Baltic Legal focuses on Corporate Law, Tax Law, Company Formation and Registration, and Accounting Services in all three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. If you intend to start business in the Baltic States, our team of professionals will provide you with full support and advice in choosing the type of a company, establishing and registration of the company, dealing with tax issues, and promoting your business in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia.
As countries have different cultural, legal and business administration systems without local knowledge and experience opening a company and its registration in a foreign country can be a challenge. Our assistance will guarantee accurate and timely execution of all the necessary measures in order to facilitate your operations in the Baltic States. Also, on many occasions we are able to offer our clients comprehensive advice on non-business related issues.
What we can do for you: we will help you solve complex issues and provide you with swift high-quality legal, accounting and business management services; we will provide an efficient service thus taking a large share of the workload off your shoulders; we will ensure high-quality professional company registration services and an individual approach to your needs, as well as loyalty, privacy and fast servicing; our clients will need only one partner to incorporate and maintain a company in the Baltic region that will significantly facilitate communication, teamwork and optimize total costs; Baltic Legal is aiming for long-term cooperation with its clients therefore we keep our legal fees at a very reasonable level. Our price for limited company registration in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia starts from EUR 200.
Our services: drawing up of documents necessary to open a company; company registration in the Commercial Register; drawing up of documents necessary to make changes in corporate documents; purchase or sale of companies; opening of bank accounts; Value Added Tax (VAT) registration with the State Revenue Service (SRS); enterprise representation on business meetings; tax advice; accounting services; legal services; full service of an enterprise. residence permit for investment in real estate Incorporation in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia The most common legal entity(business) set up in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is a limited liability company, also known as a LLC. This type of enterprise provides its owner with business opportunities, limiting the exposure of owner’s private capital to risks and not affecting his personal obligations. There are no restrictions to set up a company - enterprise can be set up by resident, non resident or legal entity. In Latvia a LLC is called SIA, in Estonia – OÜ and in Lithuania – UAB.
The process of incorporation is not as complex as that of a joint stock company, but still requires time and experience with establishment of such companies. Registration as a Value Added Tax (VAT) payer is not mandatory following the formation and incorporation of a company, but becomes necessary if the annual turnover exceeds the limit stipulated by the law. A limited liability company requires the minimum equity capital which is almost common in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia; however, there are different ways to invest the capital.
Introducing France which can be described as one of the biggest European countries with rich cultural heritage and respect for human rights. Statistics show us that the population of France is currently estimated at around 67.3 million. The biggest ethnic group is French. France also hosts many foreigners from Spain and Italy. There are also many immigrants from Algeria and Morocco, in addition to the other former French colonies in North Africa. The official language is French.
The Official currency is the Euro (EUR). France is a core member state of the European Union and the Schengen area, which provides many benefits for its residents. Currently France has no running business immigration programs, however, it is still possible to acquire a residence permit in France. For short stays up to 90 days, a visa will be required.
It may be quite difficult to obtain a residence permit in France, due to the strict immigration policies, in contrast with other European countries, such as Latvia. There is a significant difference in French law between a simple "visa" and a long stay or a residence permit, officially called "stay document" (carte de séjour in French). A long stay visa or entry permit is necessarily required for any person applying for a stay document. Applicant has to proceed by submitting an application with all supporting documents to a French Consular authority and receive an approval to travel to France. For the nationals of the OECD member states and the citizens of the U.S.A., however, no long stay visa is required to stay in France for a time period up to 90 days.
If you are a non-EU citizen, in order to stay in France for more than 3 months, you need a temporary residence permit, skills and talents residence card, resident card or retired residence permit. Thus, anyone entering France with the intention to stay in excess of 90 days and intends to work or study in France must have a long term visa or entry permit issued by the French authorities.
Immigration service providers Despite the fact that the French law sets certain exceptions for visa and entry permit requirements, the generally applied rule is that an applicant shall not be granted a stay document, as long as he hasn’t been previously evaluated and approved by a French Consulate. Thus, any person seeking entry to France must start out by drafting and submitting an application to the French Consulate, which is specifically responsible for his country of residence. Submitting application to a wrong Consulate authority most likely will result in refusal to issue an approval. Such services are usually best provided by law offices and immigration agencies.
Legal address / Mail forwarding If your business is not fully operational yet or you simply do not require physical presence locally we will provide a virtual address for your company for a fixed and reasonable fee. Mail and call forwarding services are possible. If your company needs legal address for registration purposes which is obligatory requirement by law, we can provide it for a set monthly fee.
