Moving to a new country is a big decision, and it’s not always smooth sailing. We’ve seen the ups and downs firsthand while helping people settle in. There might be moments when you question if you’ve done the right thing — that’s completely normal. But if you’re considering a move within the EU, Latvia has some real, down-to-earth advantages that are worth a closer look.

Most people overlook Latvia when thinking about EU countries. That’s actually good news for you – less competition and bureaucracy to deal with.

The tech infrastructure works better than you might expect. 4G coverage reaches almost everywhere, even in some forest areas where you wouldn’t expect a signal. 5G is still spotty but improving in Riga and Jurmala.

Foreign business owners appreciate that you don’t need residency to set up a company here. No local director required either. Our office handles the paperwork for many clients – usually takes about 3-4 weeks to complete everything. The minimum capital requirement is just 1 euro, though we typically recommend at least €2,500 for a more credible business presence.

The import rules save headaches for many of our clients. You won’t pay VAT when bringing goods in from outside the EU. One client saved nearly €15,000 in their first year just from this provision.

Transport connections are decent. Not exceptional like Amsterdam or Frankfurt, but Air Baltic runs reliable flights to major European cities. Wizz Air and Ryanair offer budget options, though schedules get reduced in winter. The Riga airport is small enough that you won’t waste time in endless terminals – usually 15-20 minutes from taxi to gate.

The seaports function year-round despite the northern location. Ventspils rarely freezes even in January.

Latvia’s forests and nature are the real thing, not just marketing talk. About 54% forest coverage means you’re never far from proper woodland. The beaches stretch for 496 kilometers – mostly sandy, often empty outside July and August. The Baltic Sea isn’t warm – expect 18-20°C in summer – but it’s clean enough for swimming.

Summers stay moderate compared to southern Europe. We rarely see above 30°C, while Italy and Spain increasingly suffer 40°C heatwaves. Winters are proper winters though – expect snow and -10°C in January.

Latvians do love their singing. It sometimes surprises our clients when they discover their accountant or lawyer performs in a choir on weekends. The Song Festival happens every five years and draws thousands of participants. Not everyone’s musical, of course, but it’s a bigger part of the culture than in most countries.

Jurmala gets mentioned in all the guidebooks, but with good reason. It’s 25km of scattered settlements along a beach strip. The pine forests come right up to the sand in places. Property isn’t cheap by Latvian standards, but you get value compared to Mediterranean prices. The sunset views over the Baltic can be spectacular on clear evenings. Dzintari Concert Hall hosts decent performances, though the winter schedule thins out considerably after New Year. There’s a handful of museums and galleries – nothing world-class, but enough to visit on rainy days. The small cinema shows mainly Latvian and Russian films with occasional English options.

Daugavpils often gets overlooked. It’s Latvia’s second city but feels very different from Riga – more Russian influence in the architecture and local culture. Housing costs about 40% less than the capital. The fortress area has been renovated in recent years.

Ventspils has the major port and better infrastructure than you might expect for its size. The city government has invested in public spaces, and it shows.
Liepaja offers a rougher coastal feel with some cultural life centered around the new concert hall. The naval port history gives it a different character.

Kuldiga is small – probably too small for most expats looking for amenities. But the medieval center and the widest waterfall in Europe (more like rapids really) give it unique charm. We’ve had a few clients settle there who wanted authentic small-town Latvian life.

Ogre is basically a Riga suburb now, 30 minutes by train. Quiet, residential, with the advantage of lower property prices while still having easy capital access.

Your work situation should drive this decision more than anything. Remote workers have more flexibility, but if you need regular meetings or specific services, Riga simplifies life considerably.

As a foreign citizen, you have the opportunity to purchase any type of property for residence. Property ownership, in turn, gives owners of certain citizenships the possibility to obtain a residence permit in Latvia. Read more about this type of residence permit and conditions in our article

Another housing option is rental. You can start your search on local websites like ss.lv, city24.lv, or rentinriga.lv. You can also contact real estate agencies, for example, Latvia Sotheby’s International Realty, Kivi Real Estate, or Latio. Compared to other European countries, rental here is cheaper – you can find options ranging from €300 to €1200 per month. Typically, apartments come furnished. Basic utilities, including electricity, heating, water, and garbage collection for an 85 m² apartment will cost approximately €330 in summer, which is quite affordable. Everything depends, of course, on the area and specific building.

Ask the landlord to show you bills for summer and winter months to understand what to expect during the heating season.
Before signing a contract, it’s essential to visit the selected apartments and check their condition.

