EU RESIDENCE PERMIT

Residence permit in Latvia

On 1 July, 2010 amendments to the Immigration Law of Latvia came into effect. That allow foreign investors and their family members to obtain residence permit in Latvia.

The residence permit provides free movement ability within the Schengen area that currently consists of 25 European countries.

The residence permit holder has an obligation to visit Riga once a year for a registration. There are no other restrictions.

The residence permit is issued for five years and may be extended.

The new procedure is introduced for the three types of investors.

Starting from 2 April 2012 upon obtaining a residence permit you will get an EU national ID card instead of the insert in your passport.

Financial InvestmentA subordinated term deposit for a period of five years in a Latvian bank starting from LVL 200,000 (approximately EUR 300,000 or USD 400,000)

Current rates: 5% for term deposits in EUR and 4% in USD

Advantages Disadvantages

Fast and easy

High deposit rate

Low to no risk

No expenses

No

Credit card VISA/MC Platinum Chargefree service0% interest rate for EUR 50 000 credit limit

Real estate Investments

Acquisition of real estate in Riga and other regions of Latvia:

apartments

commercial objects

industrial objects

land

LVL 100,000 (approximately EUR 145,000) for Riga, Jūrmala and other large cities

LVL 50,000 (approximately EUR 73,000) for towns and rural areas

Real estate investments

The average price for a square meter of a standard apartment in Riga:

Advantages Disadvantages

speculative potential

utility payments

500-600 EUR

may be used for private needs

leasing possibilities

maintenance costs

additional expenses

Business Investment Investment in the equity capital of a Latvian company starting from LVL 25,000 (approximately EUR 36,000), annual taxes of the company should exceed LVL 20,000 (approximately EUR 28,000).

Advantages Disadvantages

business facility in EU

need to participate in company management

possibility of a profit gain

possibility of a non-core business activities market and country risks

Procedure and Terms

Duration of the application process:

Subordinated loan – one to three working daysReal estate purchase – starting from three weeksPurchase of a business or a share in one – …..

1.

Submission of the application to the Latvian Consulate (once a week)2.Decision making by a competent authority (Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs) – till 30 days

3.Obtaining a single-entry visa (minimum three days) and arrival in Riga4.

Medical examination – minimum one day5.Receiving an ID card – from 2 to 10 days6.

Best practice of RietumuRietumu was the first bank in Latvia to offer its clients consulting and support in obtaining a residence permit in Latvia. The bank has arranged a special department and information resource for this:

Since 1 July:

The first residence permit was obtained by a

Rietumu Bank client on 13 September, 2010.

The entire procedure took 4 weeks.

around 100,000 pageviews

>1500 inquiries

500 investors

RietumuRietumu is the largest private bank in Latvia and Baltics. It was established in 1992. The bank specialises in corporate and private banking.

The Main principles of the Rietumu business philosophy:

- reliability

- personal approach

- rational prudence

- considerate and prudent risk assessment

- control of expenses

RietumuThe Bank and the Rietumu Financial Group are headquartered in Riga.Representative offices and subsidiary structures of the Group operate in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, France, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Rietumu Bank is a symbol of success

in the Latvian banking system for

many years. Despite the current

financial turbulence, the Bank

continues to operate at a steady

profit.

Rietumu

Net audited profit of Rietumu Bank accounted for EUR 15.1 million as of

31 December, 2011.

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