Destination guide · Northern Europe

Moving to Latvia from the U.S.

Name: Latvia
Address: Latvia

Which route fits a remote worker, a retiree of 65 or over, an employee, a founder or someone with Latvian roots under the new Immigration Law of September 15, 2026, the 2026 income tests in euros, the U.S. tax treaty and the missing Social Security agreement, and what tax, health care, housing and paperwork involve, with every figure taken from, or calculated from, an official source and dated.

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Rules and figures checked: October 2026Official sources: 112

CurrencyEuro (€)€1 = $1.1367 (ECB, Sep 24, 2026)¹

EU / SchengenYes / YesEU since 2004, Schengen since 2007, the euro since 2014²

Remote-work visa€4,538 a month2.5 times the 2025 average wage, about $5,158; a visa of up to 1 year, plus one more^3,4

Retirement routeFrom age 65For visa-free nationals with enough means; PMLP’s 2026 income figure is €1,231 a month, by our reading^4,5

U.S. tax treatyYes, signed 1998No Social Security (totalization) agreement^6,7

CitizenshipAbout 10 yearsBy our arithmetic: 5 years on permanent residence, counted from the day you receive it; U.S. citizenship can be kept⁸

What changed, 2024 to 2026

What Has Changed in Latvia Since 2024

Latvia replaced its whole Immigration Law on September 15, 2026, closed its property and deposit residence routes, dropped the residence routes for the self-employed, shortened work permits and rewrote its income tax from 2025. The changes, newest first; anything not yet law is marked as pending “as of October 8, 2026”.

October 1, 2026: regulated heating tariffs rose by 7.78% on average, from €86.23 to €92.94 per MWh; Riga’s tariff fell slightly, to €80.96⁹.
September 17, 2026: the Saeima adopted a new beginners’ micro-enterprise tax of 10% on up to €12,000 a year of turnover from sales to consumers, in force from April 1, 2027¹⁰.
September 15, 2026: a new Immigration Law replaced the law of 2002. The Saeima adopted it on June 11, 2026; the President returned it on June 19; the Saeima adopted it again on August 20, and it was proclaimed on September 1, 2026^4,11. It closed the €250,000 real-estate route and the €280,000 bank-deposit route to new applicants, dropped the residence routes for the self-employed and sole proprietors, cut employment permits to up to 1 year and the pension-age permit to up to 2 years, merged permanent residence with EU long-term resident status, and created a €150,000 state investment fund route^4,12. Applications filed before September 15, 2026 are decided under the old law⁴.
September 10, 2026 (pending as of October 8, 2026): bill No. 1521/Lp14, which would delete the €150,000 fund route, was referred to a Saeima committee¹³.
August 26, 2026: the Riga single ticket, a train ride plus 90 minutes of city transit, became available in all five train zones, as a pilot until the end of 2026¹⁴.
July 2026: from July 1, a 12% VAT rate applies to bread, milk, poultry meat and eggs, until June 30, 2027¹⁵. From July 10, the Tourism Law defines tourist accommodation to include any publicly bookable group of residential premises¹⁶.
June 13, 2026: citizens, non-citizens and permanent residents who pay no social contributions keep state-funded health care for 2026 without paying the health insurance contribution; the rule runs year by year¹⁷.
May 20, 2026: the residence route for buying €250,000 of interest-free state securities was deleted^18,12.
April 2026: PMLP’s income figures changed on April 1, based on the 2025 average wage of €1,815 a month^5,19. New EU pet rules apply from April 22; the United States is on the list that needs no rabies antibody test^20,21.
January 1, 2026: the minimum wage rose to €780 a month, from €740^22,23. Self-employed people no longer owe the separate minimum social contributions (a law of April 16, 2026, applied from January 1); the ordinary contributions on their income apply as before^24,25. A 6% income tax rate applies to dividends paid from profits taxed at the 15% alternative corporate rate^26,27.
October 12, 2025: the EU’s Entry/Exit System started progressively; since April 10, 2026 it has recorded your entries and exits instead of passport stamps²⁸.
January 1, 2025: personal income tax became 25.5% up to €105,300 a year and 33% above, with a 3% surcharge on income above €200,000, a flat monthly allowance of €570 and a pensioner allowance of €12,000 a year instead of €6,000; the 2024 rates were 20%, 23% and 31%^26,29.
November 15, 2024: the rules for exchanging a foreign driver’s license were reworded: a U.S. license is exchanged after a car driving test, without a theory test³⁰.
July 18, 2024: an amendment to the rural land law took effect; citizens of the countries in the OECD capital-movements code may acquire rural land on the same footing as EU citizens³¹.

Already set for 2027, and pending as of October 8, 2026. Set in law: the beginners’ micro-enterprise tax from April 1, 2027¹⁰; a compulsory early-integration program from December 31, 2027⁴; and new Cabinet regulations on means, fees, visas and health insurance by December 1, 2027 at the latest, when the regulations in force in 2026 stop applying^4,32. Ending: the 12% VAT on bread, milk, poultry and eggs on June 30, 2027¹⁵. Pending as of October 8, 2026: bill 1521/Lp14 on the fund route¹³. Not settled as of October 8, 2026: health care from 2027 for permanent residents who pay no contributions¹⁷, and the 2027 minimum wage, for which we found no figure adopted²².

On this page

Who Latvia suits
Residence routes and money tests
Permanent residence and citizenship
Step by step, in the right order
Cost of living
Health care
Taxes, the treaty and Social Security
Renting and buying
Where to live
Registration, banks, driving, pets
Schengen, EES and ETIAS
A 12-month timeline
Questions
Sources

Is Latvia for you?

Who Latvia Suits, and Who It Frustrates

Latvia suits Americans who work remotely for a U.S. employer on a high salary, retirees aged 65 or over with a steady income, employees with a Latvian job offer and people with a Latvian ancestor. It frustrates freelancers, property investors and anyone who wants a quick path to settle, and it asks more of newcomers since the Immigration Law of September 15, 2026.

In its favor

A remote-work visa: for someone working for an employer, or self-employed, in another OECD country, with income of at least €4,538 a month in 2026, for up to a year plus one more^4,3.
A pension-age route: a citizen of a visa-free country, such as the United States, who has reached the pension age of 65 and has enough means can get a permit of up to 2 years, with no sponsor^4,33,34.
Applying from inside Latvia: you may travel to Latvia and apply for a residence permit there, and the bilateral visa-waiver agreement lets you extend a visa-free stay in Latvia by up to another 90 days, on conditions³³.
A U.S. income tax treaty under which U.S. Social Security paid to a Latvian resident is taxable only in the United States, and pensions, including 401(k) and IRA payouts, only in your country of residence^6,35.
Dual citizenship is allowed for citizens of NATO countries, the United States included⁸.
Low co-payments and prices: a family doctor visit costs a patient under 65 €2 in the state system, capped at €570 a year³⁶; older apartments in Riga’s residential districts sold at a median of €996 per m² in the second half of 2025³⁷. We found no wealth tax and no separate inheritance tax, and inheritances are exempt from income tax²⁶.

Against it

No property or deposit route: the €250,000 real-estate and €280,000 deposit routes are closed to new applicants since September 15, 2026, and the €150,000 fund route exists in law, but PMLP said on September 15, 2026 that the state fund had not been established, so the provision could not yet be used^38,4,13.
No permit for freelancers: the residence routes for the self-employed and sole proprietors are gone^4,12.
No totalization agreement with the United States, so work in Latvia can mean paying into both systems⁷.
Health care is not automatic: by our reading of the law, a U.S. citizen on a temporary permit who does not work in Latvia is not covered by state-funded care and needs insurance; until August 1, 2027 at the latest, a transitional rule covers holders of a permit on the Latvian or Liv ancestry route, or as the minor child of a citizen or permanent resident^17,4.
A long road to settle: remote-work visa time does not count toward permanent residence; permanent residence needs 5 years, Latvian at A2 and a culture and history course; citizenship comes about 10 years after arrival^4,8.
Latvian paperwork: renewals and permanent-residence applications must be in Latvian⁴, and state and municipal schools teach in Latvian³⁹.

Residence routes

Which Route Fits You, Under the 2026 Law

As an American you can visit Latvia and the rest of the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period⁴⁰, and under the bilateral visa-waiver agreement you can extend your stay in Latvia, and only in Latvia, by up to another 90 days without leaving, provided you do no paid work; you must then stay outside the Schengen area for at least 90 days before you come back, and be able to prove it if your passport does not show it³³. To live in Latvia you need a long-stay visa or a temporary residence permit. A few ground rules apply to every route:

A law in force since September 15, 2026. The Immigration Law of 2002 was replaced; visa and temporary residence permit applications filed before that date are decided under the old law, permanent residence applications under the 2026 law, and permits already issued stay valid to the end of their term⁴. The Cabinet regulations on money, fees and visas continue to apply, as far as they do not conflict with the 2026 law, until new ones replace them, by December 1, 2027 at the latest⁴. As read on October 8, 2026, several of those regulations cite the old law’s article numbers, so where we apply a figure to a new route, we say it is our reading.
Where Americans apply: you may travel to Latvia and apply for a residence permit at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), or apply through the Embassy of Latvia, which forwards it for a fee³³. The law also allows electronic filing from abroad with a qualified e-signature, filing at a Latvian consulate outside the Schengen area, and filing with an outsourced provider⁴.
Language: a first application for a visa or a permit may be in Latvian or English; renewals and permanent-residence applications must be in Latvian⁴.
Health insurance is a condition of entry and stay⁴; for a long-stay visa or a residence permit, the policy must cover at least €42,600, about $48,423, for as long as you plan to stay³².
Property is no longer a route: buying real estate does not give a permit to new applicants since September 15, 2026^4,11.

