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Doing Business Guide in the Baltics.

Immigration and residency in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia 2012

14 November 2012

IMMIGRATION AND RESIDENCY IN LATVIA

European Union citizens

EU citizens have the right to stay in Latvia on the basis of a valid travel document for the period of up to 3 months within half a year counting from the first day of entrance. If the person wishes to stay in Latvia longer, the temporary residence permit shall be applied.

An EU citizen who has resided in Latvia permanently for 5 years on the basis of temporary residence can obtain the right of permanent residence.

Temporary residence permit

In order to obtain the right of temporary residence permit the following documents will be required:

the copy of the person passport;
person marriage dates, info on spouse, parents, children, brother, sister, languages knowledge’s, education, serving in military services, residence in foreigner countries indicated in official Application form;
information on the person possible place of residence in Latvia;
document confirming person staying in Latvia (for example, labor agreement - for employee)

The person must have income 200 LVL (approx. 283 EUR) per month.

State fees:

Per registration of the address 3 LVL (4,21 EUR)

Documents must be submitted personally in Latvia, in Immigration department.

Non European Union citizens

The most common are following temporary residence permit forms:

1) If investors purchase and own one or several real estate and transaction value in Riga, Riga planning region and republic cities is at least 100’000 LVL (approx. 142’858 EUR) but in regions – 50’000 LVL (approx. 71’430 EUR). The cadastral value of the property in Riga, Jūrmala, Riga planning region and republic cities will have to be 30 000 LVL (approx. 41970 EUR), in other regions 10 000 LVL (approx. 13990 EUR) or equal to the market price (in this case evaluation of professional valuation specialists will be required). The real estate shall be inquired only form the legal persons registered in Latvia, Latvian citizens, noncitizens, EU citizen, or person with the residence permit of Latvia. The transactions have to be done with clearing and no debt is allowed with regard to real estate tax. The property might be bought by you as individual. In this case you must have income 600 LVL (approx. 848 EUR) per month and place of residence in Latvia. The residence permit will be issued per 5 years and once per year you might register in Immigration department.

2) If a person (individual) invests at least 100’000 LVL (approx. 139’900 EUR) or 25’000 LVL (approx. 35’714 EUR) in the share capital and a company.

If 25’000 LVL (approx. 35’714 EUR) are invested, the company shall pay in taxes at least 20’000 LVL (approx. 28’571 EUR) within a financial year, has maximum 50 employees and annual turnover cannot exceed 7 000’000 LVL (approx. 9 800’000 EUR).

In this case you must have income 600 LVL (approx. 848 EUR) per month and place of residence in Latvia. The residence permit will be issued per 5 years and once per year you might register in Immigration department.

3) If a person (individual) invests at least 200’000 LVL (approx. 285’714 EUR) in a credit institution for (at least) 5 years term (without rights to discontinue this investment earlier).

In this case you must have income 200 LVL (approx. 283 EUR) per month and place of residence in Latvia. The residence permit will be issued per 5 years and once per year you might register in Immigration department

4) a person registered in the Latvian Commercial Register as the Board or the Council, managing or a person authorized to represent a corporate entity (a foreign corporate entity) in activities related to the branch office in Latvia;

The company must be registered per 1 year, has to pay in taxes min. 15 000 LVL (approx. 22 000 EUR) per year.

In this case you must have income 928 LVL (approx. 1282 EUR) per month and place of residence in Latvia. The residence permit will be issued per 5 years and once per year you might register in Immigration department

5) a representative of a foreign corporate entity.

The representative office must prove their business activity by presenting of concluded agreements.

In this case you must have income 200 LVL (approx. 283 EUR) per month and place of residence in Latvia. The residence permit will be issued per 4 years and once per year you might register in Immigration department

6) The person is an employee in the Latvian or foreign company.

In this case you must have salary 464 LVL (approx. 661 EUR) per month and place of residence. The residence permit will be issued per the term of the Employment agreement. Receiving of the work permit and announcement of the vacancy (1 month before receiving of the work permit) is required before receiving of the residence permit.

The residence permit will be issued within 30 days (or within 80 days if you will buy immovable property, invest in share capital of company or in banc account) if the state fee 70 LVL (appox. 98 EUR) is paid, 10 days – 170 LVL (approx. 237 EUR) , 5 days – 220 LVL is paid (aprox.307 EUR).

Person spouse and minor children, as well as dependants can receive the residence permit on the ground of your received residence permit. Person spouse income per months must be 200 LVL (approx. 283 EUR), a child– 120 LVL (approx. 170 EUR).

