There are criteria that must be taken into account when searching for real estate in Riga or Jurmala in order to subsequently obtain a residence permit in Latvia:
• Real estate can be only one object (not several objects), it must be built-up (i.e. it cannot be an empty plot of land);
• The property must be purchased from a citizen of Latvia, or a citizen of an EU-member state, or a foreigner who holds a valid residence permit in Latvia, or a legal person registered in Latvia or an EU member state, a country of the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation;
• The purchase price of the property should be at least €250,000;
• A cadastral value of the property must be at least €80,000 (the cadastral value is the value set by the state for various purposes, such as calculating property taxes; the cadastral value can be significantly lower than the purchase price, which is normal).
• The property must be free of liens (mortgages), or the liens must be removed by the seller at the time of the purchase transaction.
• The purchase price of the property can only be paid as non-cash settlement, i.e. by bank transfer from a personal bank account; in addition, it is necessary to prove the source of origin of the funds used to purchase property with all possible documents – this will be required by the seller’s bank and/or the bank servicing the transaction account, or the notary accepting funds for safekeeping;
• You will have to pay a state fee for the registration of property rights in the amount of 1,5% of the property purchase price, as well as notary fees (approximately €300), a bank fee for servicing the escrow account (approximately 0.5% of the property purchase price) and fees for processing the residence permit application (€150). Additionally, there may be expenses for translations and notarization of documents into Latvian.
• After receiving a residence permit, you will have to pay 5% of the property purchase price from your personal bank account into the state budget of Latvia. Then, every 5 years, if you want to renew your residence permit for another 5 years, you will need to pay another 5000 EUR as a state fee into the state budget of Latvia.
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