Main routes for U.S. citizens under the Immigration Law in force from September 15, 2026, with PMLP’s income figures from April 1, 2026 (the remote-work visa figure from its page of June 15, 2026). Checked October 8, 2026.
Route	Made for	Money or salary test, 2026	Length
Remote-work visa	Remote work for an employer registered in another OECD country, or as a self-employed person registered there⁴	€4,538 a month; employees need 6 months with the employer, and the self-employed show 6 months of income at that level^3,41	A long-stay visa of up to 1 year, plus one more of up to 1 year⁴
Pension age	Citizens of visa-free countries who have reached Latvia’s pension age of 65^4,34	Enough means; PMLP’s figure is €1,231 a month of personal, regular pension, by our reading^5,42	Up to 2 years, renewable⁴
EU Blue Card	Highly qualified employees⁴	€2,723 a month, or €2,178 in a shortage occupation^5,42	2 years⁴
Employment	Other jobs; the employer registers the vacancy with the State Employment Agency⁴	At least the sector average; no more than €1,815 is required^5,42	Up to 1 year⁴
Company board member	Board or supervisory board members and procurators of a company that pays at least €25,000 a year in taxes⁴	€3,630 a month under the old rules; see below⁵	Up to 2 years⁴
Start-up founder	Founders whose activities meet the law’s start-up conditions⁴	Venture capital or a progress report within 12 months⁴	Up to 3 years⁴
Investment in a company	Investors in a Latvian company’s share capital⁴	€50,000 or €100,000, plus €10,000 to the state budget⁴	Up to 2 years⁴
Studies	Full-time students at an accredited university or college⁴	Not covered by our research; ask PMLP	Up to 2 years⁴
Family	The spouse or minor child of a Latvian citizen or permanent resident, or the family of a permit holder⁴	For family of most permit holders, €780 a month plus €234 per child⁵	Spouse up to 2 years, child up to 6; family of a permit holder, as long as the main permit⁴
Latvian or Liv ancestry	People with a Latvian or Liv ancestor in the direct line⁴	No sponsor needed⁴	Up to 6 years⁴

In dollars at the ECB rate of September 24, 2026 (€1 = $1.1367), €4,538 is about $5,158, €2,723 about $3,095, €1,815 about $2,063 and €1,231 about $1,399¹. The figures follow the average gross wage for 2025, €1,815 a month¹⁹; PMLP updated the permit figures on April 1, 2026⁵, and gives €4,538 for the remote-work visa on its page of June 15, 2026³. They change each year with the previous year’s average wage and pension, and new regulations are due by December 1, 2027⁴; check PMLP’s subsistence page before you rely on them.

State fees for visas and residence permits in 2026 (Cabinet Regulation No. 731, which expires on December 2, 2027). Checked October 8, 2026.
Application	Fee
Long-stay (D) visa	€90; €180 if filed less than three working days before your lawful stay ends^43,44
Temporary residence permit	€160 for a decision within 30 days (EU Blue Card: 10 working days); €280 within 10 working days; €560 within 5 working days⁴³
Permanent residence	€160 within 30 days; €280 within 10 working days⁴³
Sponsor’s invitation (izsaukums)	€17, or €10 online, plus €10 for each person invited, and €85 for each request for the right to work⁴³
Naturalization	€28.46, or €4.27 at the reduced rate⁴⁵

By law PMLP decides a temporary residence permit within 30 days, which it may extend once, to at most four months, an EU Blue Card within 10 working days and permanent residence within 30 days; a long-stay visa takes 15 days, or 60 days if checks are needed⁴. A repeat permit counts as a renewal if you apply no later than 90 days after the previous one expires; apply before your permit expires, because you may not stay in Latvia on an expired permit⁴.

Salary check

Does Your Salary Meet the 2026 Figure?

Choose the route and enter your gross monthly salary in dollars or euros. Each route is checked only against its own figure: €2,723 for an EU Blue Card, €2,178 for a Blue Card in a shortage occupation, and €1,815 for other employment, the national average that is the most any sector can require^5,42. Dollars use the ECB rate of September 24, 2026 (€1 = $1.1367)¹; we compare to the exact cent.

A salary check only, using PMLP’s figures from April 1, 2026, which follow the 2025 average gross wage of €1,815 a month: 1.5 times it for the Blue Card (1.5 × €1,815 = €2,722.50, which PMLP publishes as €2,723) and 1.2 times it, €2,178, in the occupations the Cabinet lists as short of workers^5,42,19. For other employment the test is the average in your sector, or the sector’s collective-agreement minimum, and only where the sector average is higher than the national average is €1,815 the floor; below €1,815, your sector decides^42,5. An employment permit is not available where the employer pays micro-enterprise tax⁴. The figures change with each year’s average wage; check PMLP’s subsistence page before you rely on this check. Meeting a figure does not mean a permit will be granted.

Working remotely: the remote-work visa

Latvia offers a long-stay visa for remote work, not a residence permit. It is for someone working remotely for an employer registered in another OECD country, such as the United States, or as a self-employed person registered in one⁴.

Income: at least 2.5 times the previous year’s average gross monthly wage; PMLP gives €4,538 a month, about $5,158, on the Central Statistical Bureau’s average wage for 2025^3,41. Employees also need at least 6 months of prior work for the employer; a self-employed applicant shows a tax authority document for income at that level over the last six months^41,3.
Length: up to 1 year, then one more visa of up to 1 year; after that you cannot get a new remote-work visa for 6 months⁴.
Insurance: a policy covering at least €42,600 for the insurance period³.
Work: holders of the visa “are not entitled to employment in the Republic of Latvia”³.
Settling: time spent on any visa, including this one, does not count toward permanent residence⁴.
Where to apply: in the United States, long-stay visa applications are accepted by VF Services (USA) at Latvia visa application centers in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and New York; the fee is €90^44,43. You can also apply to PMLP while you are lawfully in Latvia, electronically with a secure e-signature or by mail⁴¹. File no earlier than three months before your planned entry⁴¹. With PMLP, the fee is €180 if you file less than three working days before your lawful stay ends^3,4,43.

Three PMLP pages, three figures. PMLP’s page “Receiving a long-term visa for remote work”, published June 15, 2026, gives €4,538, which is 2.5 times the 2025 average wage of €1,815 (2.5 × €1,815 = €4,537.50)^3,19. An older PMLP page, updated February 11, 2026, gave €4,213, and the 2022 page the Embassy links to gives €3,192.50, when we read them on October 8 and 9, 2026^46,47. The rule in the regulation is 2.5 times the previous year’s average⁴¹, so we use €4,538; confirm the figure with PMLP before you apply.

Income check

Does Your Income Meet the 2026 Figure?

Choose the route and enter your monthly income in dollars or euros. The remote-work visa needs €4,538 a month³; for the pension-age route, PMLP’s figure for a personal, regular pension is €1,231 a month, twice the previous year’s average old-age pension, and the regulation asks for documents on the amount of your pension^5,42. Dollars use the ECB rate of September 24, 2026¹.

For one applicant, with PMLP’s figures from April 1, 2026. The €1,231 figure is set in the regulation for the pension route of the old law; that it carries over to the same route in the 2026 law is our reading, and new regulations are due by December 1, 2027^42,4. For the remote-work visa, an employee also needs 6 months with the employer, and a self-employed applicant 6 months of income at that level^41,3. Family members of most permit holders show €780 a month, plus €234 for each minor child⁵. The figures change each year; check PMLP before you rely on this check. Meeting a figure does not mean a visa or permit will be granted.

Retiring to Latvia: the pension-age route

The 2026 law gives a temporary residence permit of up to 2 years to a foreigner who may enter Latvia under a visa-waiver agreement, has enough means and has reached Latvia’s pension age⁴. U.S. citizens enter Latvia without a visa under such an agreement³³, and the pension age is 65³⁴. No sponsor’s invitation is needed⁴, and the permit can be renewed for the same term⁴. Under the old law the same route gave up to 5 years¹².

Money: the regulation asks for personal, regular income of twice the previous year’s average old-age pension, which PMLP gives as €1,231 a month from April 1, 2026, about $1,399; PMLP’s page calls it a pension, and the regulation asks for documents on the amount of your pension, so investment or rental income alone may not count^42,5. As read on October 8, 2026, the regulation cites the old law’s article for this route; that the figure applies to the route in the 2026 law is our reading.
Health: plan on private insurance; see health care.
Below 65: the 2026 law has no permit for living on savings or passive income; outside its list of grounds, the Minister of the Interior may grant a permit of up to 3 years where it serves the interests of the state, and the Head of PMLP on international-law or humanitarian grounds⁴. That is our reading of the full list.

Working for a Latvian employer

Employment permit: up to 1 year (it was up to 5 years); not available where the employer pays micro-enterprise tax^4,12. The employer must register the vacancy with the State Employment Agency and get its opinion, or the invitation is refused⁴. The salary must be at least the sector average or collective-agreement minimum, but where the sector average is higher than €1,815, €1,815 is enough^42,5. Each request for the right to work costs €85⁴³.
EU Blue Card: issued for 2 years; if the contract is shorter, for the length of the contract plus three months. The salary floor is 1.5 times the average wage, €2,723 a month, or 1.2 times, €2,178, in an occupation the Cabinet lists as short of workers; PMLP decides within 10 working days^4,5,43.

Your own business

No permit for the self-employed: the old law’s routes for sole proprietors (up to 5 years) and self-employed people (up to 1 year) have no counterpart in the 2026 law; that they are gone for good is our reading of its list of grounds^12,4.
Company board member or procurator: up to 2 years, if the company pays at least €25,000 a year in taxes; a limited liability company must have paid-up capital of at least €2,800⁴. PMLP’s income figure for directors and business owners is €3,630 a month, twice the average wage, but the regulation behind it cites the old law; we could not confirm how PMLP applies it to the route in the 2026 law, so ask PMLP^5,42.
Start-up founder: up to 3 years. You register as a board member within 3 months, show venture capital funding or a progress report within 12 months, and at most 5 foreigners can get a permit for the same start-up. The route is open to all nationalities except those on the Cabinet’s list for additional checks⁴.
Investment in a company: €50,000 in the share capital of a company with no more than 50 staff and no more than €10 million of turnover or balance sheet (at most 10 foreign investors per company), which must pay at least €40,000 a year in taxes; or €100,000 in a larger company paying at least €100,000 a year. Either way you pay €10,000 to the state budget once, and since September 15, 2026 the permit is up to 2 years (it was up to 5)^4,12. After 5 years on this route, each renewal costs another €2,000⁴.