In order to obtain the right of temporary residence permit the following documents will be required:

the copy of the person passport and information on person address abroad;
person marriage dates, info on spouse, parents, children, brother, sister, languages knowledge’s, education, serving in military services, residence in foreigner countries indicated in official Application form;
information on the person possible place of residence in Latvia;
document confirming person staying in Latvia (for example, labor agreement -for employee);
a statement on punish ability issued by a competent institution of the citizenship or the host country (for a foreigner more than 14 years old), if a foreigner has resided in that country longer than 12 months;
health insurance policy.

First time to apply for a residence permit, a foreigner must submit documents personally to a diplomatic or consular representative office of Latvia abroad, outside Schengen and EU countries.

Schengen visas

The Latvian Embassy or a Consulate of the Republic of Latvia takes a decision of the issue of a visa within 7 days of the receipt of necessary documents. If additional information is required, the process may take up to 30 days.

Documents required for applying for Schengen visa for travel to Latvia:

A valid passport or other travel document (containing at least two blank pages and with a term of validity exceeding the expiry date of the visa requested by a minimum of three months);
A completed and signed official application form;
1 passport-size recent color photo (35x45mm);
Travel medical insurance policy valid in all Schengen countries and covering the entire period of the visit in the Schengen area (the minimum amount of the insurance is 30 000 EUR);
Payment or confirmation of the payment of visa application fee. Short-term visa costs 60 EUR.

Supporting documents justifying the purpose and conditions of the visit (the necessity to submit any of the below is defined by the consular officers):

purpose of entry or visitation (such as an invitation number approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs);
means of transport for arriving and leaving Latvia (such as round-trip tickets or a reservation for tickets);
means of subsistence to stay in Latvia and other Schengen countries, and means to return to state of residence (such as records of bank account transactions in the past months or tax returns); (The following amounts are required: if the party extending the invitation provides the foreign national being invited with accommodation, the estimate for the required financial means is 10 LVL (aprox.14 EUR) a day; if the foreign national intends to stay at a tourist accommodation, the estimate for the required financial means takes into account the cost of lodging based on the applicable rates, and is at least 30 LVL a day (aprox.42 EUR)).
place of residence in Latvia (such as a hotel reservation or an invitation approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, if staying with the inviting party);
proof that you will return to your state of residence (such as a letter from the employer or an educational institution).

If there is the Schengen visa issued to the employee of the Latvian or foreign company, receiving of the work permit and announcement of the vacancy (1 month before receiving of the Schengen visa) is required before receiving of the visa.

In this case you must have salary 445 LVL (approx. 623 EUR) per month.

A multiple-entry visa may be issued to a foreign national if the applicant proves the need to travel frequently and/or regularly and justifies such need, in particular due to his occupational or family status, and if the foreign national has used any previous visas lawfully, as well as proves his integrity and reliability, his economic situation in the country of origin and his genuine intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa applied for.

IMMIGRATION AND RESIDENCY IN LITHUANIA

Any European Union citizen is free to stay in the Republic of Lithuania for a period up to 3 months within half a year. If the person wishes to stay in the Republic of Lithuania longer, he or she should declare his place of residence in Lithuania. It should be noted that European Union's citizen has a right to bring their family members to Lithuania who, if coming for more than 3 months in the period of one year, have to receive a residence permit.

Residency and Work Permits in Lithuania

Non European Union citizens, willing to engage in certain activities in Lithuania like studies or work must apply for and receive a temporary residence permit. If a temporary residence permit on studies is issued, non-European citizen enjoys the right of possible part-time work (which according to the Labor Code is not more than 20 hours per week). Depending on the staying in Lithuania reasons, the temporary residence permit may be issued for a period not longer than 5 years through the local migration office.

Regarding the work permit, Lithuanian registered enterprise may employ a foreigner if he has a valid work permit issued by the Lithuanian Labor Exchange. However for citizens of the EU they are not required as well as for foreigners holding a permit for permanent residence, foreigners who retained their right to the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, foreigners of the Lithuanian origin and foreigners who married in Lithuania.

The issue of having a temporary residence permit may grant a right to have the work permit. The work permit is not required for persons who work as a head of the company registered in Lithuania.

