Retiring in Latvia: Residence, Pension Taxation, the S1 Form and Cost of Living

French nationals should carry a valid national identity card or passport to stay in Latvia (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). For a permanent stay of more than 90 days, an EU citizen applies for a registration certificate from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP). Your Europe sums up the conditions for a retiree: full health insurance and sufficient income to live without financial assistance.

• Amount of resources: the official pages consulted set no figure; the administration assesses each situation, and a pension statement eases the file.
• Residence declaration: it is made on latvija.gov.lv through an online service, or at the municipality of the place of residence, for an EU citizen holding a registration certificate; the cost on site is €4.27 (latvija.gov.lv).
• Permanent residence: after five years of legal, uninterrupted residence, the right of permanent residence is acquired; an absence of more than two consecutive years can cause it to be lost (europa.eu).
• Detailed formalities: France Diplomatie refers to the French embassy in Riga (9 Raina bulvāris) for residence formalities beyond three months.

The page on living in Latvia details the documents and registration with the consular register.

The convention between France and Latvia, signed in Paris on 14 April 1997, approved by the law of 30 January 2001 and in force since 1 May 2001 (impots.gouv.fr), allocates the right to tax each category of income.

• Private pensions and social security pensions (Article 18): subject to paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and similar remuneration paid to a resident of a State in respect of past employment are taxable only in that State. For a retiree resident in Latvia, these pensions therefore fall to Latvia; the French administration indicates that, where a convention contains no specific clause on social security pensions, the right to tax in principle goes to the State of residence (BOFiP, the French tax administration’s official bulletin). The return to be filed should be confirmed with the French and Latvian administrations.
• Public pensions (Article 19, paragraph 2): pensions paid by a State or authority for services rendered to that State are taxable only in that State, unless the beneficiary is a resident and national of the other State without holding the nationality of the first. A former French civil servant remains in principle taxed in France.
• Latvian allowance: a retiree’s tax-free minimum is higher than an employee’s and revised each year; the tax rates, changed by several reforms, can be read on the website of the tax service (VID) and the Ministry of Finance. The rules applicable to a foreign pension should be checked with these administrations.
• French levies: with tax residence outside France, the health contribution of 3.2% (basic pension) and 4.2% (supplementary pension) applies to general scheme pensions, and 7.1% to those of the self-employed; with tax residence in France, the CSG, CRDS and CASA apply (CLEISS).

The guide on receiving your pension abroad details the payment of pensions outside France. Individual advice lets you check the returns to be filed in each country.

A retiree who receives only a French pension, settles permanently or for more than six months a year in Latvia and does not work there requests the S1 from their pension fund (the CNAV, the national old-age insurance fund, for the general scheme; the public finance directorate for foreign residents for State pensioners), preferably before leaving (CLEISS). The National Health Service specifies that the S1 is necessary to receive State-funded care, that it is valid only once registered with it and that registration is refused if the person is insured in Latvia, through employment or a Latvian pension. Each family member concerned has their own S1.

• No local contribution: CLEISS indicates that no contribution to the local scheme is withheld, as the French pension already bears levies.
• Care in France: the holder stays covered in France and can be treated there for any reason, under French rules (CLEISS).
• Care pathway: family doctor of free choice, €1 from age 65 for a GP consultation, €4 for a specialist, €10 per day of hospitalisation, medicines reimbursed at 50%, 75% or 100% of the reference price (CLEISS); see the Latvian healthcare system and the page on healthcare reimbursement.
• Dental and optical: adults’ dental care at the patient’s expense; supplementary cover can fill the gap.

To complement this with first-euro cover or wider access to private providers, Expavy helps you compare the options; see also the page on retirement insurance abroad.

CLEISS indicates that the Latvian minimum pension ranged from about €150 per month for 15 years of insurance to about €250 for 51 years, amounts revalued regularly; these figures show the level of local incomes without setting a budget for a French retiree.

• Housing: rents and prices vary between Riga, Jūrmala, the coast and small towns; the Latvian statistics office publishes the reference statistics.
• Health: the patient’s share is capped at €570 per year excluding medicines, glasses and dental (CLEISS); the guide on budgeting for health abroad helps put a figure on the rest.
• Currency: the euro, with no exchange-rate risk for a pension paid in euros.
• Heating: the winters justify an energy budget, to be asked about with the landlord.

Riga concentrates health services, the French embassy, the French lycée and international connections; Jūrmala appeals with its coast and Sigulda with its nature. France Diplomatie recommends caution at night near the station and central market in Riga, flags scams in certain nightlife venues and civil protection alerts followed on the phone.

The choice depends on proximity to a hospital, a family doctor accepting patients in the area and transport: a doctor may refuse a patient from outside their area once they reach 1,800 adult patients (CLEISS). France Diplomatie mentions tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease for stays in rural or wooded areas. A trial stay of a full season, winter included, before signing a long lease limits unpleasant surprises; learning Latvian eases social life.

Periods completed in France and Latvia are added together to open entitlement: the guide on quarters worked abroad explains the aggregation. According to CLEISS, the statutory age is 65 (data at 1 July 2025); the 2021 overview indicated 64 at 1 January 2021, with an increase of 3 months per year up to 65 in 2025.

• Minimum period: 15 years of insurance (CLEISS).
• Early retirement: two years before the statutory age with at least 30 years of insurance (CLEISS).
• Second pillar: mandatory for people born from 2 July 1971, optional for those born between 2 July 1951 and 1 July 1971 (CLEISS).

These figures are indicative; the application is made to the Latvian social security agency, which specifies the amounts in force.

• Request the S1 from your pension fund, for yourself and for each family member concerned, and notify the French funds of the change of address and payment account.
• Apply for the registration certificate for a permanent stay of more than 90 days and declare your residence on latvija.gov.lv or at the municipality.
• Have the S1 registered with the National Health Service, then choose a family doctor.
• Register on the register of French nationals living abroad with the embassy in Riga.
• Declare the social security pension under the tax convention, after checking which State taxes it.

In the event of a return to France, the insured person contacts the last health insurance fund they came under: the page on returning to France details the steps.