Investor routes: what closed, and the fund route

Real estate, closed: buying property worth at least €250,000, with 5% of its value paid to the budget, gave a permit of up to 5 years under the old law. The 2026 law has no such ground, and the Saeima rejected proposals to keep it^12,4,11.
Bank deposit, closed: the route for €280,000 in a bank’s subordinated liabilities plus a €25,000 payment is absent from the 2026 law, and the route for €250,000 of interest-free state securities plus €38,000 was deleted on May 20, 2026^18,12,4.
Earlier applications and current holders: visa and temporary residence permit applications filed before September 15, 2026 are decided under the old law⁴. The 2026 law has transitional rules for holders of real-estate, deposit and securities permits; take legal advice on how they apply to you⁴.

The €150,000 fund route, as of October 8, 2026. The 2026 law gives a permit of up to 5 years for investing at least €150,000 for at least 5 years with a “state-established alternative investment fund manager”, plus €10,000 to the state budget; Russian and Belarusian citizens are excluded, and the Cabinet may suspend the route for named nationalities for up to 5 years⁴. PMLP said on September 15, 2026 that the state fund had not been established, so the provision could not yet be used³⁸; we found no PMLP application page for this route as of October 9, 2026. On September 10, 2026, bill No. 1521/Lp14, which would delete the route, was referred to a Saeima committee; it was pending as of October 8, 2026¹³. We would not treat this route as open until PMLP publishes an application page and the bill is decided.

Study, family and Latvian roots

Students in full-time study at an accredited university or college get a permit of up to 2 years. Families of students may join them; the exception is for bachelor’s and master’s students from outside NATO, so U.S. students are not affected⁴.
Family of a Latvian citizen or permanent resident: a spouse gets up to 2 years, with a common household; a minor child up to 6 years⁴.
Family of a permit holder: a permit for the same term as the main permit holder’s⁴; for most routes, family members show means of at least the minimum wage, €780 a month, plus €234 per minor child⁵.
Latvian or Liv roots: if one of your ancestors in the direct line is Latvian or Liv, you can get a permit of up to 6 years, with no sponsor needed⁴.

General information, not advice. Quantum Jetset does not give legal, tax, immigration, financial or investment advice. PMLP decides each case under the law of September 15, 2026; check the official page for your route and, if your case is not simple, speak to a Latvian immigration lawyer.

Staying for good

Permanent Residence and Citizenship Under the 2026 Law

The 2026 Immigration Law merged national permanent residence and EU long-term resident status into one status and added a Latvian culture and history course to the tests⁴. The Citizenship Law was not amended in 2024 to 2026; the version in force dates from April 1, 2023⁸.

Permanent residence (from September 15, 2026)

The status: since September 15, 2026, permanent residence is EU long-term resident status, and it is registered every 5 years⁴.
The tests: 5 years of continuous residence on a residence permit, enough means, Latvian at level A2, and a Latvian culture and history course⁴.
Time abroad: an absence may not exceed 6 months in a row or 10 months in total; for an EU Blue Card holder, absences from the EU of up to 24 months in a row or 18 months in total are excused⁴.
What does not count: time on a visa, including the remote-work visa, does not count at all, and time in full-time study counts at half⁴.
Language of the application: Latvian⁴. Fee €160 for a decision within 30 days, or €280 within 10 working days⁴³.
Pending applications: permanent-residence applications filed before September 15, 2026 are decided under the 2026 law⁴.

Set for December 31, 2027: an early-integration program. Foreigners whose temporary permits add up to 18 months or more will have to learn Latvian at level A1 and take a culture and history course, at their own cost. People under 18 or aged 75 and over, students, intra-corporate transferees and some others are exempt⁴.

Citizenship

Residence: your permanent home must have been in Latvia for at least the last 5 years, and for a foreign citizen those 5 years count from the day you receive permanent residence. A break of up to a year in total is allowed, but not in the last year⁸. With 5 years on temporary permits first, that comes to about 10 years in all, by our arithmetic.
Tests: Latvian; the basic principles of the Constitution; the text of the national anthem and the basics of Latvian history and culture. You also need a legal source of income and take an oath⁸. Applicants aged 65 or over are exempt from the written essay part of the language test⁸.
Dual citizenship: a citizen of a NATO member state, such as the United States, who is naturalized may keep that citizenship⁸.
Fee and time: €28.46, or €4.27 at the reduced rate; PMLP says processing typically takes 6 to 12 months (PMLP’s page updated October 17, 2025)⁴⁵, and the law sets a limit of one year from a complete application⁸.

Step by step

The Order of Operations, Step by Step

The sequence below is for a first permit or long-stay visa. Americans may apply for a residence permit after arriving in Latvia³³; the remote-work visa can be applied for at a VF Services visa center in the United States, or to PMLP while you are lawfully in Latvia, electronically with a secure e-signature or by mail, no earlier than three months before your planned entry^44,3,41,4. Adjust it for your route.

Choose the route by what you will do in Latvia: remote work for a U.S. employer points to the remote-work visa, retirement at 65 or over to the pension-age route, a Latvian job to the employment permit or Blue Card, and a Latvian ancestor to the ancestry route⁴.
Check the money test with the calculators above, using PMLP’s figures from April 1, 2026^5,3.
Buy health insurance covering at least €42,600 for your whole planned stay³².
Prepare documents in Latvian or English for a first application⁴.
Apply: for a long-stay visa, no earlier than three months before your planned entry, at a VF Services center in the United States, or to PMLP while your stay in Latvia is lawful, electronically or by mail⁴¹; for a residence permit, at PMLP in Latvia, through the Embassy, or electronically with a qualified e-signature^44,33,4.
Allow the legal time limits: 30 days for a permit, which may be extended to four months, or 15 to 60 days for a visa⁴. Without leaving Latvia, Americans may extend a visa-free stay in Latvia by up to another 90 days if they do no paid work, and must then stay outside the Schengen area for at least 90 days³³.
Get your personal code: a foreigner who applies for a residence permit is entered in the population register and given a personal code that starts with 3, which also serves as the tax number^48,49.
Declare your place of residence within one month of moving in; the address in your permit application counts from the day the permit is issued⁵⁰.
Open a bank account: with a right to reside in Latvia you have a right to a basic payment account, even without a declared address⁵¹.
Arrange health care: register with the National Health Service if you are entitled, or keep private cover^52,17.
Exchange your U.S. driver’s license if you will stay more than a year⁵³.
Put the renewal on your calendar: apply in Latvian, before your permit expires. An application filed up to 90 days after expiry still counts as a renewal, but you may not stay in Latvia on an expired permit⁴.

Cost of living

What Things Cost, From Official Figures

Prices are in euros. Dollar figures on this page use the European Central Bank’s reference rate of September 24, 2026: €1 = $1.1367, the rate used across our euro-country pages¹. Your costs are in euros, so their dollar value moves with the rate.

Start with inflation. Consumer prices were 3.2% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, and 0.3% higher than in July; over twelve months the average rise was 3.3% (the Central Statistical Bureau’s release of September 8, 2026; the September figure had not been published as of October 8, 2026)^54,55. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 6.8%: heat energy 8.8%, natural gas 16.6%, water supply 9.1%, sewerage 12.1% and electricity 3.2%. Fuel rose 22.1%, transport 8.6%, restaurants and hotels 7.6% and health care 4.2%, while food and non-alcoholic drinks fell 4.0%⁵⁴.

Part of the fall in food prices is a tax cut: since July 1, 2026, a 12% VAT rate applies to bread, milk, poultry meat and eggs, as well as to fresh fruit, berries and vegetables; for bread, milk, poultry and eggs it runs until June 30, 2027¹⁵.

Rents: no official figure by city

We found no official statistic of rent per square meter for Riga or any other city. The only official measure is the consumer price index for actual rents, which was 1.5% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, after 4.3% in July⁵⁵. Rent figures for Riga that you will see elsewhere come from listing portals or banks, which are not official sources, so we leave them out. For a sense of total housing costs, the Central Statistical Bureau’s household survey puts housing maintenance spending, all of it rather than rent alone, at €235.01 a month per household in Latvia and €274.40 (about $311.91) in Riga in 2025⁵⁶. Budget for rent after a scouting trip, from what landlords actually ask.

Pay

Full-time employees earned an average of €1,886 a month gross in the second quarter of 2026, about $2,144, 4.3% more than a year earlier; the average net wage was €1,401, and the gross median €1,527. The Riga region had the highest average, €2,068 gross⁵⁷. For 2025 as a whole, the average was €1,815, the figure behind PMLP’s 2026 income tests¹⁹. The minimum wage is €780 a month in 2026, up from €740 in 2025^22,23.

Electricity, gas and heating

Household electricity prices have not been regulated since January 1, 2015; retailers compete on fixed or exchange-linked prices⁵⁸. The household gas market has been fully open since May 1, 2023, and the regulator has no power to set or cap gas prices; households without a contract get the universal service from AS Latvijas Gāze⁵⁹. On Eurostat’s figures with all taxes, a household using 2,500 to 4,999 kWh a year paid €0.2452 per kWh for electricity in the second half of 2025, against €0.2896 across the EU⁶⁰, and a household in the 20 to 199 GJ band paid €0.0812 per kWh for gas in the first half of 2026⁶¹.

