Saeima committee rejects PM's and economy minister's residency-for-investment proposals

The Saeima's Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee decided on Wednesday not to proceed with a proposal from Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (United List) that would have allowed foreigners to obtain a temporary residence permit in exchange for investing in alternative investment funds.

A similar fate met a proposal from Economy Minister Viktors Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers), who had suggested amending the Immigration Law to allow residence permits to be issued in exchange for investment in real estate. The committee rejected this proposal as well.

The outcome of both proposals was reported by the LSM.lv program "Let's Discuss in the Evening."

Both rejected proposals were meant to revive or expand a so-called "golden visa" style investment residence permit scheme, which Latvia had previously operated in connection with real estate investment before it was significantly restricted.