Employment of non-Lithuanian Residents

There is a certain procedure which shall be applied in the cases of employing a foreigner. One month prior employment a Lithuanian registered enterprise must register free working place at the local labor exchange and apply for the issue of a work permit. In the cases when the established company in the republic of Lithuania is under bankruptcy the right to apply for the work permit is not possible. The procedure goes as follows: labor exchange passes a positive decision and its conclusion is submitted to the Lithuanian Labor Exchange, which passes a final decision and issues a work permit to the foreigner. The application, depending on qualification of the future foreign employee may take from one to two months. If the application is approved, work permit for a foreign employee will be valid for 2 years.

Schengen Visas

In 2007, the Council of Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs of the European Union (EU) adopted the decision on the accession of nine new states — Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia — to the Schengen area. From December 21, 2007 these nine states abolished checks on persons at internal land borders and from March 30, 2008 - checks on persons at air borders within the Schengen area.

Visas are issued at diplomatic missions or consular offices of the Republic of Lithuania abroad.

In order to get a visa an alien must submit:

a valid travel document;
an established form of application for Shengen Visa;
one photo of 35x45 mm, corresponding to the age of an alien;
the receipt of the paid consular fee which is 60 EUR;
a valid document certifying his/her health insurance;

In order to get a short-stay visa an invitation letter of a natural or legal person of the Republic of Lithuania for temporary arrival to the Republic of Lithuania contrived by a migration office of the police commissariat must be submitted.

An alien possessing a short-stay visa may enter and stay within the Schengen area for the time period established in the visa but no longer than three months in any six-month period from the first day of entry.

Residence Permits costs and Requirements in Lithuania

When issuing an alien a residence permit for the first time, the alien will usually be issued a temporary residence permit.

A temporary residence permit for one year may be issued to an alien who intends to engage in lawful activities in Lithuania, provided that the alien:

registers an enterprise, agency or organization in Lithuania with 3000 EUR share capital and is a director of this enterprise;
registers an enterprise, agency or organization in Lithuania as the owner or co-owner who owns at least 15000 EUR of the statutory capital and his stay in Lithuania is necessary seeking to attain the aims of the enterprise, agency, organization and carrying out other activities;
is the head or the authorized representative of the enterprise, agency or organization registered in the Republic of Lithuania, if the principal goal of his entry is work at the enterprise, agency or organization.

The person shall have at least 250 EUR per month (3000 EUR per year) of income and a place of residence in Lithuania (registered rent agreement or written consent of the owner is required).

State fee for document administration is 300LTL (87EUR) and 100 LTL (30 EUR) for formalizing a temporary residence permit; 60 EUR for the issuance of visa.

General Procedure

Grounds for temporary residence permit are set;

An alien who applies for the first time for the issue of a residence permit shall lodge an application for the issue of a residence permit with the diplomatic mission or consular post of Lithuania abroad. Within not more than 6 months from the day of application, the decision on temporary residence permit will be issued. The decision to grant the temporary residence permit is terminated if it is not used within the period of 3 months;

The following documents have to be submitted in order to apply for the temporary residence permit: (i) Official Application form, which will be provided in the consular post of Lithuania abroad; (ii) valid travel document, which validity shall be not less than 3 months until the validity of the temporary residence permit expires and its copy; (iii) documents, proving the grounds for the temporary residence permits; (iv) document, proving that the alien can sustain himself in Lithuania; (v) document proving that the alien has living premises in Lithuania belonging to him or on the basis of the lease agreement; (vi) health insurance document (shall be presented after the decision is issued on granting the temporary residence permit); (vii) document, proving that the state fee is paid State fee for document administration is 300LTL (87EUR) and 60 EUR for the issuance of visa.

Family members entering into Lithuania to join the alien who has been issued a temporary residence permit on the particular grounds may be issued a temporary residence permit for the same period as the alien. However our current laws set the further requirements for the alien whose family members wish to reside in Lithuania on the grounds of family reunion. The requirements are the following: to live in Lithuania for not less than 2 years, has a valid permit to live in Lithuania for one more year and have grounds for acquiring permanent residence permit. If these requirements are met, family members have to present same documents as the alien and additionally submit documents proving their relationship status with an alien (marriage, partnership agreement) or that they are alien's children under 18 years old.

The Schengen Area

Today the Schengen area is composed of 25 states:

- 22 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden;

- 3 non-EU states: Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. From December 12, 2008 Switzerland abolished checks on persons at internal land borders within the Schengen area and from March 29, 2009 will abolish check on persons at air borders within the Schengen area.

Citizens of the 25 states that belong to the Schengen area have equal rights to travel without visas and border control.

The EU Member States Ireland, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Romania do not belong to the Schengen group. The United Kingdom and Ireland still keep control on borders with other EU states (but they are committed to provide police and legal cooperation in criminal cases).

