Long-stay visa for remote work
Route status
Active as of 2026-05-20[1]
Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.
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Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Ilgtermina viza attalinata darba veiksanai (Imigracijas likuma 11. panta piekta dala) as of 2026-05-20[1] Latvia does not brand these permits; the Immigration Law describes each ground and OCMA titles its pages after the ground. The string recorded is the descriptive statutory designation, not a programme name. |
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| Official name (English) | Long-stay visa for remote work as of 2026-05-20[1] English string from the statutory description, or from OCMA's English page where one covers the ground; marked as a translation rather than an official programme name. |
| Legal basis | Immigration Law (Imigracijas likums) Section 11(2)(3) and Section 11(5), with Cabinet Regulation No. 676 "Vizu noteikumi" paragraph 19 as of 2026-05-20[1] |
| Instrument type | national visa as of 2026-05-20[1] Section 11 issues an ilgtermina viza – a long-stay (national, D) visa under Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU) No 265/2010 – not a residence permit. Cabinet Regulation No. 676 paragraph 53.11.9.23 records it with the annotation "REMOTE WORK VISA". |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2025-07-24[3] |
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| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source No minimum age is stated for this ground in the sources read. |
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-05-20[1][2] Section 11(5): the long-stay visa may be issued for a period not exceeding one year, with the possibility of one further long-stay visa of up to one year. During the validity of the visa the foreigner may request a temporary residence permit without leaving Latvia. After the repeat visa expires the foreigner may not receive a new long-stay visa on the same ground for six months. |
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| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-05-20[1] Section 11(5) allows one further long-stay visa of up to one year, then bars a new visa on the same ground for six months. |
| Renewal duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-05-20[1] Section 11(5): one repeat long-stay visa for a period not exceeding one year. |
| Maximum total duration | up to 2 years as of 2026-05-20[1] Section 11(5) read as a whole: an initial visa of up to one year plus one repeat visa of up to one year, after which a six-month bar applies to a new visa on the same ground. |
| Work rights | none as of 2022-07-11[2] OCMA states on the remote-work visa page: "Recipients of the remote work visa do not have the right to employment in the Republic of Latvia." |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source Not stated for this ground in the sources read; the general EU long-term-residence track is recorded at country level and is open on five years of continuous lawful residence. |
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Requirements
| Minimum income | 2.50 × average gross monthly work remuneration of working persons, previous year per month as of 2026-01-01[2][4] |
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| Qualifying income basis | employment abroad, freelance work for foreign clients as of 2026-01-01[1][4] |
| Local work allowed | No as of 2026-01-01[2][4] OCMA states on the remote-work visa page: "Recipients of the remote work visa do not have the right to employment in the Republic of Latvia." Cabinet Regulation No. 676 paragraph 53.11.9.23 annotates this visa "REMOTE WORK VISA", and the employment-right annotations the same paragraph list – among them "THE RIGHT TO WORK WITHOUT RESTRICTION" and the 20-hour student entry – are separate annotations that this visa does not carry. The OCMA page is the source that states the rule in terms; the regulation is cited because it is the current instrument and shows the annotation scheme the statement rests on. |
| Minimum remote-working history | at least 6 months as of 2026-01-01[2][4] Cabinet Regulation No. 676 paragraph 19: at least six months' prior employment with the OECD-state employer, or six months of self-employed income history. |
| Route carries its own tax regime | Not established from a qualifying source |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-05-20[1] Immigration Law Section 32(1), in the wording in force from 20 May 2026: documents for requesting a residence permit may be filed at a Latvian representation outside the Schengen area; at a representation inside it where the foreigner holds a valid residence permit in that state; at OCMA where the foreigner is staying in Latvia lawfully, or is a child born in Latvia; at OCMA electronically from abroad with a secure electronic signature; or with an outsourcing provider under a delegation contract. |
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| Fees |
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| Quota |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not established from a qualifying source[1][4] Section 23(4) attaches to the Section 23(1) residence-permit grounds. Nothing read in Section 11 or in Cabinet Regulation No. 676 states whether the family of a remote-work visa holder has a derived route. |
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| Eligible relations | Not established from a qualifying source See the note on family_inclusion.allowed. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source Section 23(4) gives family members the right to a permit for the term of the principal's permit but does not state whether applications must be lodged together. |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source Not sourced. Whether the family of a remote-work visa holder has a derived long-stay visa at all is itself unknown here, so no work right can be recorded for them. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2022-07-11 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-05-20 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Imigrācijas likums (Immigration Law), consolidated text in force from 20 May 2026
Saeima / Latvijas Vēstnesis (likumi.lv consolidated-law service) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-16 - [2] Getting a long-term visa for remote work
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2022-07-11 · Accessed 2026-08-16 - [3] The long-term resident status of the European Community in Latvia
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-07-24 · Accessed 2026-08-16 - [4] Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 676 "Vizu noteikumi"
Ministru kabinets / Latvijas Vestnesis (likumi.lv) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-01-01 · Accessed 2026-08-16