Latvia has adopted a new Immigration Law that changes the rules for temporary residence permits for investors, employers and third-country workers. At the same time, a parliamentary commission has proposed assessing quotas for the number of third-country nationals who may receive residence permits or long-term visas, potentially opening the next stage of tighter migration policy.
The New Law Rewrites Latvia’s Residence Permit System
Latvia’s Saeima adopted the new Immigration Law in its third and final reading on June 11, 2026. The parliament’s official statement describes the reform as a substantial revision of rules on entry, residence, employment, integration and return procedures for third-country nationals, meaning foreigners who are not citizens of Latvia, other European Union countries, the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
The changes affect several groups at once: employers, investors, temporary residence permit holders, labour supply service providers and companies hiring workers for low-skilled jobs. For businesses, this means higher compliance demands and closer attention to tax, labour and migration rules.
The core logic of the reform is a shift from a more fragmented list of residence-permit grounds to a model in which the state controls more strictly the purpose of entry, length of stay and economic substance of an application. This is especially important for a country with limited administrative capacity, a small domestic labour market and a growing role for foreign workers in selected sectors.
Real Estate Investment Routes Are Removed
One of the most visible changes concerns investment-based programmes. According to Cobalt’s legal analysis, the new law no longer includes the purchase of Latvian real estate of a certain value or subordinated liabilities with a Latvian credit institution among the grounds for a temporary residence permit.
Subordinated liabilities are financial instruments under which an investor places funds in a bank on terms where, if the institution faces financial difficulties, the investor’s claim is satisfied after more senior creditors. Previously, such investments, like real estate purchases, could serve as a basis for temporary residence.
Existing permit holders will be covered by a transitional regime. Applications submitted and accepted for review before the new law enters into force will be processed under the current rules. Foreigners who already hold temporary residence permits based on real estate or bank investments will be able to remain in Latvia until their identity cards expire.
If those investors want to continue residing in Latvia on the same basis, they will need to apply to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, or OCMA, during the validity of their card for a five-year temporary residence permit under the law’s transitional provisions. OCMA is Latvia’s authority responsible for identity documents, visas, residence permits and migration procedures.
A New Investment Route Is Linked to a Fund
Instead of the previous routes, the law introduces a new ground for temporary residence: an investment of at least €150,000 for a term of at least five years in a state-established alternative investment fund manager. The applicant must also pay €10,000 to the state budget.
An alternative investment fund is an investment structure that channels capital into a broader range of assets than ordinary bank deposits, including companies, projects, real estate, infrastructure or other instruments depending on the fund’s mandate. In Latvia’s case, the key element is the state-established fund manager, which should give the authorities more control over the direction of capital.
Such a residence permit may be issued for up to five years. It will remain valid if the fund manager confirms that the investment agreement has not been terminated and that the remaining investment amount is not below €150,000.
The practical question remains open. The legal basis has been included in the law, but the programme itself still has to be developed. Investors and advisers will therefore need to monitor secondary legislation, application procedures, document lists, source-of-funds requirements and the exact structure of the state-linked fund mechanism.
Company Investment Residence Permits Remain
The temporary residence permit programme based on investment in a Latvian company’s share capital remains in place. The law keeps two main thresholds: €50,000 for investment in a smaller company and €100,000 for investment in a larger company or in a company together with its subsidiaries.
The €10,000 payment to the state budget for the first application also remains. This makes the company-investment route one of the few remaining options for investors who want to link residence to real economic activity rather than passive asset ownership.
The main change concerns duration. In the future, this temporary residence permit may be requested for up to two years, and the identity card will be issued for the same period. The tax-payment criterion that the company must meet for a repeat application by the foreign investor will not change.
For businesses, this increases the importance of real corporate activity. An investor will need not only to contribute capital, but also to maintain economic substance, including tax compliance and eligibility for renewal.
Annual Residence Permit Registration Is Being Abandoned
One of the most practical changes is the end of the current annual registration model for temporary residence permits. At present, residence rights may in many cases be granted for a longer overall period, often up to five years, while the identity card is issued for one year and annual registration is required.
The new model will be simpler in structure but stricter in duration. A temporary residence permit will be requested for a specific period corresponding to the validity of the identity card to be issued. Local employment or secondment may be granted for up to one year, the European Union Blue Card for up to two years, board members, supervisory board members or procuration holders for up to two years, and company investment for up to two years.
The European Union Blue Card is a residence and work permit for highly qualified professionals from third countries. It is designed to attract workers with advanced skills, a confirmed employment contract and a qualifying salary level.
For applicants, the new model may reduce confusion around annual registration, but it will also make renewals more sensitive to the current status of the employer, tax data, purpose of stay and quality of documentation. For companies, migration planning will have to be linked more closely to workforce planning.
Employers Face Stricter Checks
The new law introduces stricter rules for labour supply service providers, including models similar to external employer services used to hire workers through a third-party provider. Such entities will not be able to invite foreigners for work if they are inactive taxpayers, were established within the last six months or have tax compliance violations under the State Revenue Service rating system.
A labour supply service provider is a company that organizes a worker’s labour for another business. In international practice, a related model is known as employer of record, where an external company formally employs a worker who in practice performs work for a client.
The restrictions also apply to invitations for occupations in Major Group 9 of the occupational classification. These are low-skilled jobs, where the state sees elevated risks of formal hiring, weak control over working conditions and possible circumvention of migration requirements.
