Latvia Golden Visa on Track for 51% Annual Growth as Real Estate Option Bounces Back

Real estate investment has rebounded, and Turkish applicants lead. Latvia is on pace for its strongest year since 2021.

Latvia processed 44 main applicants through its golden visa program in the first half of 2025, reaching 76% of 2024’s annual total and positioning the country for its strongest performance in four years. The country issued 107 total visas, counting dependents, in H1 2025, compared to 149 for all of 2024.

Roberts Valpiters, Managing Partner at EU Law Firm, notes that H1 2025’s tally “already puts the program close to full-year 2024 pace.” Current trajectories suggest Latvia could reach 88 main applicants by year-end. He projects that “2025 is likely to be the strongest year since 2021–2022.”

Valpiters explains that Latvia’s growth partly reflects processing delays in competing programs. He says Greece continues working through a backlog with “over 52,000 pending cases as of spring 2025,” while new applications slow after recent price increases.

Portugal’s modernization under AIMA has improved some processing timelines, though Valpiters observes that “delays are better, not gone.” He notes this combination creates opportunities for Latvia, where “switching to Latvia for speed” has become a genuine market dynamic.

Applicant demographics shifted substantially from 2024 patterns. Turkish nationals claimed the largest share at 20% of H1 2025 approved applications, edging ahead of their 24% showing in 2024 when Chinese investors led with 26%.

Valpiters explains that Turkish investors’ goals are to “secure freedom of movement, access to EU healthcare and education, and long-term protection for their families” rather than purely financial returns. He says Latvia’s appeal stems from its position as “the lowest EU RBI option via the €50 000 company-investment route” plus a €10,000 state contribution.

Vietnamese investors climbed from 2% of 2024 approved applications to 11% in H1 2025. Valpiters notes that “Latvia was always popular for Vietnamese citizens, specifically regarding work permits” as the country offers Schengen access for less than the €250,000-€500,000 investments required elsewhere. He characterizes Latvia’s “good-enough and affordable” positioning as “a major draw for Plan-B seekers” in the current market environment.

Chinese applicants dropped to just 7% of H1 2025 submissions, down from their dominant 26% share in 2024. This represents one of the steepest nationality declines in the program’s recent history, excluding Russians, whom Latvia suspended in 2022.

UK nationals broke into the top five applicant nationalities for the first time, matching Indian applicants at 9% each. Several smaller nationality groups emerged in the H1 2025 data, with US, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan applicants each accounting for 4.5% of submissions.

Notably, two Dominica passport holders applied for Latvia’s golden visa in H1 2025, representing 4.5% of total approvals and potentially highlighting secondary migration patterns within investment migration markets.

Real estate investments surged from 29% of approvals in 2024 to 45% in H1 2025. Business investments maintained their dominant position at 50%, down from 69% the previous year.

Latvia processed 20 real estate-based approved applications in H1 2025, already exceeding 2024’s full-year total of 17 real estate approvals.

Business investments totaled 22 investors, maintaining absolute leadership while losing market share. Business investment trajectories indicate potential for 10% growth over 2024 levels if current momentum continues.

Deposit and securities investments remained minimal at two approvals, consistent with historical patterns but still double 2024’s total.