The programmes that have lasted in Europe are not the ones that stayed the same. They are the ones that adapted.
On 11 June 2026, the Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, passed a new Immigration Law that fundamentally reshapes its Golden Visa framework. The law now awaits presidential signature before entering into force on 1 January 2027.
For investors watching the European residency landscape, this is a significant moment: not a closure, but a deliberate repositioning of one of the EU’s longest-running and most accessible investment migration frameworks.
As Patricia Casaburi, CEO of Global Citizen Solutions, recently observed:
“People often ask whether citizenship by investment programmes are tightening, transforming, or maturing. I think the answer is probably all of the above. The reality is that we now have programmes in very different stages of their lifecycle.”
Latvia’s Golden Visa has just moved into its next one.
What’s Changing Under the New Rules
The proposed reform to the Latvia Golden Visa would significantly simplify the programme’s investment options.
Under the new framework, three of the four current investment routes would be removed. The real estate route — long one of the programme’s most popular options and responsible for nearly half of all approvals in 2025 and early 2026 — would no longer be available. A parliamentary proposal to retain a version of the €250,000 property route was considered and ultimately rejected.
The €280,000 bank subordinated liabilities deposit route and the €250,000 government securities route would also be discontinued.
In place of these options, the legislation introduces a new investment route. Applicants would be able to obtain a five-year temporary residence permit by investing at least €150,000 for a minimum of five years through a state-established Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM), together with a €10,000 contribution to the state budget. Importantly, this route would be channelled exclusively through a state-created fund manager rather than the wider private AIFM market.
The company investment route would remain available. At €50,000 plus a €10,000 state contribution, it would continue to be one of the most affordable routes to EU residency. A second €100,000 tier would also remain available for larger qualifying companies.
However, both company investment options would most likely see permit validity reduced from five years to two. Qualifying businesses would also continue to be subject to strict requirements relating to size, turnover, and minimum annual tax contributions to ensure genuine economic activity.
A Direction Europe Has Seen Before
Latvia is not moving alone. The new law reflects a pattern that has already played out across the continent.
The Portugal Golden Visa eliminated its real estate route in October 2023, redirecting foreign capital into regulated investment funds and productive economic channels. The Spanish Golden Visa ended entirely in April 2025. The Greek Golden Visa restructured its property thresholds in August 2024, raising entry points in high-demand zones. Hungary, on relaunching its Guest Investor Programme in 2024, opted for a regulated real estate fund structure, rather than direct property purchase.
The direction is consistent: real estate is no longer the default route across Europe’s leading Golden Visa programmes. Latvia’s reform follows the same logic, moving away from passive, asset-linked investment and towards routes that are more easily supervised, aligned with state economic objectives, and defensible under the heightened scrutiny from EU and domestic institutions.
Reading the Signal, Not Just the Detail
What makes this reform interesting is what it signals about Latvia’s intent. The country is not ending the programme. It is reshaping it.
The new framework prioritises capital directed at the state’s own investment vehicles, with clear oversight, defined timelines, and a higher minimum. It reflects a government’s intent to retain the programme’s economic benefits while demonstrating that residency-linked investment is measurably contributing to the Latvian economy, a line of argument that has become increasingly important as EU-level scrutiny of Golden Visa structures has intensified.
In 2025, the programme recorded 206 permit approvals, a rise of 35% on the prior year, its strongest performance in four years. That growth reflected the qualities that had made Latvia so attractive: accessible entry points, fast processing, a clear framework — a reliable path to EU residency and Schengen mobility, and the 6th-ranked programme in our Golden Visa: How It Works, Benefits and Top Countries in 2026.
Those qualities do not disappear in the next chapter — but the terms change.
A Window That Remains Open
For investors who have been considering Latvia under its current structure, the new law’s transitional provisions carry real weight.
In case the law is signed by the President and enters into force as passed, applications submitted before 1 January 2027 would be reviewed under the current rules.
Permits already issued before the new law enters into force are expected to remain valid until the end of their registration period, or, where no registration period is set, until the end of their validity period, under Provision 6 of the new Immigration Law.
All four Golden Visa investment options currently available, including Latvia real estate property purchase route, remain fully active until the new law enters into force.
In our experience, the window between a law’s passage and its entry into force is precisely the moment when well-advised investors take stock of where they stand — and act.
The Opportunity in the Transition
Latvia’s reform is not a closure. It is a deliberate evolution to follow closely in the upcoming months.
The law passed by the Saeima on 11 June 2026 does not become binding until it is signed by the President and published in the official gazette. Laws of this scope often undergo extended review before that stage is reached.
What the transitional provisions do offer, if the law proceeds as passed, is a degree of certainty: a defined window under existing rules, and protected validity for permits already issued. For investors weighing their current and future options, that clarity is meaningful.
Latvia’s Golden Visa is entering a new phase — the shape of it is still being finalised, but the direction is clear.