For employers, this means that the right to invite a foreign worker will depend not only on the vacancy and the candidate, but also on the company’s tax history. Newly established or economically inactive structures will be at a disadvantage even if they are formally ready to sign an employment contract.
The Commission Proposes Discussing Quotas
Separately from the law already adopted, the quota issue is developing. Latvian Public Broadcasting reported that a parliamentary inquiry commission on immigration regulation adopted a final report and proposed assessing the need for quotas on the total number of third-country nationals who may receive residence permits or long-term visas.
This does not mean quotas have already been introduced. It is a commission recommendation to be forwarded for consideration by the wider Saeima. Still, the proposal shows the direction of the debate: Latvia’s migration policy is moving from the adjustment of individual procedures toward the discussion of numerical limits.
The commission linked the proposal to the limited capacity of responsible services. Its report said the state should assess both increasing institutional capacity and mechanisms to reduce migration flows.
For employers, this could become the most sensitive part of future policy. If quotas are introduced, businesses may face not only checks on a specific application, but also an overall cap on foreign-worker access. This is especially important for sectors where the Latvian labour market cannot meet staffing needs.
Student Permits and Platform Work Draw Scrutiny
The parliamentary commission also focused on the alleged formal use of student status to obtain residence permits when the real purpose of stay is employment. It proposed setting uniform and strict conditions for universities that want the right to invite foreigners.
For universities, this may mean tighter control over foreign-student recruitment, attendance, academic progress and compliance with the declared purpose of residence. For third-country students, the risk is that the education route becomes less flexible if the state sees it as a channel for bypassing labour-migration rules.
Another section concerns platform work. The commission’s report referred to risks involving the use of another person’s profile, rented accounts and the employment of people without a lawful basis to reside in Latvia in delivery and transport services.
Platform work is labour organized through digital apps that connect service providers and clients, for example in delivery, ride-hailing or household services. These models are harder for the state to control because employment status, taxes, working time and identity verification may be distributed among the platform, the worker and the customer.
Latvia Balances Control and Labour Needs
The new migration policy is emerging against the background of structural labour shortages in selected sectors. Latvia faces demographic pressure, emigration of part of its working-age population and competition with richer European Union countries for workers.
According to the European Migration Network’s national report, Latvia issued 90,241 first residence permits in 2024, 11.7% fewer than in 2023. Of these, 6,738 first temporary residence permits were issued to Ukrainian civilians under temporary protection.
The figures show the dual nature of the situation. On one hand, migration flows remain significant for the administrative system and the labour market. On the other hand, Latvia is not a major immigration economy by European standards and depends on targeted recruitment in areas where domestic labour supply is insufficient.
A system that is too strict may reduce abuse but also complicate hiring for compliant employers. A system that is too loose increases the risk of formal schemes, fictitious grounds and weak integration. The new law shifts the balance toward control.
Businesses Need Earlier Migration Risk Checks
For employers, the main practical change is the need to assess their own status in advance. Tax rating, company age, taxpayer activity and the integrity of labour procedures become part of migration compliance. This is especially important for labour providers, construction companies, logistics, seasonal employers, platform services and businesses with high staff turnover.
For investors, the logic of route selection is changing. Passive instruments such as real estate and bank placements are being removed, while available grounds are increasingly tied to company capital, a state-linked investment mechanism or real economic activity.
For current residence permit holders, transition deadlines become critical. Those who obtained permits under previous grounds should not assume they can continue under the old logic without a separate application and review.
For advisers and legal teams, the most important issues will be the law’s effective date, secondary rules and OCMA practice. Administrative practice will determine how quickly the new rules affect processing times, refusals and the cost of application preparation.
As experts at International Investment report, Latvia’s new Immigration Law does not close the country to foreign workers and investors, but it sharply increases the importance of the economic substance of an application. The critical risk is that a campaign against formal schemes may also hit compliant employers if procedures become too heavy and quotas are introduced without regard to real labour shortages. For investors, the signal is also clear: Latvia is gradually moving away from passive residence permits through assets and toward controlled, verifiable and shorter-duration grounds.
FAQ: Latvia’s New Immigration Law
What did Latvia’s new Immigration Law change?
It revised rules on entry, residence, employment and temporary residence permits for third-country nationals. The most visible changes affect investors, employers, labour supply service providers and low-skilled recruitment.
Will it still be possible to obtain Latvian residence through real estate?
The new law no longer includes real estate purchases among the grounds for a temporary residence permit. Applications accepted before the law enters into force should be processed under the current rules.
What happens to those who already hold permits based on real estate or bank investments?
Their permits remain valid until the expiry of the identity card. To continue residing on the same basis, they will need to apply to OCMA under the transitional provisions.
What new investment route is being introduced?
The law provides for a temporary residence permit based on an investment of at least €150,000 for at least five years in a state-established alternative investment fund manager, plus a €10,000 payment to the state budget.
Does the company investment route remain?
Yes. The thresholds of €50,000 and €100,000 remain, depending on the type of company, along with the €10,000 payment for the first application. The permit period will be up to two years.
What changes for employers?
Companies inviting foreigners will face stricter checks. Special attention will be paid to tax compliance, taxpayer activity, company age and hiring for low-skilled roles.
Has Latvia introduced quotas for third-country nationals?
Not yet. A parliamentary commission proposed assessing such quotas, but this is a recommendation rather than a rule currently in force.