During Jan-Sep 2013, Chinese citizens have bought up to 8 times more real estate in Latvia than in the same period of the previous year, according to ee24.com citing baltic-course.com. However, only a quarter of buyers are going to live in Latvia, the others acquire housing to rent out. 7 out of 10 properties were bought by the Chinese in the Riga metropolitan area and only 3 out of 10 in other cities of the country.
Office of Citizenship and Migration reports that in 2012 a residence permit in Latvia was granted to 118 Chinese citizens, while in Jan-Sep 2013 it was granted to 186 Chinese who've bought property in this Baltic state .
According to Jānis Lipša, a member of board of Rent in Riga, citizens of the PRC who invest in Latvia mainly want to get a residence permit to travel freely in Europe with travel or work purposes.
Those who settle in Latvia either work in international companies or have income from the lease. Typically, these families consist of parents and one or two kids. However, only a few of them want to learn the Latvian language and integrate themselves into Latvian society.