Nominee Directors While your newly established or acquired company is not fully functional, it is possible to provide the services of nominee director for a set monthly fee. Nominee directors will help you to operate your company distantly and start economical activities as fast as possible.
Bank accounts Baltic Legal offers consultations to its clients in respect to requirements imposed by local Banks and State institutions in relation with opening bank accounts.
Assistance in obtaining the necessary certificates We can help you finding the appropriate institution to contact and also assist in submitting applications for certificates and permits. We also provide intellectual property protection services (registration of trademarks, patents, dealing with intellectual property protection organisations).
Translation services / language solutions We provide different type of translation services for our clients, necessary to conduct business or concerning immigration matters and investments. We will offer most efficient, cost and time - saving solutions for translation of your documents. When it comes to translation of legal/business documents to our clients we recommend our trusted partner – Translation Agency BALTTEXT.
Representation during negotiations We can help you to avoid the language barrier at meetings by representing client interests during negotiations with business partners or state authorities. Our clients can pursue their interest distantly, conclude different business transactions through Power of Attorney and receive necessary information in understandable language.
Partner reliability check Before establishing a business partnership, it is important to check whether you can trust your business partner. We can pursue evaluation of basic economic information of a company (date of registration, ownership, activities, major contractors, tax matters etc), provide information regarding possible criminal component in activities of a company, as well as individual personality traits of certain persons. BALTIC LEGAL has numerous connections about doing business in Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia and that makes our business support service the best available.
Insurance You know that every business faces a variety of risks. For example, there may be injury to employees in job related accidents, goods may be lost in transit; there may be fire in the office, and so on. In all these situations the entire loss is to be borne by the businessman or the owner. But, now-a-days, the risk of loss or damage is not entirely borne by the owner. The insurance provides protection against losses form such risk of the business for a nominal charge called premium. In other words, it helps the business in recovering losses which may arise due to various happening in the course of business, partly or fully from the insurance company. We can help you to choose the best type of insurance, as well as insurance provider in Latvia, Estonia or Lithuania.
Real estate search Real estate purchase usually is valuable investment therefore it needs accurate analysis and knowledge of local real estate market. We offer real estate search service for clients, interested in investing in real estate in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Invitation/business visit to Latvia If our client wants to meet us personally and analyse business opportunities on the place, we can request invitation to our main office in Riga in Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia. We will provide the list of necessary documents and information for the invitation request, as well as the place where the client could receive short term visa for the visit.
Panama is the southernmost country of North America. Most people know Panama because of the Panama Canal, construction of which was started by France and later finished by the United States. The Panama Canal is one of the biggest projects ever taken up by mankind and it now connects the Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean allowing for faster shipment of goods. Most of Panama's GDP comes from the Panama Canal.
Company formation Standard authorized capital is 7290 EUR which is divided into 100 registered shares of 73 EUR each. The company name may be in any language as long as it is different from existing or reserved corporate names in Panama. The business address of the company may be in any country Every Panama corporation must have an office with a registered address in Panama and a Panamanian agent, who is an attorney or has a law firm. Maintaining a company Every Panama Corporation must pay an annual renewal fee starting from the second year. For more information on Panama yearly renewal fee please contact us.
Tax information Any Panama Corporation conducting its business outside Panama is relieved from all local taxes including capital gain tax, income tax, stamp duty on transfer of corporate shares and dividend and any other property tax.
Official Name: Republic of Latvia Capital: Riga Total area: 65 000 km2 GDP per capita: $18,100 Native Language: Latvian Government: Parliamentary Democracy Population: 1,911,108 Major Religion: Evangelical Lutheranism Monetary Unit: Euro (EUR)
Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Located on the Baltic coast, Latvia is a flat country with large forests that provide timber for the construction and paper industries. The surrounding area is rich in wildlife. Latvia also produces consumer goods, textiles and machine tools. The country attracts tourists from all over Europe.
Ethnically, the population is 59% Latvian and 29% Russian, and more than a third live in the capital, Riga. Riga was founded in 1201 and is the largest city in the three Baltic States with 730,000 inhabitants. At 43 meters, the Statue of Liberty is one of the tallest monuments in Europe.
Latvia's 100-seat unicameral parliament, the Saeima, is elected every four years by direct popular vote. The President is also elected by Parliament every four years.
The best-known Latvians include the expressionist painter Mark Rothko and the contemporary composer Peteris Vasks.
Characteristic specialties of Latvian cuisine are speķapīrādziņi (bacon pies) and a refreshing, cold sour cream soup.
Health & Wellbeing Social security and benefit programs are being developed, including free provider choice, free medicines and prescriptions, and inclusive health insurance for all citizens.