The Schengen group requires only one visa. This means that a person wishing to travel anywhere in the Schengen area needs to get only one visa.

Free-Visa Travelling

Citizens from the following countries may enter Lithuania without visa:

Albania (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Andorra; Argentina; Armenia (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Bosnia and Herzegovina (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Canada; Chile; China (for holders of diplomatic and official passport only); Costa Rica; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Guatemala; Greece; Honduras; Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (for holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport only); Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (South); Latvia; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Macau Special Administrative Region (for holders of Macau Special Administrative Region passport only); Macedonia (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Malaysia; Malta; Morocco (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Mexico; Moldova (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Monaco; Montenegro (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Netherlands; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Panama; Paraguay; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russia (for holders of diplomatic passport only); San Marino; El Salvador; Serbia (for holders of diplomatic passport only); Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey (for holders of diplomatic, official and special passports only); Ukraine (for holders of diplomatic and official passport only); United Kingdom; United States; Uruguay; Vatican City (Holy See); Venezuela.

Under this regime, foreigners from these countries may stay in Lithuania without visa for up to 90 days within six month period, counting from the day of entry.

IMMIGRATION AND RESIDENCY IN ESTONIA

European Union citizens

EU citizens have the right to stay in Estonia on the basis of a valid travel document or identity card for the period of up to 3 months. If the person wishes to stay in Estonia longer, the temporary residence permit shall be applied.

The temporary residence is granted for a period of 5 years.

An EU citizen who has resided in Estonia permanently for 5 successive years on the basis of temporary residence shall obtain the right of permanent residence.

It should be noted that EU citizen has a right to bring their family members to Estonia to whom apples the same residence regulation than for EU citizen.

Temporary residence permit

In order to obtain the right of temporary residence an EU citizen must contact the local government authority nearest to his/her place of residence.

Upon the application for an identity card the following documents must be submitted to the Citizenship and Migration Bureau of the Prefecture:

a standard application form
an identity document of the applicant;
a colored photo sized 40x50 mm;
a document certifying the payment of the state fee 64 EUR.

Identity cards are issued within a period of one month from the date of submission of the application.

The right of temporary residence shall be extended automatically for a period of five years if the registered place of residence of the EU citizen is continually in Estonia and if the right of temporary residence of the EU citizen has not been expired or terminated. If the period of validity of an EU citizen's identity card has expired he/she has to apply for a new identity card.

Non European Union citizens

A temporary residence permit may be issued to aliens:

married to a person with permanent residence in Estonia;
for settling down with a close relative permanently residing in Estonia;
- for working;
- for studies at an Estonian educational institution;
- for business;
- whose permanent legal income ensures his/ her subsistence in Estonia;
- in case of substantial public interest;
- whose application for residence permit is based on an international agreement.

We describe here more detail 3 types of the residence permits: 1) for employment; 2) for business and 3) with legal income (permit is issued for 2 years maximum).

1) Residence permit for employment

An alien is required to have a residence permit for employment or a work permit for activity in Estonia on the basis of an employment contract or other contract, and for other activities for the benefit of other persons where obtaining gain or any other proprietary benefit can be presumed, regardless of the type or form of the contract on which such activity is based, and the location of the seat or residence of the other party.

Non-EU citizen may apply for a residence permit for employment if an open competition has been carried out to staff and citizen has qualifications, education, health, work experience, special skills and knowledge required for the job. The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund has to give its consent before non-EU citizen can be employed. The consent is valid for 2 months from the moment of its issue. A residence permit is issued only if the wages of an alien ensure his/her subsistence in Estonia. An employer must pay an alien a salary which is at least equal to the product of the recent average yearly wages in Estonia published by the Statistical Office of Estonia and the coefficient 1, 24.

2) Residence permit for business

Non-EU citizen who owns shares in a company or acts as a sole proprietor and who has continuous financial means, may apply for residence permit for business in Estonia. The company or the sole proprietor must be registered in the Estonian Commercial Register and the settlement of the alien in Estonia must be important for the business. The company or the sole proprietor is required to have a business plan which states the character and range of the business, number of staff, necessary qualification and know-how of the staff, and:

Non-EU citizen has invested in Estonia a capital sum of 64 000 EUR under his/her control in the case of a company;
Non-EU citizen has invested in Estonia a capital sum of 16 000 EUR under his/her control in the case of a sole proprietor.

