Latvia approved 30 applications for investor visas and 53 dependent visas under its so-called golden visa programme in the first half of 2024, Investment Migration Insider reports. The biggest number of approved applications were submitted by Chinese (11) and Turkish (7) nationals. The EUR 50,000 business investment option accounted for 22 and real estate investments…
Lithuania has introduced stricter rules on residence permit applications through external service providers as of 1 December 2024, BNS reports. From now on, only citizens of countries with an office of the external service provider can use their services. Citizens of other countries can apply for temporary residency permits at an office in another country…
A public petition in Latvia is collecting signatures to restrict or ban US entrepreneur Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (former Twitter), in Latvia, BNS reports. The author of the legislative initiative, Gvido Grava, notes that an increasing volume of disinformation is being spread on X. He points out that X fails to comply with…
Latvia’s State Police has made the country’s largest ever drug bust near Aluksne, LETA reports. Police seized over 38,000 litres of chemical liquids used as precursors for the production of synthetic drugs. Police found more than one tonne of Clephedrone (4-CMC) with a market value of at least EUR 400mn at the illegal production facility…
Latvian municipalities have begun switching on central heating for households amid the onset of colder weather, LETA reports. Riga’s municipal housing company, Rigas Namu Parvaldnieks (RNP), began providing heating to tenants on 4 October 2024. RNP will turn off heating automatically on warmer days. The Jekabpils municipality will switch on heating in kindergartens first and…
Lithuania has almost 8,000 foreign students with temporary residence permits, according to the Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD), BNS reports. Nearly 1,400 Indian citizens, 959 Belarusians, and 709 Pakistanis are currently doing their studies in Lithuania. So far in 2024, LMD has issued over 3,000 temporary residence permits for permanent studies to foreigners, compared to 4,400…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed in final reading amendments to ban advertising of beer and wine on radio and TV, Baltic News Network reports. The ban will apply to advertisements that include information on prices and discounts. The restriction is aimed at reducing the total consumption and negative impact of alcohol on young…
Over 150 public figures in Lithuania have signed an appeal to President Gitanas Nauseda and political parties, urging them to reject antisemitic politicians, LRT reports. Earlier, top politicians and Jewish community leaders warned of continuing antisemitism in Lithuania, BNS reported. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte pointed to antisemitic statements by former MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of…
The Lithuanian government has launched a pilot scheme to combat the use of narcotics and smoking in schools, LRT reports. Seven schools in Vilnius, Klaipeda, and Alytus will take part in the pilot programme, placing students under closer surveillance. The aim is to develop a joint response plan to prevent drug use and smoking. The…