Henley Q4 2025: 8th place (184 visa-free/visa-on-arrival/e-visa)
Arton Capital: 8th place
Nomad Passport Index: 7th (when you factor in taxation and global perception)
In practice: you only need to worry about a visa for roughly ten countries on the entire planet. The United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, and every non-EU country in Eastern Europe are all behind Latvia.
The One Feature No Other Passport Can Copy
Being EU.
That single word gives you the permanent right to wake up tomorrow and move to Paris, Berlin, Lisbon, Stockholm, or Cyprus, start working the same week, enrol your kids in local schools, buy an apartment, and never leave if you don’t want to. No residency cards, no income requirements, no “golden” anything. Just pack and go.
The Passport That Launched in 2024 and Instantly Went Viral (among passport nerds)
The series issued since February 2024 is legitimately beautiful:
Deep crimson cover with a holographic Freedom Monument that turns from silver to ruby
42 illustrated visa pages: migratory cranes in spring, amber coast in summer, golden birch forests in autumn, snow-covered Rundāle Palace in winter
UV-reactive flowers and birds that light up like a nightclub under black light
Polycarbonate data page + newest-generation biometric chip
10 years validity for everyone over 20
Immigration officers in Singapore and Dubai literally ask to flip through it.
Descent Route – Still the Best Dual-Citizenship Deal in the Baltics
If any ancestor up to great-grandparent was a citizen of Latvia before 17 June 1940, you can register (not “apply” – register) citizenship today.
Late 2025 reality:
Dual citizenship fully allowed – keep everything you already have
Zero residence, language, or visit requirement
Average processing: 7–14 months (some lucky ones under 6)
First passport after registration: free in Latvia, €94–€130 abroad
Over 15,000 people reclaimed Latvian citizenship in 2025 alone – the highest number ever
Naturalisation – Strict but Fair
No Latvian blood? Ten years of legal residence counted from age 15 (usually 5 temporary + 5 permanent).
Then:
B1 Latvian (conversational – most long-term expats pass first or second try)
History & Constitution test (30 questions, unlimited retakes, 96 % pass rate)
Loyalty oath in Latvian
Dual citizenship allowed for citizens of EU, NATO, EFTA, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel – otherwise renunciation (exceptions creeping in)
2025 Fees & Real Speed
In Latvia
Normal adult: €44 → 10 days
Fast-track: €70 → 2 working days
Children / pensioners: €20–€40
Abroad: €94–€160 and slightly slower
Lost it in Bangkok? Walk into the embassy, get a full new passport in 3–5 days or an emergency document in 24 hours.
Hidden Superpowers
Enter Georgia, Armenia, Moldova with the plastic ID card only
90 days visa-free in Taiwan (longer than almost any other EU passport)
Instant Global Entry, NEXUS, APEC Business Travel Card eligibility
Any EU embassy on earth is legally required to help you
Final Verdict
latvian passport will never have sponsored Instagram reels or booths at citizenship expos.
It doesn’t need them.
It just keeps delivering top-8 global mobility + unlimited European life rights + the most generous dual-citizenship ancestry program in the EU to the people who quietly do the paperwork.
In 2025 it remains the calmest, classiest, most powerful upgrade most people have never even considered, until they suddenly hold that crimson booklet in their hand and realise the game just changed forever.
Posted by Waivio guest: @waivio_marina-ordynat