In Latvia, you need to declare your place of residence for all family members, and we assist with this procedure.

Public transport in Latvia is reliable and convenient. Riga offers a well-developed transportation system. Purchasing a monthly ticket is usually a cost-effective option for regular travel – such a travel card for all types of public transport on all routes in Latvia costs on average about €35.

Additionally, the taxi system, including the popular Bolt application, provides convenient options for city travel and can even be cheaper. Other well-known taxi operators are Panda taxi and Baltic taxi.
Car sharing services like CityBee and CarGuru are also available.

If you prefer to travel by your own car, you can use your driver’s license during the first year of living in Latvia if it meets the requirements. After a year with foreign licenses, you’ll need to exchange them for Latvian ones – the procedure takes from several days to a couple of months.

СParking in Riga costs approximately €2-3 per hour, depending on the area.

Entry to Jurmala during the summer season until recently cost €2, and was free during the cold season. However, from February 2024, there will be a €3 fee for entry to Jurmala year-round. A ticket for the electric train from Riga to Jurmala costs about €1.5 and takes half an hour.

If you don’t plan to travel outside the city frequently, as in other European countries, public transport and taxis can be more convenient and economical than owning a car. Latvia has a developed bus network; Lux Express and Ecolines buses are popular here.

Healthcare here is ranked 14th in the world, according to Global Health Security Index, other indexes rank Latvia in top 30 or top 50 in the world, depending on the method.

The system has public and private options with significant quality differences between them.
The public system covers residents with health insurance. Basic services, doctor visits, and some medications get covered, but waiting times can stretch to months for non-urgent procedures. The facilities vary dramatically – most have been renovated to modern standards, a few of them may still feel somewhat post-Soviet.

Our clients typically opt for private insurance even when they qualify for public coverage. ERGO and BTA offer reasonable packages starting around €1,000 annually for comprehensive coverage. The private clinics in Riga (ARS Medical, MFD, Veselības Centrs 4) provide service standards closer to Western Europe for just a fraction of the price.

English-speaking doctors aren’t guaranteed in the public system. Most state doctors speak Latvian and Russian fluently, but English proficiency varies widely. The younger doctors typically have better English skills. Private clinics usually ensure English-speaking staff are available.

Family doctors serve as gatekeepers in the Latvian system. They handle routine care and refer to specialists when needed. Finding a good one makes a huge difference – we maintain contacts with several who work well with expatriate patients. Most don’t charge for home visits, which saves dragging yourself to the clinic with a fever.

Dental care deserves special mention – it’s high quality and significantly cheaper than Western Europe. Many clients schedule their dental work for when they’re in Latvia, even if they split time between countries.

Pharmacies are well-stocked in cities, though medication names differ from what you might be used to. Bring your prescriptions with generic names rather than brand names to avoid confusion.

Emergency care works reasonably well in urban areas. Response times in Riga average 15-20 minutes. Rural emergency services can be more problematic with longer waits.

Local banks offer a wide range of services, and many of them serve customers in English or Russian.

The largest banks in Latvia are Citadele, Luminor, Swedbank, SEB, and BluOr.

You can choose a local bank and open an account in person, having previously made an appointment. The only difference in opening a bank account in Latvia for foreigners is that the bank will assess the non-resident – evaluating overall reliability of the future client, existence of accounts in other banks, and debts. This can take from several days to three months.

n terms of financial security, recommendations include e-banking, transaction limits, and property and asset insurance to protect your finances and property.

Latvia’s business environment is supported by business incubators and grants for key business areas such as professional training, innovation and R&D, and technology production and transfer.

In financial matters, build a sustainable foundation. Open a bank account with a reputable local bank and consider insurance. This will provide you with financial protection in your new environment.

Latvia has a developed system of preschool and school education. State and private kindergartens offer extensive educational programs and a caring approach to children. For a private kindergarten, parents will need to pay around €400 per month.

State education in schools is provided free of charge for all children, including both residents and non-residents of Latvia. The educational system also includes many international schools with teaching in English, which ensures smooth adaptation for foreign children. Higher education is paid, but generally cheaper than in other European countries – the cost varies depending on the program and university. Bachelor’s and master’s programs at the University of Latvia cost up to €3500 per year, depending on your citizenship.

In Latvian cities, including Riga, there are numerous children’s playgrounds, parks, and recreational areas created for active children’s leisure.

Take care of your children’s future by choosing a place with developed infrastructure – Latvia truly offers many possibilities for this.

The cultural scene in Latvia has authentic character once you discover where to look, although it won’t really match the scale of London or Paris.

