On Thursday, the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Immigration Law in the final reading, which provides for preventing the citizens of Russia and Belarus from obtaining temporary residence permits (TUAs) using the investment program in alternative investment fund managers.
As Raimonds Bergmanis (AS), head of the Parliament’s Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Commission, stated at the Saeima session, the amendments are urgently needed, because a mistake was made when the Immigration Law was adopted earlier and it was “missed”.
The amendments were developed taking into account the current political conditions and the security risks associated with them, in order to prevent the granting of such residence permits through the mentioned investment mechanism.
With the amendments, the norms of the Immigration Law have been clarified, adding references to the relevant articles, as well as a transitional regulation, which provides that the changes will enter into force simultaneously with the changes to the Immigration Law adopted on June 11, 2026.
The annotation indicates that the amendments do not have a significant impact on the state budget or the development of the national economy, and their implementation will be ensured in the work of existing institutions.
As reported, the Saeima previously adopted a new Immigration Law in its final reading, which envisages significantly strengthening migration control, revising entry and residence procedures for citizens of third countriesas well as provides opportunities for foreigners to receive TUA for a period of up to five years in exchange for investments.
With the changes in the first part of Article 26 of the law, a new point has been included, specifying that a temporary residence permit can be granted to a foreigner who has concluded a contract and made investments of at least 150,000 euros for at least five years in an alternative investment fund manager established by the state. In addition, the foreigner will have to pay 10,000 euros to the state budget.
At the same time, it is expected that the issued residence permit will be valid only if, during its validity, the relevant fund manager certifies that the investment contract has not been terminated and the amount of the investment has not decreased below 150,000 euros.
This regulation is intended to attract investments to the national economy, while ensuring stricter control over the preservation of investments throughout the duration of the residence permit, as stated in the annotation of the law.
