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Please note. Information notice published as of 02/25/2022
Information about the rules of entry toLatvia, obtaining the necessary documents and finding a job for citizens of Ukraine who are leaving Ukraine due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation >
Information on entering and staying in Latvia
The Latvian state will provide accommodation, food and other assistance to citizens of Ukraine who leave Ukraine due to the military conflict.
To stay and work in Latvia, citizens of Ukraine will be issued long-term visas with the right to work in Latvia.
COVID-19
Lack of medical documents (vaccination certificate, COVID-19 test) will not be an obstacle for citizens of Ukraine to enter Latvia.
Medical assistance
If you or a member of your family need urgent medical assistance upon arrival in Latvia, notify an employee of the State Border Service who works at the border checkpoint, or call 113.
When arriving through checkpoints
There will be border checks for those entering with biometric passports, and visas will be issued to those who hold other travel documents but do not have a visa to enter the European Union. If
the person does not have a travel document, he is identified in cooperation with the competent authorities of Ukraine.
Citizens of Ukraine who do not have a place to live in Latvia must inform the employees of the State Border Service about the need for assistance.
Arrival by crossing the border of Estonia or Lithuania
Citizens of Ukraine who do not have a place to live in Latvia should contact the State Border Service at the following telephone numbers:
+371 67913569,
+371 67913568
Where to get information?
About the procedure for submitting documents for a visa and registration
for a long-term visa: +371 67209400 (Monday-Thursday 8:30-16:00; Friday 9:00-15:00)
State border crossing: +371 67913569, +371 67913568 (24/7)
Permit for permanent residence in Latvia.
To obtain a permanent residence permit in Latvia, a foreign citizen must officially reside in the Republic of Latvia for at least 5 years and stay on its territory for at least 6 months each year.
The right to receive a permanent residence permit is granted to a foreigner who has officially lived in Latvia for at least 5 years and has purchased real estate worth at least 250,000 euros.
A spouse of a citizen of Latvia has the right to obtain a permanent residence permit.
The period of residence for obtaining a permit does not apply to minor children, one of whose parents is a citizen/resident of Latvia, as well as children who have graduated from a Latvian school.
For foreign citizens studying at Latvian universities, only half of the period of stay in the country is taken into account (that is, 1 year is counted as 6 months).
Main requirements for a foreigner who wishes to obtain a permit:
- age older than 15 years;
- Successfully pass the Latvian language test (minimum level – A2), with the exception of persons who have reached the age of 65;
- Successfully pass a test on knowledge of the Constitution, history and traditions of the Republic of Latvia;
- Know the anthem of Latvia;
- Have a permanent income of at least 430 euros per month (must be documented);
- Not have tax debts;
- Confirm that the foreign citizen did not violate migration legislation during his stay in Latvia on the basis of a temporary residence permit.
An application to extend the validity period of a permanent residence permit is submitted to the Directorate for Citizenship and Migration once every 5 years.
Permit for temporary residence in Latvia
To obtain a temporary residence permit in Latvia, a foreign citizen must apply to the Consulate of Latvia or to the local Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs.
A temporary residence permit in Latvia is issued for a period of 1 year with the right to further extension up to 5 years and is a plastic ID card that contains information about the owner.
The following have the right to purchase a temporary residence permit:
- Foreigners based on family reunification;
- Foreigners who wish to open a business in Latvia;
- Foreigners working on the territory of Latvia;
- Foreigners who teachlocated on the territory of Latvia;
- Investors;
- Foreigners who purchased real estate on the territory of Latvia;
- Scientific staff;
- Foreigners undergoing treatment on the territory of Latvia;
- Foreigners engaged in religious activities on the territory of Latvia;
- Foreigners holding an EU Blue Card;
- Foreigners who had Latvian citizenship before June 17, 1940.
Temporary residence permit for relatives:
A citizen of Latvia or a foreign citizen residing in Latvia on the basis of a permanent residence permit has the right to family reunification:
- Husband wife;
- Minor children;
- Parents;
- Close relatives.
