'Schengen visas' (a.k.a. the uniform schengen visa) are granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Member State onto a passport, travel document or other valid document which authorises its holder to cross the borders of the Schengen Area - whether their voyage through Europe is just a journey, or an adventure.
The Schengen Area is a group of 26 European countries that have abolished passport and immigration controls at their common borders and have a uniform visa policy. It functions almost as a single country for international travel purposes, which, while still allowing member countries to add special provisions of their own with regard to residency and local visa types, ensures that some visa types are universal, and that an individual with a residency in one Schengen country does not need a visa to visit or transit another Schengen country - in this sense it comes very close to being a common European Union immigration policy (The United Kingdom and Ireland are part of their own separate agreement called 'the common travel area' and hence Schengen rules do not apply there, even though they are both part of the European Union. It is also with noting that the Schengen Area also includes countries that are not members of the EU.).
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.
Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term continent can incorporate cultural and political elements.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 countries, Russia is by far the largest by both area and population, taking up 40% of the continent (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million or about 11% of the world's population.
Europe has one of the best standards of living in the world and because of this many people are searching for a way to legally live there.
Economy The economy of Europe comprises more than 731 million people in 48 different countries. Like other continents, the wealth of Europe's states varies, although the poorest are well above the poorest states of other continents in terms of GDP and living standards. The difference in wealth across Europe can be seen roughly in former Cold War divide, with some countries breaching the divide (Portugal, Slovenia and the Czech Republic). Whilst most European states have GDP per capita higher than the world's average and are very highly developed (Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland), some European economies, despite their position over the world's average (except for Moldova and Turkey) in the Human Development Index (Armenia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kazakhstan) are still catching up with European leading countries.
The European countries, with a long history of trade, a free market system, and a high level of development in the previous century are generally in the north and west of the continent. They tend to be wealthier and more stable than countries congregated in Europe's south and east, even though the gap is closing, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, partly due to higher growth rates, but partly also due to the equalizing effect provided by the European Union.
Europe in 2010 had a nominal GDP of $19.920 trillion (30.2% of World GDP). Europe's largest national economy is that of Germany, which ranks fourth globally in nominal GDP, and fifth in purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP; followed by France, ranking fifth globally in nominal GDP, followed by the United Kingdom, ranking sixth globally in nominal GDP, followed by Italy, which ranks seventh globally in nominal GDP, then by Russia ranking tenth globally in nominal GDP.
Of the top 500 largest corporations measured by revenue (Fortune Global 500 in 2010), 184 have their headquarters in Europe. 161 are located in the EU, 15 in Switzerland, 6 in Russia, 1 in Turkey, 1 in Norway.
Purchasing real estate is a serious process, which requires consideration of a great deal of legal matters. Taking into account things such as that, all documents must be filled in latvian, and the many issues that require specific knowledge in order to make things move quickly, we highly recommend you to hire professional, who will help you with the procedure. If you want to save your time and money, you can make a power of attorney, so that another person can take care of everything on your behalf. However, in this case, you will still need to visit Latvia in order to submit your documents to the Land register department personally.
What you should do before purchasing real estate? This step is optional, however, we highly recommend you to do so. Before signing a purchase contract it is best to check real estate for any liens orrestrictions (servitutes, loans, credits e.t.c.). This formal procedure will ensure you that your chosen real estate does not come with any nasty financial surprises, and it is safe to purchase. Also, this can prevent you from having legal issues or judicial claims brought against you in future. This procedure can be done for you by the companies providing legal services.
Also, you better make sure, that the seller has the right to sell this property. You can also inquire about utility payments (are they all paid) and declared persons (if this is flat).
The procedure of purchase of real estate This is step by step procedure of purchasing real estate in Latvia.
STEP 1 – Purchase contract In order to purchase real estate property you do need to sign purchase contract. This must be done in written form with a notarial assurance.
STEP 2 - Request for corroboration for сhange of ownership This document must be signed with notarial assurance as well. This is a standard document, which is submitted to Land register department, requesting change of ownership rights. Notarially assured purchase contract – is ground for doing so.
