Residence Permit as Bonus

According to The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs’ latest data (on 01/01/2018), 4537 persons have residence permit because of real estate in Latvia. More interested in investment are Ukrainians, Russians, Chinese.

Why to invest in Real Estate in Latvia? Let’s compare amount of necessary investment with other other European countries.

As on chart, you have to invest in real estate in Spain or Portugal quite more that in Latvia.

Have a look at requirements to apply for residence permit based on investment.

According to Immigration Law, if a foreigner has purchased real estate in Riga, Jurmala, Adazi, Babite, Baldone, Carnikava, Garkalne, Ikskile, Kekava, Marupe, Olaine, Ropazi, Salaspils, Saulkrasti or Stopini region, and he owns one functionally related real estate (Real estate can not be vacant land) with a value of at least 250 000 euro or more than two administrative properties, each is one functionally connected real estate with total value at least EUR 250 000 and if the following conditions are present at the same time:

a) he has not and never had property tax payment arrears,

b) the total value of the real estate was paid in cash,

c) the real estate is purchased from a legal entity registered in the Republic of Latvia or Member State of the European Union, country of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation who is a taxable person in the Republic of Latvia or from a natural person who is  Latvian citizen, non-citizen, citizen of the European Union or a third-country national residing in the Republic of Latvia with a valid residence permit issued by the Republic of Latvia,

d) the cadastral value of estate is not less than EUR 80 000. If the foreigner purchased two real estate outside Riga, Jurmala, Ādaži, Babīte, Baldone, Carnikava, Garkalne, Ikskiles, Kekava, Marupe, Olaine, Ropazi, Salaspils, Saulkrasti or Stopini region,cadastral value of each real estate is not less than € 40,000. If the cadastral value is less, the market value of the immovable property may not be less than 250,000 euros or, if the third-country national purchased two real estate, the market value of each real estate shall not be less than 125,000 euros,

e) upon requesting a first-time temporary residence permit, he pays five percents of the value of the real estate to the state budget,

f) Real estate does not include agricultural land or forest land:

for up to five years.

To sum up, buying Real Estate is not so expensive as it could look like. Don’t forget that Latvia is known as one of the greenest country of the world.

How do you choose the perfect real estate?

Investing in real estate is not as easy as buying a car. It can be a very long process before you get your dream real estate. You need to see all aspects before buying it. You can’t just buy anything "blindfolded", right?



At first, you need to see the market. You need to check the market, what are the prices, how expensive the real estate in that region is, what to expect and so on. You can research the market by yourself, but it will be time-consuming, so you can also choose a company to do it for you. Many companies and law firms offer consultations and di research on the available real estate. Choose what is more suitable for you.

After that, you should decide what type of real estate you want, what is better to invest your money in and is it worth your money. Maybe you want to buy a forest, maybe you just want flat, or you want to buy an office to start your business there? Choose carefully!

After you done your market research and decided what type of real estate you want - you need to make a list of advantages and disadvantages for that. For example, buying a flat, you should probably want to see if it is not far from a shop, if there is a bus stop somewhere near, see if there is a hospital in the city, and so on. Also, you should see if the real estate value will grow or not, because you don't want to spend a lot of money in real estate if after some time it will cost nothing, right?

When everything is done and you what real estate you want - next step is to talk to the owner. Very often local owners increase the price if approached by a foreigner. That is why a group of local professionals will do the work more effectively. You can do it yourself, but it is more effective if professionals do their work. Searching for and checking property as well as negotiating with owners will be done better by professionals who know the local real estate market and language. You can use our team to do it for you here.

Once everything is done, you can purchase the real estate.

Escrow Account in Latvia

When you are choosing escrow account the question “Trust or not to trust other part of agreement?” is not actual anymore.

Escrow account that sometimes also called impound account is an arrangement made under contractual provisions between transacting parties, whereby an independent trusted third party (usually a bank) receives and disburses money or documents for the transacting parties.

Account is reducing the risk between the parties and providing a mechanism which ensures trust and confidence in the deal until all contracts and agreements have been fulfilled.

The buyer, the seller and third part (usually the bank) sign an agreement, whereby they agree on necessary documents, terms and other conditions as required to complete the deal, along with any critical milestones along the way. An escrow agent – the bank, acts as an impartial holder of the money or documents, and in this way keeps the risk of such things as fraud to a minimum for both parties. Note that escrow fees vary from company to company (bank to bank).

An escrow account can be used for the sale of a house or flat (for Real Estate transaction) and it can reduce the risks to all parties.  It gives guarantee for all parties.Escrow is basically a third party that will hold the homebuyer's money and the home seller's deed or deposits for a property rental or selling/buying object will be in safe and can be transacted to the part of contract when points of this contract will be done only and until all the paperwork is completed.

Other option for escrow account is purchase of a second hand car, where the money may be released at the end of a warranty period.

Escrow is a financial tool that will help to parties and so everyone will be satisfied with the outcome.