Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia has submitted a report on the results of the program for the exchange of a residence permit on investments, transfers ee24.com with reference to the Latvian media.
The report contains information about 2,893 applications from investors and 3,990 family members obtained by the Office. 97.9 % of applications were approved. Total 6,749 permit was issued, and 201 residence permits from July 1, 2010 has been canceled.
The most popular way to obtain a residence permit in Latvia is investing in real estate, amounting to €476 million. For the most part foreigners buy houses in Riga and Jurmala. In total, for the period from July 1, 2010 to June, 30 2013 foreigners have invested €569 million in the economy of Latvia.
Almost €90 million has been invested in subordinated capital of credit institutions, another € 28 million - in Latvian companies.
Applications for residence permits have been received from citizens of 35 countries, almost 95% of whom are citizens of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Investors also come from China, Israel and the United States. In the first half of 2013 the activity of investors from China, who have filed 107 requests for residence permits, increased. In this regard, the report's authors warned of the possibility of ethnic conflicts and problems in the labor market in places of mass resettlement of the Chinese.
The report also concludes that the growth of economic activity in Latvia caused by the program. The greatest benefit the program brought to such sectors as tourism, hotel industry, legal services, insurance, property management, interior design, food and health care.