STEP 3 – Payment for the real estate There are seveal models of payment:
Payment at the moment of signing the contract; Payment at the moment of signing request for corroboration for сhange of ownership; Partial payment before and partial payment after corroboration of ownership rights; Opening an escrow account in the bank. STEP 4 – Payment of processing fees and real estate tax Processing fees estimate around EUR 21. Real estate tax estimates 2% from the cost of real estate. It has to be paid by the buyer.
STEP 5 – Submit of the documents At this point, all the aforementioned documents and payment bills must be submitted to the Land register department.
STEP 6 – Results It usually takes 14 working days to get the request for corroboration for сhange of ownership approved or cancelled. Normally, in 14 working days, your ownership rights will be corroborated and you can come and receive your Land Register certficate.
According to statistical data from the Central Statistical Office, the number of foreign visitors registered in hotels and other apartments in Latvia in the first half of 2011 reached almost 445 thousand, which is an increase of almost 30% compared to this period of the last year. The number of foreigners registered in Latvia in the first half of the year who decided to stay overnight exceeded the number of people registered in the last ten years. In the first half of the year, a significant proportion of tourists - almost 81% - decided to spend the night in Riga.
Latvian Tourism DevelopmentLinks to an external site. Agency Director Armands Slokenbergs says: The escalation of the number of tourists was facilitated by the joint marketing activities of the industry and LTDA, and the benefit is partly also due to the new tourism image of Latvia and the slogan Best slowly enjoyed, which was slowly enjoyed by both local tourism professionals as well as by international experts from the World Tourism Organization and the world's largest travel guide The Lonely Planet. For 2011 we expect excellent results in the tourism industry. Knowing that the scope of LTDA's marketing activities will broaden in the coming years, we can confirm that Latvia as a tourist destination has returned to the tourism market solidly and safely.
Acquiring a residence permit based on a business investment is best suited for those who want to start or develop their business within the European Union while enjoying the benefits of legally residing in the EU – with all the associated conveniences of travel. Statistics show that investing in a business is a less popular way of obtaining a residency permit than buying a property. However, there are some peculiarities that make this option the best solution for some investors.
Financial investment in local business During the last year the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in Latvia received 268 residence permit applications based on investments made in local companies. The amount of investment is estimated at around 13.5 million lats. Qualifying Investors who complete a successful application receive a residence permit for an initial period up to 5 years, with further extensions possible.
When it comes to the size of investment required, there are two possible options, but since the changes to the immigration law that took place on September 1st 2014, the second option becomes almost impossible to accomplish.
a. The first option is a contribution to the equity of a Latvian company in the amount of more than EUR 50,000. However, to qualify with this smaller investment, there are additional requirements: you must invest in the equity of a joint stock company or a limited liability company, and this company has to pay taxes in the amount of not less than EUR 40,000 per year. b. The second option is contributing EUR 150,000 to the equity of a Latvian company (joint stock or limited liability company). While this option requires a greater initial investment, the advantage is that there are no requirements as to the amount of taxes that the company pays annually. The company must employ at least 50 employees and have at least 10 million EUR of annual turnover. Choosing correctly between these two options may be strategically important when it comes to making plans for your future business. We can help you to choose the best possible solution that satisfies your needs by making all the necessary calculations for you and providing any needed consultations regarding applicable opportunities. We can also provide full legal support for the whole process - including your residency permit.
Cryptocurrency is a relatively new term, which have emerged in 2008. Generally speaking - it is a digital currency. Main principles of nearly all the cryptocurrencies are:
decentralization of emission / control bodies; application of various cryptography methods; collective systematization. Cryptocurrencies usually have no common emission and controlling bodies. No national banks or other governmental structures has any direct control over cryptocurrency emission and value. This explains why it’s value and general status are set solely by a theoretical consensus of all it’s holders.