Economy & Jobs Service, tourism, shipping, trade and agriculture.
Main attraction Riga, Bauska Castle, the cities of Jurmala, the historical town of Kuldiga and the medieval castles of Sigulda.
Immigration Latvian citizenship can be obtained in a number of ways. The most common are lineage, birth, marriage, award renewal, and business. Tourist, student and work visas are also available as immigration is provided through real estate.
Business Latvia is a small, open economy, with exports accounting for almost a third of GDP. Because of its geographic location, transit services are highly developed, along with timber and wood processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronics industries. Corruption remains a barrier to attracting foreign direct investment, and Latvia's low birth rate and declining population pose major challenges to its long-term economic vitality. Latvia's economy posted GDP growth of more than 10% per year in 2006/07, but slipped into a severe recession in 2008 due to an unsustainable current account deficit and high levels of debt amid the flagging global economy. Triggered by the collapse of the second largest bank, GDP collapsed by 18% in 2009. The economy has not returned to pre-crisis levels, despite strong growth, particularly in the export sector in 2011-12. The IMF, the EU and other international donors provided significant financial support to Latvia under an agreement to defend the currency's peg to the euro in exchange for the government's commitment to tough austerity measures. The IMF/EU program was successfully completed in December 2011. The government of Prime Minister Valdis DOMBROVSKIS has maintained its commitment to fiscal prudence, reducing the budget deficit to 2.7% of GDP in 2012 from 7.7% of GDP in 2010. The majority of companies, banks, and real estate have been privatized, although the state still holds significant stakes in some large companies, including 99.8% of the Latvian national airline. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 and the EU in May 2004. Latvia intends to join the eurozone in 2014.
Latvia is a country in Eastern Europe and one of the Baltic countries - the three countries that lie on the east coast of the Baltic Sea: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Historically, Latvia has been part of numerous other political entities, including Old Livonia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire and the USSR. Finally, the country gained independence in 1991.
Since the 13th century Latvia was an important trading hub and a bridge between Eastern Europe and the rest of the continent, it was also an important member of the Hanseatic League and it dominated maritime trade in the Baltic Sea until the 16th century. Today, Latvia is an independent market and an important economic player in the Baltic States.
Business In recent decades, Latvia has implemented a number of reforms in support of trade and the internal market, which have proved successful and improved the business environment. The amount of foreign investment and domestic consumption has increased during this period (except for a setback during the 2008-2009 crisis), showing that both Latvian residents and foreign investors have confidence in Latvia's current economic environment.
The already mentioned crisis of 2008-2009 strongly affected the economy of Latvia, as it happened in many other countries. There has been a 17% fall in GDP and a peak in unemployment of 17% (more than 20% according to some estimates), and the situation peaked in 2010, just after the crisis. The economy entered the phase of contraction, during which the so-called informal economy or shadow/unofficial economy occupied about 40% of the whole Latvian economy.
From 2010 to 2012, Latvia implemented various economic reforms and projects to restore damage economy. With the help of international funds, the country finally announced in 2012 that the economy was growing steadily again. This claim was also approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). GDP, exports and domestic consumption grew, and unemployment fell to around 9.5% in 2016 (almost double the crisis-era low).
Economic sectors Traditionally, there are four economic sectors: agriculture (including mining and extraction of natural resources), industry and manufacturing, services and information technologies (and other knowledge-based areas). Like the majority of the world's most developed countries, Latvia relies on the tertiary and quaternary sectors, namely services and knowledge-based industries.
Agriculture in Latvia The agricultural sector accounts for 4% of Latvia's GDP and employs approximately 7.7% of the population. The main industries within the agricultural sector are grain production, livestock, potatoes, sugar beet and other vegetables. The main agricultural export product is timber, as Latvia is rich in forests and forestry is generally well developed in the country. Apart from that, however, Latvia's resources are scarce and therefore not very developed. This applies in particular to energy-related resources - these and their products are mainly imported from abroad.
Industry in Latvia The industrial sector is the second most developed economic sector in Latvia. It contributes 24% to the country's GDP and around 28% of the labor force is employed in this sector. The most developed industries are metal processing, food processing and construction. Recently, high-tech industry is also undergoing significant development, and although this sphere is not currently an important branch, it is expected that this sphere will make an important contribution to the Latvian economy.
Legal Form of the Company Prior to establishing an enterprise it is essential to assess and choose the most appropriate type of an undertaking in terms of law and economics. This choice will affect not only the amount of necessary equity capital, but also the legal status of the enterprise and other business related issues.
