A 2022 law declared already issued permanent residence permits of Russian citizens invalid, and in autumn 2025, 841 people received a letter ordering them to leave.
red flagFor an ordinary worker the 2026 rules became gentler. Since 20 May a permit is not cancelled for up to three months of unemployment, or six after more than two years of work, if you report the job loss on time. Since 10 July changing employer needs no new permit: the new employer files an invitation, and you can start once it is approved or after 30 days. A spouse may work without restrictions, the family income requirement is modest (€780 a month plus €234 per child), and children attend state school for free. The weak spot: family permits are derived and fall if the main applicant's permit is revoked.
Delivery is less transparent than the rules. The state does not publish refusal statistics, and applications are in person only. Under the new law documents for a first visa or first permit can be in Latvian or English, but a repeat permit and permanent status require Latvian. From 31 December 2027 learning the language and a course on Latvian history and culture become mandatory.
The main risk here is political. A 2022 law declared void the permanent residence permits already held by foreigners of one nationality and required a Latvian A2 exam and a security questionnaire; the Constitutional Court upheld the rule in February 2024. About 25,000 people were affected: some 16,000 obtained EU long-term resident status, about 2,600 left on their own, and the rest received letters ordering them to leave, 985 in January 2024 and 841 in autumn 2025. For the EU this is a rare case of retroactively withdrawing legal status, and it shows that a language requirement can be imposed here on people already living in the country. Details in the passport section.
Day-to-day friction is high. Since 2018 banks have run a strict policy: a non-resident gets an account only with proven ties to Latvia, and for some nationalities refusals are systematic. Declaring your place of residence is mandatory, and degree recognition through the AIC centre takes months.
The index score ignores nationality. This is what changes for citizens of specific countries.
No visa for up to 90 days within 180, as in the whole Schengen area. As citizens of a NATO country they may keep their citizenship on naturalisation, and students may bring their family.
No residence permit needed: free movement applies.
EU temporary protection is extended to 4 March 2028. Since 31 July 2026 new applicants must show they left in line with their military obligations; people who already hold the status are not affected.
Since 24 September 2022 first and repeat temporary permits have not been issued to Russian citizens, except for family reunification, the Blue Card, study and research, protection, EU long-term resident status, and work in Latvia with income tax paid for the last three months. The new law in force since 15 September 2026 keeps a closed list of grounds and bars Russian citizens from visas for work and remote work. Since 15 July 2025 non-biometric Russian passports are not recognised. It was Russian citizens whose permanent permits were annulled under the 2022 law, and banks systematically refuse them new accounts; in autumn 2025 cards were blocked en masse, including for people awaiting permit renewal.
Repeat temporary permits have been suspended since 2022, and the new law closes a number of grounds to Belarusian citizens; people already working in Latvia can get a one-year permit. A separate questionnaire goes with the application, and banks systematically refuse new clients.
The place interval 73-78 shows where the country lands when the data is nudged and the index is recalculated. One place of difference in the table means nothing; a difference of a league means something.
Red flagOne of the three core categories, how the agencies work, pressure on newcomers or the reliability of status, has fallen below the critical mark. The score is capped: a disaster in the core is not cured by comforts at the edges.
The thin mark on each bar is the average across 97 countries
The strongest category here is Family rights: 100 out of 100, against a 97-state average of 72.2. The weakest is Pressure on newcomers: 25 against 65.2. Above the world average: 4 out of 7.
All 97 states are calculated for one applicant: 35 years old, income of $2,500 and $3,856 a month before tax, passport not counted, the most accessible route that is actually in use.
Your passport, your income and your family do not change the table. They change which of its lines apply to you. A different income makes entry read differently, a family makes the family category read differently, and your passport makes everything read differently.
Under the new law the decision takes 30 days; when objectively necessary it can be extended, but to no more than four months from receipt of all documents. Applications are in person by appointment, and the queue in Riga runs to weeks.
According to the EU Immigration Portal as of August 2026, processing costs €100 for 30 days, €200 for 10 working days and €400 for 5, and the card is €15. The government sets the rates, so check them on the PMLP website before applying.
Not since 15 September 2026: the new law removed that ground. Earlier applications are decided under the old rules, permits already issued stay valid, and the €150,000 fund route does not work yet.
If you lose your job the permit survives for up to three months, or six after more than two years, provided you inform the authorities. But Latvia has already withdrawn permanent permits retroactively, so new requirements can reach people already living there.
EU long-term resident status after at least five years on temporary permits, with a Latvian A2 exam. Citizenship after 10 years of residence with exams in language, history and the constitution; only citizens of EU, NATO and EFTA countries and three others may keep their old passport.
The rules for an ordinary worker became gentler: protection when unemployed, free change of employer, strong family rights. But the state has already stripped legal residents of status by nationality, banks are strict, and the language is becoming mandatory. What depends on your passport is in the section above.
97 states, 26 indicators, seven categories, 2,522 scores. Every score has a source and a source class: primary means the texts of laws and government portals; reliable secondary means reports by international organisations, tax reviews by audit firms and specialist legal publications; weak means community posts and single secondary sources. The classes add up to a confidence level for the country, and a country with low confidence gets neither a score nor a place.
Every indicator is scored against a fixed ruler, not against its neighbours. Adding new countries therefore does not move the old ones, and a change in a score means a change in policy and nothing else.
A high place does not mean a good country. It means one thing: the state machine treats newcomers predictably and by the rules. Living there may be expensive, dull or hot; that is not our question.
Checked 01/10/2026. Facts come from the country's index card and official websites.
We make mistakes and we will go on making them: policy changes faster than any database. Our answer is not a pose of infallibility but a visible trail of corrections. Every correction is published: what it was, what it became, the source and the reason for the error. The corrections log opens with the second issue, together with the first block of changes.