District heating tariffs are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission. From October 1, 2026, the average regulated tariff rose 7.78%, from €86.23 to €92.94 per MWh⁹:

Regulated district heating tariffs from October 1, 2026, euros per MWh. The release does not say whether the tariffs include VAT. Checked October 8, 2026.
Town	Tariff per MWh	Operator
Riga	€80.96	AS Rīgas siltums (a cut)
Jūrmala	€85.11	SIA Jūrmalas siltums
Daugavpils	€76.16	AS Daugavpils siltumtīkli
Jelgava	€76.46	SIA Gren Jelgava
Ventspils	€75.29	SIA Ventspils siltums
Sigulda	€109.17	SIA Adven Sigulda
Cēsis	€92.82	SIA Adven Latvia
Valmiera	€85.67	SIA Valmieras ūdens
Kuldīga	€80.74	SIA Kuldīgas siltumtīkli

Source: Public Utilities Commission, news of September 30, 2026⁹. Liepāja is not in the commission’s October list. Your bill depends on the size of the apartment, the building and how it is billed, so ask the landlord or the building manager for last winter’s heating bills.

Public transit in Riga

In a news item of November 11, 2022, the City of Riga announced a monthly ticket for all modes of public transport at €30 (€15 for discount groups set by the city), a 90-minute ticket at €1.50, and tickets for 24 hours at €5, three days at €8 and five days at €10, from December 31, 2022⁶². We could not confirm the 2026 prices with the operator, Rīgas satiksme; check rigassatiksme.lv before you budget. Since August 26, 2026, the Riga single ticket, a train ride with a 90-minute onward city ride, has been available in all five train zones, sold only digitally through the Vivi app or vivi.lv, as a pilot until the end of 2026¹⁴. We did not research fares in other towns.

Build your own full budget, line by line and in both currencies, in the Relocation Planner workbook.

Health care

Who Is Covered, What It Costs, and the Medicare Question

Latvia’s state-funded health care follows social insurance and residence status, and it does not automatically cover a newcomer on a temporary permit¹⁷. Everyone has the right to emergency medical care¹⁷.

Who is in the state system

Covered: people socially insured for health, meaning employees and self-employed people who pay contributions, and their children under 18¹⁷. The National Health Service notes that employees of micro-enterprises are not in that insured group⁵². An insured worker’s spouse who holds a temporary permit is covered only while raising a child under 7, or three or more children under 15¹⁷.
Permanent residents: citizens, non-citizens and permanent-residence holders who are not insured would in principle pay a contribution of 5% of twelve times the minimum wage, which at €780 comes to €468 a year, by our arithmetic. A transitional rule lets them keep state-funded care without paying it in each year up to and including 2026; as of October 8, 2026, the law did not say what happens from 2027¹⁷.
Not covered, by our reading: a U.S. citizen on a temporary permit who does not work in Latvia, such as a retiree or a remote worker paid from abroad, is in none of these groups, so pays privately or uses insurance. That is our reading of articles 9 to 11 of the Health Care Financing Law¹⁷. The exception is a permit on the Latvian or Liv ancestry route, or as the minor child of a citizen or permanent resident: these holders are entitled to care under a transitional rule of the 2026 Immigration Law until the Health Care Financing Law is amended, and no later than August 1, 2027⁴.
Getting registered: foreigners other than permanent residents are added to the register of service recipients only when they, or another authority, apply to the National Health Service. Registered with a family doctor, your status is “Reģistrēts”; entitled to care but without one, “Pasīvi reģistrēts”, and you may go to any family doctor⁵². A declared place of residence abroad blocks registration with a family doctor⁵².

The insurance your visa or permit needs. For a long-stay visa or a residence permit, your health insurance must cover at least €42,600, about $48,423, for at least as long as your planned stay, including emergency care, in-patient treatment of life-threatening conditions, transport to the nearest facility and repatriation in case of serious illness or death; for a short-stay visa, €30,000³². The regulation expires on December 2, 2027, and the amount may change with its replacement³². For anyone outside the state system, this policy is the floor, not a full plan; price cover for routine care as well.

What state care costs patients

Patient co-payments in the state system (Cabinet Regulation No. 555, annex 13; National Health Service page updated June 20, 2025). Checked October 8, 2026.
Service	Co-payment
Family doctor visit, under 65	€2.00
Family doctor visit, 65 and over	€1.00
Specialist visit	€4.00
Day hospital, per day	€7.00
Hospital, per day from the second day	€10.00
CT scan, without or with contrast	€14 / €21
MRI, without or with contrast	€28 / €35
Extra fee per operation, paid by the patient	Up to €31
Cap per hospital stay	€355
Cap per calendar year	€570

Source: National Health Service³⁶. Lab tests carry no co-payment, but the state does not pay for blood sampling of adults³⁶. These amounts apply to patients in the state system; outside it, you pay the provider’s own price.

Waiting times

The National Health Service publishes waiting-list lengths for state-funded services, by service and institution, once a month on rindapiearsta.lv; when we checked, the data were as of September 1, 2026⁶³. Look up the services you expect to need there before you rely on the state system.

Emergencies

For a life-threatening emergency, call 113, the Emergency Medical Service^64,65. 112 is the single emergency number⁶⁶. The family-doctor advice line, 66016001, answers on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and around the clock on weekends and on holidays⁶⁴.

Medicare does not follow you

Medicare usually does not cover health care while you are outside the United States⁶⁷. Most Medigap plans include foreign travel emergency coverage, but it pays 80% after a $250 deductible, up to $50,000 in a lifetime, and only for emergencies that start in the first 60 days of a trip⁶⁸. That is travel coverage, not residence coverage.

Whether to keep paying the Part B premium ($202.90 a month in 2026) is a real decision: if you drop Part B and re-enroll later, the premium rises by 10% for each full 12-month period you could have been enrolled but were not, usually for life⁶⁹. Decide with your whole plan in view.

Taxes for Americans

Two Tax Systems, a Treaty, and No Social Security Agreement

Moving to Latvia adds a second tax system; it does not remove the first while you remain a U.S. citizen. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live⁷⁰. The two countries have an income tax treaty, signed in Washington on January 15, 1998, with a general effective date of January 1, 2000^6,71, but no Social Security totalization agreement⁷. The treaty’s saving clause, article 1(4), lets the United States tax its citizens as if the treaty had not come into effect, with exceptions in article 1(5) that include article 18(2) on social security⁶. What follows is the map; the route is a job for a cross-border tax adviser.

When you become tax resident

You are a Latvian tax resident if your declared place of residence is in Latvia, or if you stay in Latvia for 183 days or more in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year⁷². Residents are taxed on income from Latvia and from abroad; non-residents only on income from Latvia²⁶. A residence-permit holder must declare a place of residence in Latvia within a month of moving in⁵⁰, so, by our reading, expect to be resident from the year you move.

Income tax in 2026

Since 2025, personal income tax has had two rates, unchanged for 2026: 25.5% on the part of annual income up to €105,300 and 33% on the part above, plus a 3% surcharge on total income above €200,000, capital gains included^26,25. Before the reform, in 2024, the rates were 20% up to €20,004, 23% up to the ceiling and 31% above²⁹.

Allowance: a non-taxable minimum of €570 a month in 2025 and 2026, €6,840 for a full year; non-residents get none, except EU and EEA residents who earn more than 75% of their income in Latvia²⁶.
Pensioners: a non-taxable minimum of €12,000 a year on a pension, including a pension paid under foreign law (it was €6,000 in 2024); for a foreign old-age pension you must have reached 65. If the foreign pension is not taxable in Latvia, the €12,000 is reduced by its amount^26,29.
Social contributions on pay: 10.5% from the employee and 23.59% from the employer, 34.09% in all, on pay up to €105,300 a year²⁵. On pay above that, the same rates are withheld as solidarity tax, and part is refunded after the year, by September 1, so that the combined rate is 25%^25,73,74. Contributions and solidarity tax are deducted before income tax is worked out²⁶.
Capital income, including capital gains, is taxed at 25.5%²⁶. Since January 1, 2026, dividends paid from profits taxed at the alternative 15% corporate rate are taxed at 6%^26,27.
Your annual return is filed between March 1 and June 1, or between April 1 and July 1 if your income for the year exceeds €105,300²⁶.

Income tax estimate

Estimate Latvian Tax on a Salary

Enter your annual gross salary in euros. The estimate takes off the employee’s 10.5% social contribution on pay up to €105,300 and the employee’s 10.5% solidarity tax on pay above it^25,73, and the €570-a-month allowance from the part up to €105,300, then applies 25.5% to that part, 33% to pay above €105,300 and 3% to pay above €200,000, to the cent²⁶. Dollars use the ECB rate of September 24, 2026¹.

A simplification, by our arithmetic, for a salary only, using the 2026 rates as of October 8, 2026. It leaves out the part of the solidarity tax refunded after the year⁷⁴, other deductions and reliefs, the pensioner allowance, a part year of residence, monthly withholding, and U.S. tax; the 3% surcharge is applied to the gross salary, while the law applies it to total taxable income, capital gains included²⁶. Amendments to the Law on Taxes and Fees take effect on October 15, 2026, and we have not reviewed them⁷². For a later year, check the rates and the €105,300 ceiling on likumi.lv. Your adviser works out the real figure.

