Analytics, China, EU – Baltic States, Investments, Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate

In the first nine months this year, the number of property purchases in Latvia by citizens of China has increased more than eightfold as compared to the same period last year. All these properties were bought so the buyers could receive Latvia's temporary residence permits.

A survey of citizens of China who have bought properties in Latvia via Rent in Riga found that 75% of them have rented the properties out or are looking for tenants to rent the properties, whereas 25% have either moved to Latvia or plan to do this in the near future.

Most Chinese citizens buy at least two apartments or homes in Latvia, one to live in and the other to rent out and thus earn some extra money. 70% of Chinese citizens who buy properties in Latvia purchase apartments and homes in Riga and the vicinity of Riga.

"The majority of the Chinese who buy real estate in Latvia do so for the purposes of obtaining Latvia's residence permits so they could freely travel in the Schengen area, on business or for leisure. However, if a family decides to actually live in Latvia, the family members usually work or plan to work for an international company, or to live off rent," said Rent in Riga board member Janis Lipsa, adding that there are few cases of Chinese citizens settling in Latvia – most simply wish to have the opportunity to freely travel in Europe.

Lipsa also says that Chinese families that settle in Latvia usually have two adults and one to two children of up to 12 years of age. Furthermore, the few Chinese families that decide to live in Latvia are keen to integrate and understand local culture – they learn Latvian and send children to Latvian schools or kindergartens.

According to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs data, 186 citizens of China received Latvia's temporary residence permits in exchange for investments in real estate as of September 18, 2013. The figure for the entire 2012 was 118 Chinese citizens.