Moving to Latvia: A First-Steps Guide for Expats

Riga is a genuinely handsome city that most Europeans have never visited. It has the largest concentration of art nouveau architecture in the world, a medieval core, a serious opera and concert life, a covered market in old zeppelin hangars, and the largest population of any city in the Baltic states.

Latvia gets less attention than Estonia’s digital reputation or Lithuania’s recent economic run, and that is mostly an accident of publicity rather than substance.

The right to stay

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens may live and work in Latvia, registering their residence and obtaining a certificate.

Non-EU nationals apply for a temporary residence permit for a defined purpose - employment, which typically requires the employer to have registered the vacancy, business activity, study, family reunification, or investment-linked routes. Latvia has operated residence programmes tied to investment which have been revised over the years, so current terms rather than historical ones are what matter.

Latvia is in both the eurozone and Schengen, which removes currency and border friction for anyone moving within the EU. The Latvia visa section covers the routes, and the general architecture is in visas and residence permits explained.

Getting set up

You will need a personal identity code, obtained through the residence registration process, which is used for tax, health and public administration.

Latvia’s e-government is well developed - not quite at Estonia’s level but genuinely functional, with a national authentication system that gives access to state services online. Banking is modern and contactless payment is universal.

Register your address, get the identity code, open a bank account, and register for health services. The general sequence is your first 90 days abroad.

Healthcare

Latvia’s public healthcare is funded from the state budget and provides a defined basket of services to residents, with patient co-payments for many treatments and an annual cap. Access is through a family doctor with whom you register, who refers onward.

The realistic assessment: coverage is narrower and co-payments more significant than in wealthier EU states, the system has been under funding pressure, and waiting times for some services are long. A private sector exists in Riga at moderate prices, and private insurance is a common employer benefit.

Non-EU applicants generally need to evidence health cover as part of the residence process. Details in the Latvia healthcare section, and the general framing in public versus private healthcare.

Money and tax

Latvia has a progressive personal income tax with bands, plus mandatory social insurance contributions split between employee and employer. There are allowances including for dependants.

For the self-employed there is a simplified regime option for smaller earners which has been reformed - a Latvian accountant is worth an hour of your time in the first year, as the details around social contributions for the self-employed have been a moving target. See registering as freelance or self-employed for the general shape.

The euro removes currency exposure. Structure is in the Latvia tax section, and the residence principle in tax residency explained.

Cost of living and housing

Latvia is among the more affordable EU countries. Riga rents are well below western European levels, though the historic centre and the quieter districts around it command a premium. Jūrmala, the seaside town just outside Riga, is the traditional resort and correspondingly pricier in summer.

Outside Riga, costs drop considerably, though so does the depth of the job market - Latvia is quite centralised, and a large share of professional employment is in the capital.

Housing stock ranges from restored art nouveau apartments through Soviet-era blocks to new development. District heating is standard and buildings are heated properly for the climate, which matters given the winters. Older buildings vary considerably in insulation quality, and heating costs in a poorly renovated block can be substantial - ask about the building’s energy performance before signing, in the spirit of renting your first apartment abroad.

Language and society

Latvian is the state language, a Baltic language related only to Lithuanian and unlike anything else in Europe. It is required for a great many jobs, for public administration and for naturalisation, and language policy is a significant matter of national importance rather than a formality.

Russian is widely spoken by a large minority, particularly in Riga and the east. This is a sensitive subject with real political weight, and it is worth being aware that assuming Russian is a neutral lingua franca can land badly. Learn Latvian if you are staying.

English is common among younger people, in the international business and IT sector and in Riga generally.

Latvians are reserved on first contact and hospitable once past it, with a strong tradition of song, midsummer celebration and a deep attachment to nature - forests cover a large share of the country and the coastline is long, empty and beautiful. The Song and Dance Festival, held every few years and involving tens of thousands of participants, is not a folk exhibition for tourists but a genuine national event that most Latvians have taken part in at some point, and understanding that tells you a good deal about the culture you have moved into.

Midsummer - Jāņi - is the other fixture, and it effectively closes the country for a couple of days in June. Expect nothing administrative to happen and plan to be invited somewhere rural, because you probably will be.

Schools and family life

Latvian public education is free, and the language of instruction is a subject of real national significance. Reforms have progressively moved schooling to Latvian as the language of instruction, including in schools that historically taught substantially in Russian, and this is a live political matter rather than an administrative detail. For a family arriving, the practical consequence is that your child will be educated in Latvian and will need support to get there.

Younger children manage this well; teenagers arriving close to examinations face a genuinely difficult transition.

Riga has an international school sector serving the diplomatic and business community, with fees high by Latvian standards, and there are bilingual options that suit families staying several years.

Preschool provision is available and subsidised, with municipal places in Riga subject to queues that are worth joining early. Extracurricular activity - music schools, sport, folk traditions including the strong choral culture - is inexpensive and widely taken up.

Family benefits are available to residents and are claimed rather than automatic. The general framework is in international versus local schools and moving abroad with kids.

What catches people out

The narrowness of the public healthcare basket relative to western European expectations. The centralisation of employment in Riga. The language sensitivity, which is worth understanding rather than blundering into. And the length of the winter, which is dark, though the country is well equipped for it.

For the regional picture, moving to Estonia is north with a more digital state and higher costs, moving to Lithuania is south with a faster-growing economy, and moving to Poland is the larger market beyond.

Detail on permits, housing and costs is in the Latvia country guide and the cost of living section. For current residence process experiences, the general forum is where people compare notes.