Latvia Startup Visa — national programme for relocating non-EU startup founders to Riga

Latvia’s Startup Visa was launched in 2017 under the country’s dedicated Startup Law and revised significantly in 2019 to broaden eligibility and reduce bureaucratic barriers. It is administered by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) with support from the State Employment Agency and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

What it does: Non-EU/EEA founders of scalable, technology-driven startups can apply for a 3-year temporary residence permit without the capital requirements of conventional investor visas. LIAA evaluates applications based on innovation potential and scalability. Up to five co-founders per startup qualify; family members may accompany them. Processing time is approximately 30 days. Approved founders gain immediate access to LIAA’s 11-region incubator network and to Latvia’s broader startup support infrastructure (TechHub Riga, Startup House, Startin.lv network).

Results: By early 2023, a total of 360 foreign founders from 175 startups had relocated to Latvia via the Startup Visa scheme, according to LIAA data reported by Latvia’s public broadcaster LSM (lsm.lv) and independently corroborated by EU-Startups (eu-startups.com). At peak, in 2021, LIAA approved 65 startups (135 founders). In 2022, issuance dropped ~75% to 17 startups following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia and Belarus had been the two largest source countries. LIAA subsequently pivoted to the Balkans as the primary target region. As of 2024, ~25% of Latvia’s 512 active startups (Startin.lv database) have at least one foreign founder, in part a legacy of the visa programme. Total government investment in the startup ecosystem in 2023 exceeded EUR 4 million across LIAA, the Ministry of Economics, the City of Riga, Norwegian Financial Instrument funding, and Startup Law tax incentives.

Complementary Riga programmes: The City of Riga (RITA agency) provides EUR 4,500 per relocated foreign specialist, funds the Work in Riga talent portal (2023), and operates a diaspora relocation grant of EUR 1,845 per returnee. The Ministry of Economics invested EUR 400,000 in the ecosystem in 2024, allocated directly to Startin.lv, TechHub Riga, TechChill, and other ecosystem partners.

Why it is a good practice: Latvia’s Startup Visa demonstrates how a small EU member state can use simplified immigration as a targeted talent-attraction instrument, embedding it within a funded ecosystem (grants, incubators, events, angel networks) rather than relying on immigration alone. The programme is internationally recognised as a replicable model and has influenced similar schemes elsewhere in the Baltic-Nordic region.

Read the full analysis: https://startuplatvia.eu/startup-visa/