POSTERN

Latvia

Start-up visa. A temporary residence permit for founders of an innovative company registered in Latvia, valid up to three years, with no capital floor set by the state.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Start-up visa

A temporary residence permit valid up to 36 months (typically issued in stages), covering the founder and co-founders.

Who qualifies

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

Does it fit your family?

2 questions, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Income
Steady income each month, rising with each person who moves.
Just you$700
2 people$850
4 people$1,150
Time
2–4 months for the commission's endorsement, then 4–8 weeks for the permit.
Cost
About $1,000–3,000 in state fees, legal help preparing the business plan, and company registration; no minimum capital is fixed by law.
The hard part
Getting the Start-up Latvia commission to endorse the business plan as genuinely innovative; a plain services or trading business will not qualify.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

3

Citizens by 2038.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    3 years, renewable for 3 years at a time.

  2. 2030
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 3 years.

  3. 2032
    Permanent residence

    Under the Immigration Law in force from 15 September 2026, five years in a row on temporary residence permits, then Latvian at A2 by the state exam. Investors of more than €500,000 and people over 65 are exempt from the language test.

  4. 2037
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  5. 2038
    Citizenship

    The decision usually takes 6–12 months.

Language
Latvian, by a state test in two parts (written, and a ten-question interview) at an everyday-conversation level. No CEFR level is published.
Civics
A test on the Constitution and on Latvian history and culture, plus reciting the national anthem.
Time away
Five years living in Latvia counted from the day permanent residence was granted. Breaks may add up to one year in total, but none in the last year before applying.
Two passports
It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.
  • A temporary residence permit, so the years count toward the 5 years for permanent residence.
  • Law-firm summaries say the new Immigration Law allows at most 10 months abroad in the 5 years before permanent residence, and adds a Latvian culture and history course; the PMLP pages we read did not state either.
  • The law caps the decision at one year from a complete file; PMLP's own estimate is 6–12 months, longer if you must first renounce another citizenship.
  • LV-DNV: renewable once for a second year per the earlier research (2026-09-24); the PMLP page we read today mentions only the one-year visa.
  • LV-STARTUP: PMLP's partner LIAA confirms a permit of up to 3 years; the length of a renewal was not published on the page we read (3 years assumed).
  • LV-INVEST: the new law sets two-year terms 'in several cases'; that business investors fall under the two-year term was not confirmed.
  • Whether you can keep your current citizenship depends on the rules at the time and your home country.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
Tied to actively running the endorsed company in Latvia; PMLP checks the business is genuinely operating at each renewal rather than applying a fixed day-count.
Tax
Latvian tax residence follows the normal 183-day rule once you are living and running the business there.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Read the LIAA's Startup Visa page and the endorsement criteria.Open startuplatvia.eu ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of steady income: at least $700 a month
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
6

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

19 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
7
ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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