Riga’s parks offer different experiences. Bastejkalns sits central with the canal running through it – pleasant but often crowded with tourists in summer. Vermanes Park hosts small concerts and has a decent playground if you have kids. Mezaparks requires a tram ride from center but rewards with extensive woodland and lakeside areas. The Great Cemetery (despite the name) functions as a park now and offers a peaceful walking space with interesting historical monuments.

Museums reflect typical post-Soviet transformation – some excellent, others struggling with limited budgets. The Latvian National Museum of Art (not to be confused with several similarly-named institutions) completed renovation in 2016 and houses good Baltic and Russian collections. The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum requires half a day but provides genuine insight into historical rural life. The Museum of the Occupation tells the difficult 20th-century history and helps understand the Latvian perspective on Russia. The Motor Museum surprisingly impresses even non-car enthusiasts with its restored Soviet vehicles. Zuzeum will have contemporary exhibitions, changing every couple of months.

Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture genuinely stands out – it’s not just tourist brochure talk. Alberta iela contains the highest concentration of these buildings. The wealthy German and Russian merchants who commissioned them wanted to outdo each other with ever more elaborate facades. The details reward close inspection – look for the screaming faces and mythological creatures incorporated into otherwise respectable buildings. The Art Nouveau Museum on Alberta iela occupies a restored apartment with period furnishings.

Latvian cultural traditions maintain stronger roots than in many European countries. The midsummer Līgo festival empties the cities as people head to the countryside for bonfires, beer, cheese, and singing. Even younger Latvians participate enthusiastically. The Song and Dance Festival occurs every five years (next in 2028) and genuinely moves participants to tears – it’s not staged for tourists but deeply felt.

The Riga Russian Theatre operates in Russian but sometimes offers subtitles. The productions tend toward the experimental and contemporary rather than classical repertoire. The National Opera presents standard European opera and ballet at prices far below Vienna or London – typically €20-50 for good seats.

Weekend entertainment options thin out significantly in smaller towns. This catches some expats by surprise after they move from Riga to outlying areas. Cultural events cluster in September-May; summers see fewer indoor performances as festivals take precedence.

The language thing trips up a lot of newcomers. Yes, many Latvians speak English, especially in Riga and especially the under-40 crowd. But it’s patchy. You’ll find yourself in plenty of situations where English just doesn’t cut it.
Russian may work as a backup in many cases although we certainly recommend learning at least a bit of Latvian.
Learning basic Latvian goes further than you’d think. We’re not talking about becoming fluent – that’s a serious undertaking. But even mangled attempts at “Labdien” (hello) and “Paldies” (thanks) make a difference in how locals perceive you. It signals you’re not just passing through.

The expat bubble is real and tempting. Riga has enough foreigners that you could theoretically survive without ever really engaging with locals. We see it with some clients – five years in and they still can’t order a coffee in Latvian. They miss out on a lot: culturally, socially and, of course, Permanent Residence Permit has A2 language level prerequisite.

Facebook groups like “Expats in Riga” and “Foreigners in Latvia” can help with practical questions and social connections. There’s a monthly mixer at different bars where newcomers and old hands mingle. Quality varies wildly – sometimes it’s three people awkwardly nursing beers, other times it’s a lively gathering.

Language classes are available through private schools like Riga Language Centre or the University of Latvia. Group classes run €200-300 for a basic course. Private tutors charge €15-25 per hour. Most clients start enthusiastically but drop off after a few months when progress feels slow. The ones who stick with it for 6 months – year usually reach functional basics.
The reality is you’ll probably develop a hybrid approach – English where it works, gestures where it doesn’t, and gradually picking up Latvian phrases through daily exposure.

Let’s cut through the marketing fluff. Getting residency in Latvia isn’t anything overly complicated, but it does involve navigating a bureaucratic system that wasn’t designed with user-friendliness in mind.

We’ve been doing this since 2017. Not because we’re passionate about paperwork (nobody is), but because we saw foreigners struggling with the process and realized we could make it less painful. Our team includes former immigration department employees who understand the system from the inside. The residence permit process typically takes 30-90 days depending on your situation. Business-based applications generally move faster than property-based ones. The digital nomad route is newer and processing times vary more.

What we actually provide: document preparation, application submission, communication with authorities, and troubleshooting when issues arise. The first consultation is free and no-pressure. We’ll tell you honestly if your situation looks problematic or if you could reasonably handle the process yourself. Some cases are straightforward enough that paying us wouldn’t make sense.

If you’re considering the move, drop us a line through the form below. We typically respond within 24 hours on weekdays.