Examples, by our arithmetic: 2026 income tax on a salary for a resident all year, after the employee’s 10.5% social contribution on the first €105,300, the employee’s 10.5% solidarity tax above it (part of which is refunded after the year, left out here) and the €570-a-month allowance; at €250,000, the 3% surcharge on income above €200,000.
Gross salary a year	Employee contribution and solidarity tax	Income tax	Share	Left after both
€20,000 (about $22,734)	€2,100.00	€2,820.30	14.1%	€15,079.70
€30,000 (about $34,101)	€3,150.00	€5,102.55	17.0%	€21,747.45
€50,000 (about $56,835)	€5,250.00	€9,667.05	19.3%	€35,082.95
€100,000 (about $113,670)	€10,500.00	€21,078.30	21.1%	€68,421.70
€150,000 (about $170,505)	€15,750.00	€35,842.05	23.9%	€98,407.95
€250,000 (about $284,175)	€26,250.00	€67,664.55	27.1%	€156,085.45

Special regimes, and one we could not confirm

No flat tax for newcomers: beyond the pensioner allowance and a foreign-pension allowance for Latvian diaspora members who return after at least 36 months away, we found no special regime for foreign retirees or newcomers in the income tax law²⁶.
The 15% option for remote workers, uncertain: the income tax law lets a holder of the remote-work visa choose a 15% rate on that income for 365 days from becoming tax resident, but it refers to an article of the 2002 Immigration Law, which was repealed on September 15, 2026^26,4. We found no amendment updating the reference and no State Revenue Service guidance on whether the option applies after September 15, 2026, so we could not confirm it; ask the State Revenue Service (VID) before you rely on it.
Micro-enterprise tax: 25% of turnover, in place of income tax and social contributions on that turnover, for businesses whose turnover stays within the VAT registration threshold⁷⁵. From April 1, 2027, a beginners’ rate of 10% applies to up to €12,000 a year of turnover from sales to consumers, for people with no business in the two previous years¹⁰. Amendments to this law take effect on October 15, 2026, and we have not reviewed them⁷⁵.
Self-employed contributions: if your income reaches €780 a month, 31.07% on at least €780, or a higher base you choose, plus at least 10% for pension on income above that base; below €780, 10% of actual income for pension⁷⁶. These ordinary contributions apply in 2026; what ended on January 1, 2026 is the separate minimum contributions, which the Law on State Social Insurance no longer applies to the self-employed^24,25.

Pensions, Social Security and retirement accounts

The saving clause, and what it does not touch. Article 1(4) lets the United States tax its citizens as if the treaty had not come into effect; article 18(2), on social security, is among the exceptions in article 1(5). Latvia gives a credit for U.S. income tax, but not for U.S. tax charged only because you are a U.S. citizen (article 24(2)(a))⁶.

U.S. Social Security paid to a Latvian resident, or to a U.S. citizen, is taxable only in the United States (article 18(2))⁶. Latvia’s law reduces the €12,000 pensioner allowance by a foreign pension that is not taxable in Latvia; by our reading, that covers U.S. Social Security, and we found no State Revenue Service guidance specific to U.S. benefits²⁶.
Pensions for past employment, including 401(k), IRA and 403(b) payouts, whether paid periodically or as a lump sum, are taxable only in your country of residence, so in Latvia for a Latvian resident; but any amount the United States would exclude from tax if you lived there is exempt in Latvia too (article 18(1))^6,35. By our reading, that would cover a qualified Roth IRA distribution. To count as a pension, a payout from a U.S. plan needs, among other tests, five years with the same employer or age 62 or over at the time of the payout³⁵.
Annuities are taxable only in your country of residence (article 18(3))⁶.
U.S. government pensions are taxable only in the United States, unless you are both resident in and a national of Latvia (article 19(2))⁶.

A question for your tax adviser. Because article 18(1) is not among the saving clause’s exceptions, the United States can still tax a citizen’s 401(k) or IRA payout that the treaty gives to Latvia⁶. How the two countries’ credits then apply to the same payout, and whether to take anything out before you move, is a question for an adviser who knows both systems.

No totalization agreement: what that means

Latvia is not on the Social Security Administration’s list of countries with a totalization agreement⁷. Those agreements eliminate dual Social Security taxation and help fill gaps in benefit protection for people who divide their careers between the United States and another country⁷. With no agreement, neither protection is available for work in Latvia: you can owe contributions to both countries on the same earnings, and years worked in Latvia cannot be added to your U.S. record toward a benefit.

Self-employed. A self-employed U.S. citizen pays U.S. self-employment tax abroad under generally the same rules as at home, on net earnings of $400 or more, even on income excluded under the foreign earned income exclusion^77,78. No agreement exempts you from Latvian contributions where Latvian law requires them⁷⁶.
Working for an American employer. U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes generally do not apply to wages for work abroad, but one exception is working for an American employer⁷⁷. Whether Latvian contributions are also due on that pay, for example on the remote-work visa, is a question for your adviser.
Working for a Latvian employer. You pay the employee’s 10.5% and your employer 23.59%, as contributions up to €105,300 a year and as solidarity tax above it^25,73.

Inheritance, gifts and wealth

We found no wealth tax and no separate inheritance or gift tax. An inheritance is exempt from income tax, except copyright royalties and some pension capital. Gifts from a spouse or relatives up to the third degree are fully exempt; from anyone else, gifts up to €1,425 a year are exempt, and the excess is taxable income²⁶. How the United States taxes an estate or gift with a Latvian side is a question for a cross-border adviser.

What you still file in the United States

U.S. filings for citizens living abroad, tax year 2026. Sources: IRS and FinCEN, checked October 7, 2026, except Form 1040, the scope of the foreign earned income exclusion and the Foreign Tax Credit, checked September 25, 2026.
What	The rule
Form 1040	Due April 15; citizens living abroad get an automatic extension to June 15 (interest still runs from April 15)⁷⁰.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion	Up to $132,900 of earned income for 2026, up from $130,000 for 2025⁷⁹. The tests are bona fide residence or 330 full days abroad in 12 months⁸⁰. It does not cover pensions, Social Security or investment income⁸¹.
Foreign Tax Credit	Claim Latvian tax paid on Form 1116; no credit on income you excluded⁸².
FBAR	Required when your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year⁸³; due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15⁸⁴.
Form 8938 (FATCA)	For taxpayers living abroad: over $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time (single); $400,000 and $600,000 (married filing jointly)⁸⁴.

For U.S. tax preparation and planning, our sister brand eTaxNexus works with Americans abroad.

Questions to take to your tax adviser

On which date will I become Latvian tax resident, and does my former U.S. state still treat me as resident?
Can I choose the 15% rate on remote-work income under the 2026 Immigration Law, and would it help me?
How will Latvia treat my 401(k), IRA and Roth IRA payouts under article 18(1), and should I take anything out before I move?
How does my U.S. Social Security reduce my Latvian pensioner allowance?
With no totalization agreement, which contributions do I owe in each country on my work?
In what order do the Latvian and U.S. credits apply to income both countries tax?

Renting and buying

Leases, the Land Register Fee, and Buying as an American

Renting under the Residential Tenancy Law

Residential leases are governed by the Residential Tenancy Law, in force since May 1, 2021⁸⁵.

Form and term: a lease is made in writing and for a fixed term; the law sets no minimum term⁸⁵.
Deposit: at most two months’ rent, returned no later than the day you vacate, unless the lease says otherwise⁸⁵.
Rent increases during the lease are allowed only if the lease sets the conditions for them⁸⁵.
Your notice as a tenant: at least one month in writing, for a lease of up to 10 years⁸⁵.
The landlord’s notice: only on the grounds the law lists, such as damage, non-payment, demolition or reconstruction; one month, or three months for reconstruction when the lease runs one to three years⁸⁵.
Register the lease: a lease binds a new owner only if it is entered in the Land Register; otherwise it ends when the buyer’s title is registered, and you must leave within two months of the new owner’s notice. Registering a lease costs no chancery fee⁸⁵.
Your address: a tenant may declare their place of residence at the rented home⁸⁵.
Scope: the law does not apply to short-term, seasonal use for recreation and tourism⁸⁵. Leases signed before May 1, 2021 must be brought into line with the law, or a court claim filed, by December 31, 2026⁸⁵.

Buying: the Land Register fee and the paperwork

State fee for registering your ownership: 1.5% of the property’s value for an individual buying under a contract, capped at €50,000; 2% for a company, 3% for a gift and 0.5% between close relatives. The value used is the highest of the contract price and the cadastral value⁸⁶.
Chancery fees: €30 for a new Land Register folio, €15 for an apartment-property folio, and €15 for each person for registering a new right; filed electronically, you pay 90% of these⁸⁷.
Annual real estate tax: each municipality sets a rate of 0.2% to 3% of the cadastral value, above 1.5% only for neglected property. Where a municipality has no rule of its own, homes pay 0.2% of the cadastral value up to €56,915, 0.4% from €56,915 to €106,715 and 0.6% above; the minimum bill is €7⁸⁸. We did not check the 2026 rates set by Riga or other municipalities; ask the municipality.
Selling later: income from selling a home is exempt from income tax if you owned it for more than 60 months and it was your declared residence for at least 12 months in a row in that time²⁶.

Purchase fee

Estimate the 1.5% Land Register Fee

Enter the price, or choose a State Land Service median and a floor area to estimate one^{37,89,90,91,92}. The estimate applies the 1.5% state fee for an individual buyer, to the cent, with its €50,000 cap⁸⁶, and converts at the ECB rate of September 24, 2026¹.

Value from

Floor area (m²), for a median

Price (€), if you enter your own

By our arithmetic, for an individual buyer under a contract. The fee is charged on the highest of the contract price and the cadastral value, which this estimate cannot know, and it leaves out the chancery fees, notary or lawyer costs, any VAT on a new build and the annual real estate tax^86,87. A median is the middle price of apartment sales in the second half of 2025, not a valuation of any apartment⁹³. Rates as of October 8, 2026; check the regulation on likumi.lv before you sign.

What Americans may buy

Apartments and buildings: we found no restriction on foreign buyers in the laws we read; the restrictions apply to land.
Land in towns: U.S. citizens are not among those who may acquire urban land freely, which are Latvian and other EU citizens and certain companies. You may buy only with the consent of the city or municipal council chair, who decides within 20 days, and you may not buy land in the state border zone, in the dune protection zones of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga or other water protection zones (unless zoned for building), or agricultural or forest land under the zoning plan⁹⁴.
Rural land: citizens of the countries in the OECD code on the liberalization of capital movements may acquire rural land on the same footing as EU citizens³¹; by our reading, the United States is one of them. Agricultural land also needs business registration in Latvia, a written pledge to farm it within one year (or three), tax debts under €150 and a cap of 2,000 hectares per person³¹.