Modern blockchain technology Blockchain is a system that records all transactions in relation to the cryptocurrency. The system contains modules, each called “block”. Every block represents a decoded record of a specific cryptocurrency related transaction. It also contains a coded reference to the previous block, which consecutively contains a record regarding the previous transaction. As a result, all the information regarding transactions and manipulations done with certain units of a single cryptocurrency can be followed back to the original entry. By performing such backtrack - it’s validity can be verified. You need to consider that the blocks and entries cannot be altered once they are registered, making it impossible to impact / modify the whole chain, making it a safe and elegant solution to digital transactions.
Cryptocurrency trading Despite the fact that there are several different cryptocurrencies, each serving different purposes and utilizing slightly variative methods, there is a common set of rules worth following, when dealing with cryptocurrency trading:
learn as much as you can about the blockchain and it’s main principles; study about the most popular cryptocurrencies and their advantages; carefully evaluate your possibilities and possible risks; stay updated about financial and cryptocurrency related news; create an exchange account for crypto trading specifically; start off by dealing with smaller amounts to study the market; always research and keep improving your knowledge; eventually try trading with larger numbers, implement complex solutions.
Cryptocurrency mining procedure Crypto mining is a general way to refer to a process of transaction validation. It is usually performed by utilizing computing powers to make specific calculations within a common mining system. For contributing calculating powers miners are usually rewarded with certain units of cryptocurrency being mined. Such mining impacts and increases the overall number of cryptocurrency in the turnover, affecting it’s public value.
Cryptocurrency payment solutions Since cryptocurrencies have rapidly emerged only a decade ago, the national governments so far had almost no chance to properly react and adopt bills and regulations in relation to cryptocurrency utilization, as a result, most of the public services could not be paid in crypto. However, as the value of many cryptocurrencies increased - many governments started showing increased interest in BitCoin and few other cryptocurrencies. Numerous companies and financial institutions have started actively developing and implementing crypto-based payment platforms and other solutions, some of which were requested by the official governments.
Initial coin offering (ICO) ICO is a non-regulated crowdfunding based joint venture aimed to raise funds for a newly established cryptocurrency. It is often used by new companies to avoid capital-raising process involving search for investing parties, often required by traditional investors or banks. During an ICO campaign, certain percent of new cryptocurrency is acquired by the early investors, gaining a legal tender or other cryptocurrencies in exchange.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is a constitutional monarchy located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands of the British Isles. Large portion of the United Kingdom's GDP comes from the service sector. United Kingdom also has a large automotive business, millions of tourists every year and well developed air traffic.
Company formation When you start a business in the UK you must choose a structure for your business. Most businesses in the UK are: sole traders, limited companies, partnerships. When setting up business in the UK you may need to apply for a licence, depending on what your business is.
Please check the expected company name and address with us to learn if such is available. Details about company Director and Secretary Share Capital and Shareholder Details You must register for VAT with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if your business turnover is more than £79,000.
Maintaining a company Returns must be filed annually, failure to do so is considered a criminal offence and may result in a fine depending on the company type and duration of delay. Your Corporation Tax rate depends on how much profit your company makes and may change on 1 April each year. Corporate tax rate In United Kingdom corporate main tax rate is changed from year to year in 1st April.
Rate From 1 April 2014 Profits £300,000 or less (small profits rate) 20% Profits above £300,000 (main rate) 21%
The concept of outsourcing some of the day-to-day activities of the company has proven to be an effective way to improve performance in many countries. Many companies have found it beneficial to eliminate all departments not directly related to their primary line of business: sales, manufacturing, or services.
We provide accounting services for small and medium sized businesses (accounting services only in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia) and offer an efficient and friendly service that offers cost-effective solutions for your accounting and payroll needs in all Baltic States. We implement a full financial analysis of accounting and timely notification of the manager about any risks that threaten successful business development. We take care of preparing accounting reports, all necessary accounting documents related to Latvia and submitting them to the State Revenue Service, Central Statistical Office and other institutions of the Republic of Latvia.
Our accounting services in Latvia include: Financial accounting and reporting Accounting for special purposes (payroll, accounting in the customer system, helping foreign customers to fill out VAT returns, etc.) Preparation of annual accounts Creation of regulatory documents (e.g. internal accounting regulations) Communication with the tax authorities Complete management of the company's accounts Accounting advice in day-to-day business Beyond creating the books and reports, we continue to work with the client. At this stage, our services include, among other things, monitoring the accounting activities performed by the client and assisting in solving accounting issues.