3) Residence permit with legal income

A temporary residence permit may be issued for up to two years to an alien whose legal income ensures his or her subsistence if the issue of the residence permit is justified and does not damage the interests of the Estonian state and provided that no circumstance which constitutes the basis for refusal to issue such residence permit exists in respect of the alien. A work permit shall not be issued to such alien for employment in Estonia.

If non-EU citizen applies for a temporary residence permit on the condition that his or her legal income ensures his or her subsistence in Estonia or a temporary residence permit for business purposes, his or her legal income during the six months preceding the submission of the application must amount to total of eighteen months average gross wages in the Republic of Estonia. The amount of required legal income derives from the average gross wages of the last quarter as established by the Statistical Office of Estonia. In 2011 the average wage per month in Estonia is 785 EUR.

Legal income means lawfully earned remuneration for work, income received from lawful business activities or property, pensions, scholarships, support, benefits paid by a foreign state and the maintenance ensured by family members earning legal income.

Other requirements associated with every residence permit type

An alien is required to register his or her residence in Estonia in the population register within one month after entry in Estonia or commencement of stay in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit.

An alien has to have an insurance contract guaranteeing that any costs related to his or her medical treatment as a result of illness or injury during the period of validity of the residence permit applied for will be met to the extent equal to persons covered with health insurance.

The following documents have to be submitted in order to apply for the temporary residence permit: (i) Official Application form; (ii) valid passport; (iii) valid travel document, which validity shall be not less than 3 months until the validity of the temporary residence permit expires and its copy; (iv) documents, proving the grounds for the temporary residence permits; (v) document, proving the legal income; (vi) applicants CV; (vii) document proving that the alien has living premises in Estonia belonging to him or on the basis of the lease agreement; (viii) colored photo 40x50 mm; (ix) health insurance document (shall be presented after the decision is issued on granting the temporary residence permit); (vii) document, proving that the state fee 65 EUR is paid.

Residence permit may be temporary (validity period up to five years) or long-term. Temporary residence permit may be extended if the basis for the permit has not changed and application is justified.

An alien residing in Estonia on the basis of temporary residence permit who is intending to stay outside Estonia for more than 183 days per year, has to register one’s staying away from Estonia with the Police and Border Guard Board.

Schengen visas

The Schengen visa allows the holder to a total stay of up to 3 months days within a period of 6 months for tourist or business purposes. Receiving the multiple entry Schengen visa, is possible to leave and return in any number of times within the 6 months period, but the combined stay within the region must not total more than 3 months (90 days). Schengen visa shall be applied by a citizen of a country whose citizens are subject to the visa requirement. A Schengen visa must be applied in person, not by mail.

Receiving once a Schengen visa, the person may enter one country and travel freely anywhere within the Schengen territory. Internal border controls have been abolished and there are no or few stops and checks. Internal air, road and train travel are handled as domestic trips. The Schengen Agreement still allows customs control as long as there is no passport check, and checks are made randomly, or at real suspicions.

It takes between 2 and 10 working days to get Schengen visa for short-term stays. Processing time may be up to several months for long term visas.

Schengen visa types

An airport transit visa (A) allows a person to transit through the international zone of a Schengen airport without entering the Schengen territory.

A transit visa (B) allows a person to transit no more than 5 days through Schengen countries by car, coach or travelling through different airports on the persons way to another non-Schengen country.

A short stay visa (C) allows a person to visit the Schengen countries for tourism, family or business visits, up to a maximum 3 months in a given 6 months period.

A circulation visa (C) is a short stay visa valid at least a year: It is mainly issued for business visits that have an invitation letter from a Schengen country, to aircrew member, to people having a special interest in the Schengen territory.

A long stay visa (D) allows a person to stay for more than 3 months, e.g., study, work, retire etc.

State fees for processing the Shengen visa application:

Airport transit visa (A)	60 €
Short-term visa (C)	60 €
Short-term visa (C) children 6-12 years	35 €
EU agreements on the facilitation of the issuance of visas (applies for the citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine)	One-time and multiple-entry visa 35 €; urgent visa 70 €
EU agreements on the facilitation of the issuance of visas (applies for the citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia and Moldova)	One-time and multiple-entry visa 35 €

Visas are issued at diplomatic missions or consular offices of the Republic of Estonia abroad.

In order to get a visa an alien must submit:

a valid travel document;
an established form of application for Shengen Visa;
one photo of 35x45 mm, corresponding to the age of an alien;
the receipt of the paid consular fee;
a valid document certifying his/her health insurance;

For questions, please, contact Valters Gencs, attorney at law at info@gencs.eu

The material contained here is not to be construed as legal advice or opinion.