So, by our reading, a house with its own land in a town needs the council chair’s consent, while in the countryside it does not unless the land is agricultural. Get advice from a Latvian lawyer on the specific plot before you make an offer.

What property costs

Prices rose into 2026: on the Central Statistical Bureau’s index, house prices were 11.4% higher in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier, and 3.9% higher than in the first quarter: used homes rose 13.3% and new homes 1.7%, on provisional data (the release of September 14, 2026; the third-quarter figures are due on December 14, 2026)⁹⁵. The State Land Service publishes median sale prices of apartments by town, separately for buildings from before 2000, mostly Soviet-era blocks, and from 2000 on; the most recent period published as of October 8, 2026 is the second half of 2025, so these medians come before the 2026 rises⁹³.

Median sale price per m² of apartments, second half of 2025, State Land Service, with the number of sales. Checked October 8, 2026.
Place	Buildings	Median per m²	Sales
Riga, center	built before 2000	€1,803 (about $2,049)	246
Riga, residential districts	built before 2000	€996 (about $1,132)	3,069
Jūrmala (Sloka, Kauguri)	built before 2000	€926 (about $1,053)	108
Riga, center	built from 2000	€2,914 (about $3,312)	184
Riga, residential districts	built from 2000	€2,449 (about $2,784)	1,173
Jūrmala	built from 2000	€2,580 (about $2,933)	39
Towns in Riga’s area of influence, Sigulda among them	built before 2000	€1,084 (about $1,232)	223
Towns in Riga’s area of influence, Sigulda among them	built from 2000	€1,849 (about $2,102)	140
Valmiera	built before 2000	€1,061 (about $1,206)	104
Jelgava	built before 2000	€885 (about $1,006)	214
Liepāja	built before 2000	€732 (about $832)	197
Higher-value towns of Kurzeme, Kuldīga among them	built before 2000	€627 (about $713)	148
Higher-value towns of Vidzeme, Cēsis among them	built before 2000	€604 (about $687)	142
Ventspils	built before 2000	€593 (about $674)	117
Daugavpils	built before 2000	€479 (about $544)	239

Sources: State Land Service method page and datasets on the Latvian open data portal^{93,37,89,90,91,92}. Sigulda, Cēsis and Kuldīga have no medians of their own: the figures are for the State Land Service’s groups of towns that include them, so treat them as rough guides. Jūrmala’s 39 sales of newer apartments are a small sample. By our arithmetic, a 60 m² apartment at the median for older buildings in Riga’s residential districts comes to 60 × €996 = €59,760, about $67,929, and its 1.5% registration fee to €896.40.

Short-term rentals

Since July 10, 2026, the Tourism Law defines tourist accommodation to include any publicly bookable group of residential premises where overnight stays are provided, and hosts must make foreign guests fill in and sign a declaration form and show a valid travel document; breaches can be fined up to 86 fine units for an individual. We found no national license for short-term rentals¹⁶. The EU regulation on short-term rental data, (EU) 2024/1028, has applied since May 20, 2026⁹⁶; we could not confirm a Latvian registration procedure under it, or any municipal rules, so ask a Latvian adviser before you buy to let.

Our position on property. We take no developer or property commissions. We may receive a referral fee from some professional partners. It never changes what you pay, and we tell you when it applies.

Where to live

Ten Towns, Compared on Official Numbers

Latvia had 1,845,096 residents on January 1, 2026, and Riga 588,911⁹⁷. We compare ten towns below on population⁹⁷, apartment prices from the State Land Service⁹³, district heating tariffs⁹ and climate normals for 1991–2020 from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre^98,99. Our groupings are starting points for a scouting trip, not verdicts.

Riga and the Coast

Riga, with 588,911 people on January 1, 2026, is by far the largest city⁹⁷, and the U.S. Embassy is there¹⁰⁰. Older apartments sold at a median of €996 per m² in its residential districts and €1,803 in the center in the second half of 2025³⁷. Jūrmala, on the Gulf of Riga, grew to 52,926 people, one of three towns in our table that gained since 2021⁹⁷; its older apartments sold at €926 per m²³⁷.

Consider: Riga · Jūrmala

Small Towns of Vidzeme

Sigulda (14,784 people) and Cēsis (14,899) both grew between 2021 and 2026; Valmiera has 22,746⁹⁷. Valmiera’s older apartments sold at €1,061 per m²⁹¹. Inland Vidzeme is cooler than the coast, and Sigulda and Cēsis are wetter: Sigulda municipality’s normal is 803.2 mm of precipitation a year, the most in our table⁹⁹, and Sigulda has the highest heating tariff here, €109.17 per MWh⁹.

Consider: Sigulda · Cēsis · Valmiera

The Kurzeme Coast

Liepāja (66,746 people) and Ventspils (32,479) are on the Baltic Sea⁹⁷, with the mildest Januaries in Latvia: −0.9°C (30°F) and −0.5°C (31°F)¹⁰¹. Older apartments sold at €732 per m² in Liepāja and €593 in Ventspils⁹¹. Inland, Kuldīga has 9,855 people⁹⁷.

Consider: Liepāja · Ventspils · Kuldīga

Lower Prices

Daugavpils, the second-largest city with 77,486 people⁹⁷, had the lowest median in our table, €479 per m² for older apartments; Jelgava, with 54,408 people, €885⁹¹. Daugavpils has the coldest January in our station table, a mean of −4.1°C (25°F) at its station⁹⁸.

Consider: Daugavpils · Jelgava

Population on January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2026, the State Land Service’s median price per m² of apartments in buildings from before 2000 in the second half of 2025, and the regulated heating tariff per MWh from October 1, 2026. Checked October 8, 2026.
Town	Population, Jan 1, 2021	Population, Jan 1, 2026	Older apartments per m²	Heating per MWh
Riga	614,618	588,911	€996 / €1,803 (districts / center)	€80.96
Daugavpils	80,627	77,486	€479	€76.16
Liepāja	67,964	66,746	€732	Not in SPRK’s October list
Jelgava	55,336	54,408	€885	€76.46
Jūrmala	50,248	52,926	€926	€85.11
Ventspils	33,372	32,479	€593	€75.29
Valmiera (town)	22,971	22,746	€1,061	€85.67
Cēsis (town)	14,815	14,899	€604 (Vidzeme group)	€92.82
Sigulda (town)	14,396	14,784	€1,084 (Riga-area group)	€109.17
Kuldīga (town)	10,109	9,855	€627 (Kurzeme group)	€80.74
Latvia	1,893,223	1,845,096	—	€92.94 (average)

Sources: Central Statistical Bureau, table IRS031⁹⁷; State Land Service^91,37,90,92; Public Utilities Commission⁹. Valmiera, Cēsis, Sigulda and Kuldīga are the towns, not the wider municipalities. The Cēsis, Sigulda and Kuldīga prices are group medians.

Climate normals 1991–2020 at weather stations of the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre: January, July and year means and precipitation. Checked October 8, 2026.
Station	January mean	July mean	Year mean	Precipitation a year
Rīga	−2.1°C (28°F)	19.3°C (67°F)	8.0°C (46°F)	674.8 mm (27 in)
Liepāja	−0.9°C (30°F)	17.9°C (64°F)	7.9°C (46°F)	693.0 mm (27 in)
Ventspils	−0.5°C (31°F)	17.8°C (64°F)	7.8°C (46°F)	692.9 mm (27 in)
Jelgava	−2.7°C (27°F)	17.9°C (64°F)	7.1°C (45°F)	Not in the precipitation table
Priekulļi, next to Cēsis	−3.7°C (25°F)	17.7°C (64°F)	6.5°C (44°F)	726.3 mm (29 in)
Daugavpils	−4.1°C (25°F)	18.1°C (65°F)	6.6°C (44°F)	635.4 mm (25 in)

Municipal climate normals 1991–2020, averaged over each municipality rather than measured at one station. Checked October 8, 2026.
Municipality	Year mean	Precipitation a year
Riga city	7.8°C (46°F)	692.1 mm (27 in)
Jūrmala city	7.6°C (46°F)	672.6 mm (26 in)
Liepāja city	7.9°C (46°F)	696.4 mm (27 in)
Ventspils city	7.7°C (46°F)	701.0 mm (28 in)
Jelgava city	7.2°C (45°F)	651.1 mm (26 in)
Kuldīga municipality	7.2°C (45°F)	716.4 mm (28 in)
Sigulda municipality	6.8°C (44°F)	803.2 mm (32 in)
Valmiera municipality	6.5°C (44°F)	685.8 mm (27 in)
Cēsis municipality	6.2°C (43°F)	765.2 mm (30 in)
Daugavpils city	6.5°C (44°F)	645.2 mm (25 in)

Sources: Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre^{98,99,101,102}. Nationally, the 1991–2020 normal is a year mean of 6.8°C, with February the coldest month at −3.1°C (26°F), July the warmest at 17.8°C (64°F), and 685.6 mm of precipitation; the records are 37.8°C at Ventspils on August 4, 2014 and −43.2°C at Daugavpils on February 8, 1956⁹⁸. In July, Riga is the warmest station, at 19.3°C (67°F)¹⁰². Riga’s station (8.0°C) and the city average (7.8°C) differ because one is a single point and the other an average. Fahrenheit and inch conversions are our arithmetic. Compare Latvia with other destinations.

Practical matters

Paperwork: Registration, Banks, Driving, Pets and Schools

Your personal code and tax number

A foreigner who applies for or receives a residence permit, or has a legal link with Latvia through property, business, health, taxes, benefits or education, is entered in the Natural Persons Register and automatically given an 11-digit personal code that starts with 3⁴⁸. Your taxpayer number is the same as your personal code; someone without a personal code gets an 11-character taxpayer code from the State Revenue Service⁴⁹.

Declaring your place of residence

A residence-permit holder must declare a place of residence within one month of starting to live there, and can do so online. The address given in your permit application counts as your declared residence from the day the permit is issued⁵⁰. It matters for health care: the National Health Service will not register you with a family doctor while your declared residence is abroad⁵².