Foreign entrepreneurs usually register the following types of undertakings:
limited liability company (SIA); joint stock company (AS); branch; representative office of foreign merchant
Obtaining a residence permit The uniqueness of these amendments lies in the fact that a new method for obtaining a residence permit was introduced – investing in real estate. It has attracted a large number of investors, as a foreigner investing in real estate has the possibility to move freely within the Schengen area. Citizens of the Russian Federation are especially interested in using this possibility, as Latvia is located in its vicinity and is a popular tourism destination due to its unique cultural monuments, well-known resorts and international festivals.
Benefits of holding temporary residence permit to stay in the Republic of Latvia for a period of time not exceeding five years to freely cross borders between EU Member States and non-EU countries to move and stay up to 90 days within a 6 month period to other EU countries except for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania to obtain a Latvian or EU permanent residence permit after five years to obtain temporary residence permits for the spouse and children What is residence permit? A residence permit is a document that gives a foreign citizen the right to temporarily (a temporary residence permit) or permanently (a permanent residence permit) stay in the Republic of Latvia. Invest wisely, invest in real estate which value is predicted to increase!
Temporary residence permit Issued for up to 5 years Must be re-registered every year Notice: According to amendments to the Immigration Law of the Republic of Latvia, adopted on 1 July 2010, expanding the possibilities to obtain a residence permit in Latvia for foreign nationals who want to stay and move freely within the Schengen area. Conditions on investing in real estate.
Swedbank is a modern bank with strong roots in Sweden's savings bank history. An inclusive bank with 8 million retail customers and more than 600,000 corporate and organizational customers.
This makes Swedbank the largest bank in Sweden in terms of the number of customers, giving it a leading position in the banking markets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. As a big bank.
Swedbank is an important part of the financial system and plays an important role in the local communities it serves. Committed to helping our customers, our shareholders and society as a whole to remain financially healthy and sustainable.
Latvia is a member-state of the European Union, which is why licences for importing goods to Latvia are needed only when importing from third countries. Below, you will find a table of goods that require submitting an import licence upon entering Latvia from a non-EU country.
Combined Nomenclature codes The Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes are a system of markings developed by the European Union for the purpose of marking goods. It is used both for statistics and classifying goods. The CN codes allow distinguishing between goods in a compact and precise way. They can also be used alongside non-official descriptions of products in order to provide references in case the descriptions are inaccurate or otherwise difficult to understand.
The Schengen Area is a group of 26 European countries that have abolished passport and immigration controls at their shared borders. The Schengen area consists of twenty-two member states of the European Union (EU) and four member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). It functions almost as a single country for international travel purposes, with its own common visa policy covering things like short-term visits and some types of work visas.
Short Story The Schengen Area was created on the basis of the Schengen Agreement (named after the city in Luxembourg where it was signed) and led to the creation of the borderless area of Europe in 1995. The agreement was signed on June 14, 1985 by five of the then ten member states of the European Economic Community. It proposed the gradual abolition of border controls at the common borders. Proposed measures included reduced-speed vehicle checks, allowing vehicles to cross borders without stopping, giving residents in border areas the freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, and harmonizing visa policies.
Changes In 1990, the agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Agreement, which provided for the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy. The Schengen area functions very much like a single state for international travel purposes, with external border controls for travelers entering and exiting the area and common visas, but no internal border controls.
Participants of the Schengen area The Schengen area currently consists of:
Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland
Since January 1, the Latvian banking system has been part of the Eurosystem, so the principles of the Eurosystem apply.
In order to achieve the price stability objective, the Eurosystem uses a range of monetary policy instruments and procedures. The strategy targets the level of money market interest rates needed to maintain price stability over the medium term, while the operational principles describe the means by which the relevant interest rate levels can be achieved using available monetary policy tools and procedures. The ECB controls short-term money market interest rates through its decisions on key ECB interest rates, which reflect the ECB's monetary policy stance and affect free liquidity in the money market.
Based on the available information on recent economic developments, the ECB needs to assess their impact on future risks to price stability. The monetary policy strategy followed by the ECB when analyzing macroeconomic developments is based on two pillars.
The first pillar includes an analysis of many economic and financial variables with potential implications for price stability in the short or medium term. The second pillar comprises an analysis of monetary aggregates, which points to the leading role of money in maintaining price stability and focuses on a longer-term perspective. Both strategic pillars of the Eurosystem aim to ensure a thorough analysis of monetary, economic and financial developments across the euro area. This detailed analysis allows the ECB to set the key ECB interest rates at levels that are best suited to fostering price stability in the euro area as a whole.
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
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