Temporary residence permit for businessmen, investors, real estate owners.
A foreign citizen who wants to open a business in Latvia must:
- Have an approved business plan;
- Contribute authorized capital in the amount of at least 2,800 euros;
- At the time of submitting the documents, the company must exist for at least one year (to avoid receiving a fictitious temporary residence permit).
A foreigner has the right to receive a temporary residence permit if he has purchased real estate in the territory of the Republic of Latvia in the amount of at least EUR 250,000 and has also paid a state duty of 5% of its value.
The changes made to Latvian legislation allow the purchase of property not only from Latvian citizens and companies, but also from persons registered on the territory of the EU.
Payment is made exclusively by cashless payment in order to avoid cases of fraud.
A foreigner who wishes to obtain a temporary residence permit by investing in the Latvian economy must:
- Conclude an agreement with credit companies for a period of at least 5 years and in the amount of 280,000 euros;
- Invest funds in Latvian enterprises:
a) The turnover of the company is more than 10 million euros per year, the staff is from 50 employees, the investment amount is 150,000 euros;
b) The turnover of the company is less than 10 million euros per year, the staff is from 50 employees, the investment amount is 35,000 euros.
The annual tax payable to the state must be at least €40,000.
Temporary residence permit based on employment:
- Foreign citizens who wish to work in Latvia must obtain a work permit. A temporary residence permit is issued to a foreigner for a period of 1 year with the right to extend it up to 5 years. The salary of a foreign citizen must be at least 860 euros per month.
- A foreigner does not have the right to change employers within 1 year.
- A Latvian company that hires a foreign citizen must notify the State Employment Agency, which checks within a month that Latvian and EU citizens are not applying for the vacancy.
Work in Latvia:
If you plan to find a really decent job in this country, you will have to learn Latvian. For some types of work, it will be useful to know another foreign language. Moreover, such knowledge will be needed already at the stage of job search, since in some cases you will have to deal with local sites or employment agencies.
The main online sites where you can find a good option:
www.cv.lv – here they will help you to make the perfect resume and choose a vacancy not only by its name, but also by the name of the company.
www.workingday.lv – a great advantage of this site is the selection of vacancies for foreign workers in a separate section: visas vakances;
www.sidc.lv is another resource where the search is facilitated by the presence of a Russian-language version of the site. Here you can simply fill out an application according to your wishes, and the moderators will take care of your employment;
www.ss.lv – the site presents about 6 thousand vacancies in various fields, and you can read the catalogs in Russian.
To get a place in a Latvian company, you must submit a package of necessary documents to the employer:
- foreign passport;
- Latvian visa;
- permit to conduct labor activity.
Depending on the position you are applying for, the management of the enterprise may require proof of your education and work experience.
The following categories of citizens have no chance of employment:
in children younger than 15 years;
among 15-18-year-olds (although, here we are talking only about vacancies with a high degree of health risk).
The main document that your future employer will need is a work permit. It is issued by the Office for Migration and Citizenship. However, if it is available, you can work only in a certain settlementwithin the same company. This means that the permit is issued exclusively under a specific employment contract. If you intend to combine two types of work, even in the same company, you will have to obtain permission for each of them. It goes without saying that if you change your position or place of work, you will have to submit documents for obtaining a permit again. Such a concept as the extension of a permit document simply does not exist in Latvia. A new paper for a new period of time is issued instead of the previous one.
Another peculiarity of the local law is that if you lose your job, your residence permit, which you receive immediately after entering the country and passing all the formalities, is automatically canceled.
So, the employment process in Latvia is as follows:
Job search.
Receiving an invitation from an employer.
Submitting an application to the Ministry of Migration for a work permit (for this, a preliminary contract will have to be attached to the package of papers).
- Issuance of a work visa.
- Entry to Latvia.
- Obtaining a residence permit.
A work permit is issued to a migrant immediately upon arrival in the country. For this, he needs to appear at the Migration Office within the first three days. After he receives this document, he must be registered with the Department of State Revenue (similar to the Ukrainian fiscal service).