A bank account

Anyone with the right to reside in Latvia counts as an EU resident for the right to a basic payment account, even without a declared address. The bank must open the account, or refuse, within 10 business days; it can refuse only on money-laundering or sanctions grounds or for false information, and may also refuse if you already have a payment account in Latvia. Its fees may not exceed its standard fees, nor the market average by more than 25% unless costs justify it⁵¹. Expect questions about your U.S. tax status and the source of your money; we did not research banks’ own checks.

Driving on a U.S. license

You may drive in Latvia on a license that shows the vehicle categories of the 1968 Vienna Convention; a license that does not show them allows you to drive cars (category B) only. A license not in Latin script needs a notarized Latvian translation⁵³.

Exchange: a driver arriving from abroad who stays in Latvia more than one year must exchange a license issued outside the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom⁵³.
Test: a license from a country without an exchange agreement, such as the United States, is exchanged after a car driving test, with no theory test; if the license expired three or more years ago, both tests are needed³⁰. We found no Latvia–U.S. exchange agreement in the regulation; ask the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) whether one applies.

Pets

New EU rules for pets have applied since April 22, 2026, and the United States is on the list in Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636, so a dog, cat or ferret coming directly from the United States needs no rabies antibody (titer) test^20,21. The regulation sets further conditions; read them with your veterinarian²⁰.

Documents: a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination, the original animal health certificate issued by the authority of the country of departure, and your signed declaration that the move is non-commercial¹⁰³.
Checks: customs checks the documents and the animal at a pet entry point¹⁰³. On a list dated 2011, the airport entry points are Riga, Liepāja, Ventspils, Daugavpils and Tukums¹⁰⁴; confirm with the Food and Veterinary Service before you book.

We found no official figure for fees at the point of entry; ask customs and your airline before you book.

Shipping your household

EU law lets you bring personal property in free of duty if you enter it within 12 months of establishing your normal residence; you may not lend, pledge, rent out or sell it for 12 months without telling customs¹⁰⁵. The State Revenue Service’s customs guidance asks that you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months without a break and used the goods there for at least six months. You file an import declaration in the EMDAS system under procedure code 4000, with the personal-property declaration form (document code 2004), a list of goods, which may be summarized, and proof of your residence abroad, of the six months of use and of your residence in Latvia, such as a residence permit valid for at least 12 months, a lease or a purchase deed¹⁰⁶.

Schools

Preparation for school is compulsory from age 5, followed by basic education, which is compulsory until it is completed or until age 18³⁹. State and municipal schools teach in Latvian, and private schools also teach general education in Latvian at basic and secondary level; the exceptions include schools under international agreements and teaching to support other official EU languages³⁹. Whether a given English-language international school falls under an exception is a question to put to the school.

Your U.S. services, and emergencies

The U.S. Embassy in Riga is at 1 Samnera Velsa St., Riga LV-1510; phone +371 6710 7050. For emergencies involving U.S. citizens, call +371 6710 7000, or +371 2920 5708 outside office hours¹⁰⁰.
The Embassy’s services include passports and emergency financial assistance; the State Department charges a $30 fee to set up a funds transfer¹⁰⁷. Notarial services are by appointment, at $50 for each seal¹⁰⁸.
In an emergency, call 112; for an ambulance, 113^66,65.

Entry rules

Before the Permit: Visiting Under EES and ETIAS

Latvia has been an EU member since May 1, 2004, in the Schengen area since December 21, 2007, and in the euro area since January 1, 2014². As an American you can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area⁴⁰, and under the bilateral visa-waiver agreement you can extend your stay in Latvia, and only in Latvia, by up to another 90 days without leaving, provided you do no paid work; you must then stay outside the Schengen area for at least 90 days before you come back, and be able to prove it if your passport does not show it³³. The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) started progressively on October 12, 2025; since April 10, 2026, when it became fully operational, it has recorded your entries and exits instead of passport stamps²⁸; once you hold a residence permit or long-stay visa you are not registered in it¹⁰⁹.

As of October 8, 2026, ETIAS, the EU travel authorization for visa-free visitors, is not yet in operation; the EU says it will announce the start date several months ahead¹¹⁰. When it starts it will cost €20, with travelers under 18 and over 70 exempt from the fee, and an authorization will last three years or until your passport expires^111,112. Residence permit and long-stay visa holders will not need it¹¹². The Schengen, EES and ETIAS section of our FAQ explains the 90/180 count.

Timeline

A Realistic Twelve Months

Built backwards from the rules above, for a remote-work visa or a residence permit. The law gives PMLP 30 days for a permit, extendable to four months, and 15 to 60 days for a visa⁴; the plan allows the longer figures. Your own dates depend on your route and on how quickly your documents come together.

Months 12–9

Decide and test

Choose the route and run the salary or income check. For remote work, make sure you will have six months with your employer, or, if self-employed, six months of income at the required level, by the time you apply. Book a session with a cross-border tax adviser about your pensions, your 401(k) and IRA, and U.S. self-employment tax, since there is no totalization agreement. Plan a scouting trip within your 90 visa-free days.

Months 9–6

Build the file

Gather the documents PMLP lists for your route, in Latvian or English; order the statements of means and address last, so that they are no more than three months old when you file. Line up health insurance of at least €42,600. Start pet preparations: microchip first, then the rabies vaccination. List the household goods you have used for at least six months.

Months 6–3

Prepare to apply

File the long-stay visa at the 3-month mark, no earlier than three months before your planned entry, at a VF Services center or to PMLP (by mail or electronically), and allow up to 60 days for it. Or plan to apply for the permit at PMLP after you arrive: it is decided within 30 days, extendable to four months, and once PMLP has accepted your documents you may stay until the decision.

Months 3–1

Prepare the move

Look for a first apartment and read the lease: deposits are capped at two months’ rent, and a lease binds a new owner only if it is entered in the Land Register. Book the pet’s health certificate.

Arrival

Register

Declare your place of residence within a month, collect your personal code, open a basic bank account, and register with a family doctor if you are entitled to state care.

By month 12

Settle in

Declare your household goods to customs within 12 months of establishing residence. Exchange your driver’s license if you are staying over a year. Put the Latvian return (March 1 to June 1), the U.S. return (June 15 for Americans abroad) and the FBAR on the calendar, and start counting years toward permanent residence on a permit, not a visa.

Questions

What Americans Ask Us About Latvia

Does Latvia have a retirement visa?

It has a pension-age route. A citizen of a visa-free country, such as the United States, who has reached the pension age of 65 and has enough means can get a temporary residence permit of up to 2 years, renewable, with no sponsor^4,34. PMLP’s income figure is €1,231 a month from April 1, 2026, about $1,399, and the regulation asks for documents on the amount of your pension; that it applies to the 2026 law’s route is our reading^5,42.

Can I live in Latvia and work remotely for my U.S. employer?

Yes, on the remote-work visa, if your employer is registered in another OECD country and you earn at least €4,538 a month in 2026, about $5,158, after at least 6 months with the employer; a self-employed applicant shows 6 months of income at that level^4,3,41. It lasts up to a year, plus one more, and does not count toward permanent residence; you may not work for Latvian employers on it^4,3.

Can I get residence by buying property in Latvia?

Not as a new applicant. The €250,000 real-estate route is absent from the Immigration Law in force since September 15, 2026; temporary residence permit applications filed before then are decided under the old law^4,12. The €150,000 state fund route exists in law, but PMLP said on September 15, 2026 that the state fund had not been established, so the provision could not yet be used³⁸, and a bill to delete it was referred to committee on September 10, 2026; it was pending as of October 8, 2026¹³.

Can I get a residence permit as a freelancer?

Not since September 15, 2026: the 2026 law has no counterpart to the old routes for sole proprietors and self-employed people, by our reading of its list of grounds^4,12. A remote-work visa is open to self-employed people registered in another OECD country⁴.

How much do I need to earn for an EU Blue Card in Latvia?

In 2026, €2,723 a month, about $3,095, or €2,178 in a shortage occupation: 1.5 and 1.2 times the 2025 average wage of €1,815^5,42,19. The Blue Card is issued for 2 years⁴.

Will Latvia tax my U.S. Social Security?

No. Under article 18(2) of the U.S.–Latvia treaty, U.S. Social Security paid to a Latvian resident is taxable only in the United States⁶. By our reading of the income tax law, an untaxed foreign pension reduces Latvia’s €12,000 pensioner allowance by its amount; we found no tax office guidance on U.S. benefits²⁶.

Is there a U.S.–Latvia Social Security agreement?

No. Latvia is not on the Social Security Administration’s list of countries with a totalization agreement⁷. Without one, you can owe contributions in both countries on the same work, and periods of coverage in the two countries cannot be added together for a pension.

Do I get public health care when I move?

Not automatically. Employees and self-employed people who pay social contributions are covered^17,52. By our reading of the law, a U.S. citizen on a temporary permit who does not work in Latvia, such as a retiree or a remote worker paid from abroad, is not covered by state-funded care and pays privately or through insurance¹⁷. The exception, until the Health Care Financing Law is amended and no later than August 1, 2027, is a permit on the Latvian or Liv ancestry route, or as the minor child of a citizen or permanent resident⁴.

Can Americans buy property in Latvia?

Apartments and buildings, yes: we found no restriction in the laws we read. Land is different: a U.S. citizen needs the consent of the city or municipal council chair to buy land in a town, and cannot buy certain land, such as in border and coastal dune zones⁹⁴. Registering a purchase costs 1.5% of the value for an individual, capped at €50,000⁸⁶.

Can I drive on my U.S. license?

Yes, for up to a year. If you stay longer, you must exchange it; a U.S. license is exchanged after a car driving test, without a theory test, unless it expired three or more years ago^53,30.

How long until I can become a Latvian citizen, and can I keep my U.S. passport?