Our services also include:
Ad hoc support for internal finance staff, financial controllers and management on accounting and tax issues Assistance with statutory or internal audits Conducting periodic reviews of accounting records and procedures Implementation of a model for posting transactions in the group's single currency Implementation of a reporting model for group reporting purposes Development of a methodology for creating and controlling the company budget
Legislation in Estonia discriminates against United States (US) companies by prohibiting them from directly acquiring shares in public limited companies registered in Estonia.
Namely, all shares of joint-stock companies registered in Estonia are registered in the Estonian Central Register of Securities (EVK) and the condition for receiving shares is keeping a securities account with an account manager, i.e. H. a local commercial bank. The prerequisite for opening a securities account is also the opening of an associated bank account. Apart from negotiations related to the transaction, etc., the first step an investor must take to purchase shares is to open a securities account and bank account with a local commercial bank. The latter also applies to the acquisition of a share in a limited liability company registered with the EVK.
However, opening a securities account and bank account can prove unexpectedly complicated, if not impossible. Namely, local banks have adopted a practice whereby companies registered in the US will not open securities accounts at all, except in certain extreme exceptional cases. There are a number of reasons for this, for example banks have been given particularly strict requirements for providing financial services to people outside the EU. The requirements mentioned result primarily from the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act, the relevant regulations of the Minister of Finance, as well as from the guidelines of the financial supervisory authority and EU guidelines. Accordingly, restrictions also result from US legislation which prohibits the provision of a number of services to US persons by companies incorporated outside the US that do not have a license to operate from US financial regulators. Providing services without an activity license may involve some risks. Ultimately, of course, it boils down to the question of the banks' own risk policies. As a private entity, a bank is free to choose its customers and the reasons for refusing to open an account can vary. In view of the demands on the banks, it is understandable that the banks are rather cautious in this regard.
The situation described above has resulted in banks generally not opening securities accounts for US incorporated companies. In this context, we do not mean professional investment companies, but investors who want to do business in Estonia. Moreover, an investor who intends to acquire stocks in Estonia is hardly willing to open a securities account and a bank account in Estonia in his/her name, resulting in the investor spending a lot of time and money on completing the paperwork and providing the bank wastes documents and to bear follow-up costs in connection with account management.
The requirements for the bank result primarily from the specificity of the financial service and are not aimed at justifying restrictions on share ownership, which, however, is an inevitable result. Therefore, an artificial situation has been created in which investors from the US are forced to either invest in Estonia through a subsidiary located in another European country, or to first acquire a limited liability company in Estonia whose only business is to issue shares keep. Since the registration of shares in a limited liability company in Estonia with the EVK is voluntary, there is no need to open a securities account. In this case, transactions are processed before a notary, whose activity is also subject to the provisions of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act, but in their case does not exclude the conclusion of such transactions. Accordingly, this constitutes somewhat unreasonable discrimination between the acquisition of stocks in public versus stocks in limited liability companies, which is hardly the aim of current legislation.
Finally, it should be noted that this problem is certainly not limited to investments from the US. Other investments from outside the EU may face similar problems, but investments from the US are the most common among them, leading to these problems recurring.
Business formation sometimes requires a deeper dive into the proposed business to understand the need for specific permits, licenses, or registrations with the appropriate state agencies.
Depending on the proposed line of business, it may be necessary to apply to the State Revenue Services and register as a VAT payer. Baltic Legal recommends registering with the tax authority at the time of company formation. In this case, the paperwork is minimized.
Baltic Legal can support and prepare other documents required for doing business in Latvia, for example to obtain a license, certificate or registration with the relevant state authorities.
The process of company formation and registration is not considered complex. Registration takes only four business days from the moment all incorporation documents are prepared and submitted to the Commercial Register of the Republic of Latvia. The registration time may be shortened by up to two business days in response to such a request. Registration with other institutions can take from a few days to a month.
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