About 10 years, by our arithmetic: 5 years on temporary permits to reach permanent residence, then 5 years counted from the day you receive it^4,8. A U.S. citizen, as a citizen of a NATO country, may keep U.S. citizenship⁸.

Do I need ETIAS to visit Latvia?

Not as of October 8, 2026: ETIAS is not yet in operation, and the EU says it will announce the start date several months ahead¹¹⁰. The Entry/Exit System has recorded entries and exits instead of passport stamps since April 10, 2026²⁸.

Sources

Every Figure on This Page, and Where It Comes From

We use official sources only: Latvian laws and Cabinet regulations on likumi.lv, the legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis, and the official gazette; the Saeima and the President of Latvia; the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) and the Embassy of Latvia in the United States; the State Revenue Service; the Central Statistical Bureau, the State Land Service and its data on the Latvian open data portal, the Public Utilities Commission and the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre; the National Health Service, the Emergency Medical Service, the State Fire and Rescue Service and the Food and Veterinary Service; the City of Riga; the EU, Eurostat and the European Central Bank; and U.S. federal agencies and the U.S. Embassy in Riga. Latvian-language titles are given in English. The consolidated texts on likumi.lv are for information; in a conflict, the official publication prevails. Each source was read on the date shown; where a page carries its own date, the title says so. Where official texts disagree, we say what each one says and which we follow. If you spot something that has changed, email [email protected].

Euro foreign exchange reference rates (USD, September 24, 2026). European Central Bank. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Latvia: EU member since 2004, euro since 2014, Schengen since 2007 (EU country profile). European Union. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Receiving a long-term visa for remote work (page published June 15, 2026). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Immigration Law, in force from September 15, 2026 (consolidated version of September 15, 2026). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Necessary subsistence (amounts from April 1, 2026; page updated March 16, 2026). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Tax convention with Latvia, signed at Washington on January 15, 1998 (general effective date January 1, 2000). Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
U.S. international social security agreements: dates in force. Social Security Administration. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Citizenship Law (version in force since April 1, 2023). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Heat tariff changes approved for 44 companies in October (news of September 30, 2026). Public Utilities Commission of Latvia (SPRK). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Amendments to the Micro-enterprise Tax Law of September 17, 2026 (Latvijas Vēstnesis 2026/189.11). Latvijas Vēstnesis, the official gazette of Latvia. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Letter No. 228 of June 19, 2026 returning the Immigration Law to the Saeima (PDF). President of Latvia. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Immigration Law of October 31, 2002 (last version, May 20 to September 14, 2026). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Bill No. 1521/Lp14, amendment to the Immigration Law deleting article 27(1)(36) (bill register). Saeima of the Republic of Latvia. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
The Riga single ticket is available in all five train zones (news of August 26, 2026). Riga City Council. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
The 12% VAT rate on bread, milk, poultry meat and eggs from July 1, 2026 (PDF of June 25, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Tourism Law (version of July 10 to December 31, 2026). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Health Care Financing Law. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Immigration Law of October 31, 2002 (version of May 1, 2026, article 23(1)(31), the state securities route). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Changes in earnings in the fourth quarter of 2025 and in 2025 (press release of March 3, 2026). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131: non-commercial movement of pet animals. EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636: Annex II list of countries (United States of America). EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 656: the minimum monthly wage of EUR 780 from January 1, 2026. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
National minimum monthly wage (table DSM010). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
No minimum social contributions for the self-employed from January 1, 2026 (PDF of May 5, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on State Social Insurance (contribution rates and the EUR 105,300 ceiling). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Personal Income Tax (version of January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Personal income tax changes from 2026, including the 6% rate on dividends (PDF of December 18, 2025). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Entry/Exit System (EES). European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Law on Personal Income Tax (version of July 1 to December 10, 2024). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 103 on driving licenses, paragraphs 28 and 29 (as reworded by Regulation No. 708 of November 12, 2024). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Land Privatization in Rural Areas (as amended in force from July 18, 2024). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 591 on health insurance for foreigners (expires December 2, 2027). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Information for U.S. citizens (page updated May 27, 2026). Embassy of Latvia in the United States. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on State Pensions, article 11 (pension age). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Treasury Department Technical Explanation of the U.S.–Latvia tax convention. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Patient co-payments (page updated June 20, 2025). National Health Service of Latvia (NVD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Median apartment prices, Riga and Jūrmala, pre-2000 buildings, second half of 2025. State Land Service of Latvia (VZD), on the Latvian open data portal. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
New Immigration Law takes effect: key changes and regulations (news of September 15, 2026). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 9, 2026.
Education Law, articles 3, 4 and 9. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Regulation (EU) 2018/1806: visa exemption for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period (Annex II: United States). EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked October 4, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 676 on visas (expires December 2, 2027). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 225 on the necessary financial means of foreigners. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 731 on the state fee for visas and residence permits (expires December 2, 2027). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Applying for a long-stay (D) visa (page published February 26, 2026). Embassy of Latvia in the United States. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Naturalization (page updated October 17, 2025). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Obtaining a long-stay visa for remote work (page updated February 11, 2026). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Getting a long-term visa for remote work (page published July 11, 2022). Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia (PMLP). Official page. Checked October 9, 2026.
Natural Persons Register Law. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation on the registration of taxpayers with the State Revenue Service. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Declaration of Residence Law. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money, chapter XIII.1 (basic payment account). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Register of health care service recipients (page updated April 15, 2025). National Health Service of Latvia (NVD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Road Traffic Law, article 47. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Changes in consumer prices in August 2026 (press release of September 8, 2026; the address shows each new monthly release). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Consumer price changes by ECOICOP group (table PCI021m, updated September 8, 2026). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Housing maintenance expenditure per household (table MAI010). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Changes in earnings in the second quarter of 2026 (press release of September 2, 2026). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Electricity price (page of January 15, 2026). Public Utilities Commission of Latvia (SPRK). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Natural gas price. Public Utilities Commission of Latvia (SPRK). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Electricity prices for household consumers, 2,500 to 4,999 kWh, all taxes (dataset nrg_pc_204, query for Latvia and the EU). Eurostat. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Gas prices for household consumers, 20 to 199 GJ, all taxes (dataset nrg_pc_202, query for Latvia and the EU; updated October 7, 2026). Eurostat. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Riga public transport to reduce the monthly ticket price (news of November 11, 2022). Riga City Council. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Waiting lists for state-funded services (data as of September 1, 2026). National Health Service of Latvia (NVD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Where to get medical help (page updated August 12, 2026). National Health Service of Latvia (NVD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Emergency Medical Service: call 113. Emergency Medical Service of Latvia (NMPD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
112, the single emergency number. State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia (VUGD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Travel outside the U.S. Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Medicare coverage outside the United States (Product 11037, April 2026). Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Avoid late enrollment penalties. Medicare.gov. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Latvia: tax treaty documents. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Taxes and Fees, article 14 (tax residence). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Solidarity tax rates (page updated July 11, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Solidarity tax (page updated July 11, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Micro-enterprise Tax Law. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Taxes on copyright royalties in 2026, including self-employed contributions (PDF updated May 28, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Publication 54: Tax guide for U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Self-employment tax for businesses abroad. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (IR-2025-103, October 9, 2025). Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Foreign earned income exclusion: what is foreign earned income. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Foreign tax credit. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). FinCEN, U.S. Treasury. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements. Internal Revenue Service. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Residential Tenancy Law (in force since May 1, 2021). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Cabinet Regulation No. 1250 on the state fee for registration in the Land Register. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Land Register Law, article 107 (chancery fees). Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Real Estate Tax. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Median apartment prices, Riga and Jūrmala, buildings from 2000 on, second half of 2025. State Land Service of Latvia (VZD), on the Latvian open data portal. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Median apartment prices, towns in Riga’s area of influence, second half of 2025. State Land Service of Latvia (VZD), on the Latvian open data portal. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Median apartment prices, state cities, pre-2000 buildings, second half of 2025 (dataset updated May 26, 2026). State Land Service of Latvia (VZD), on the Latvian open data portal. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Median apartment prices, higher-value towns by region, second half of 2025. State Land Service of Latvia (VZD), on the Latvian open data portal. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Average transaction prices of apartments (method and town groups). State Land Service of Latvia (VZD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Law on Land Reform in the Cities of the Republic of Latvia, articles 20 to 22. Likumi.lv, the official legal acts portal of the official publisher Latvijas Vēstnesis. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Changes in house prices in the second quarter of 2026 (press release of September 14, 2026; the address shows each new quarterly release). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services. EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked October 7, 2026.
Population at the beginning of the year by city and municipality (table IRS031, updated June 2, 2026). Official Statistics Portal of Latvia (Central Statistical Bureau, CSP). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Climate of Latvia: 1991–2020 normals and station tables. Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Municipal climate profiles, 1991–2020 normals. Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Contact us. U.S. Embassy in Riga. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Climate of January. Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Climate of July. Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Traveling with an animal: answers (page updated August 13, 2026). Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia (PVD). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Latvia: travelers’ points of entry for pets (letter of August 22, 2011). European Commission, Food Safety. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Council Regulation (EC) 1186/2009: relief from customs duty (personal property). EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Importing personal property when moving to Latvia (PDF of January 6, 2026). State Revenue Service of Latvia (VID). Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
U.S. citizen services. U.S. Embassy in Riga. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Notarials. U.S. Embassy in Riga. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Entry/Exit System fully operational from 10 April 2026: who is exempt. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
ETIAS, the EU travel authorization for visa-free visitors. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs. Official page. Checked October 8, 2026.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1411: ETIAS fee of €20. EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.
Regulation (EU) 2018/1240 establishing ETIAS. EUR-Lex. Official page. Checked September 25, 2026.

General information, not advice. Quantum Jetset does not give legal, tax, immigration, financial or investment advice. Rules and costs change; check the official sources above and speak to a qualified professional before you act. Items marked pending were pending as of October 8, 2026.

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