Find an employer

The common practice for searching for a job in Latvia entails communication with the potential employer via the email address listed in the job advertisement or a dedicated career website.

Applying for a job usually entails sending a completed CV (Curriculum Vitae) to the potential employer. Your CV should contain your professional experience, qualifications, and skills (highlighting the skills and experience most relevant to the job). Some employers may request a cover/motivational letter and/or references from previous workplaces, but in most cases, this only applies to high-level positions. If you are looking for guidance on how to prepare a CV and motivational letter, check out the Europass website. Please note that employers in Latvia expect to receive applications from candidates who are qualified to do the job and who meet at least the minimum criteria specified in the job advertisement.
 

Candidates selected for the next stage of recruitment are usually invited for an interview with the employer. The interviews are relatively formal and can be held online, via phone or face-to-face. During the interview, you may ask questions about the potential job. 

Riga has many career opportunities for you.

All you have to do is spend some time searching the job ad platforms and choose the most suitable offer for you. You can start your search by checking out the Available jobs section on our website.

But if you want to expand your search, here are some useful resources:

• Cv.lv - the biggest local job ad platform in Latvia covering all industries;
• YourMove.lv - a platform connecting foreign professionals to companies in Latvia that are seeking global talent;
• LinkedIn - a platform for establishing a network of local professionals, following the vacancies announced on company profiles or simply using the LinkedIn Jobs section to search;
• MeetFrank - career app specialising in IT, software engineering, data, and marketing vacancies;
• ABSL Latvia - a list of the career pages of Business Service centres located in Latvia;
• EURES network - here you will find the contact information of Latvia-based consultants who specialise in supporting international job seekers;
• State Employment Agency’s vacancy website (use the Translate to English option) - provides information about available vacancies registered in the NVA database. You can also upload your CV in this section to search for a job in Latvia;
• WorkingDay - a recruiting app which offers suitable jobs and job search agents;
• Visidarbi.lv - a Latvia-based job portal providing access to thousands of job ads collected from the most popular job and career portals, ad portals and largest company websites.

Salaries are usually paid monthly unless otherwise agreed upon in the Employment Contract. In job advertisements, Job Offers and Employment Contracts gross salaries will usually be shown pre-tax (bruto in Latvian).

In accordance with current legislation, the minimum pre-tax (gross) monthly salary in Latvia is EUR 620 for a standard working time of 40 hours per week. In 2022, the average pre-tax (gross) salary in Latvia was EUR 1277. The average salary in the country is variable - historical and current average salaries are available in the Official statistics database, which you can find here.

To calculate your expected salary and taxation amount, use this salary calculator!

Taxes (including income and part of social contributions) are deducted from pre-tax salary by the employer before it is paid out. Employees are not required to make any tax payments themselves.

The income of Latvian taxpayers is subject to a progressive Personal Income Tax (PIT) of 20%, 23% or 31% depending on the income level. In addition, social contributions per individual come to 34.09% (from which 23.59% are covered by the employer on top of the employee’s pre-tax salary, whereas 10.50% are deducted from the employee’s pre-tax salary).

If the employer has registered a company in Latvia, it is the employer’s responsibility to register the employee as a taxpayer with the State Revenue Service. After being registered as a taxpayer, you must submit your electronic payroll tax booklet via the SRS Electronic Declaration System (EDS). Once you have done this, tax allowances (for example, for dependents) and non-taxable minimum can be applied. For non-EU citizens, we advise you to consult your employer about the tax booklet registration as it depends on the permit type. However, if you are self-employed or have income coming from sources registered outside of Latvia, it is your responsibility to register as a taxpayer with the State Revenue Service – it is strongly advisable to consult the State Revenue Service in advance to clarify the relevant steps that you need to take.

Please visit the State Revenue Service website for detailed information.

Before starting work in Latvia, an employment contract has to be signed by both parties. By signing the contract, the employee and employer confirm that they have reached an agreement on the exact work duties to be performed by the employee, the employee's salary, working hours and other employment conditions. Citizens of non-EU countries may only start working if they have a signed contract and have received a visa, temporary residence permit or an EU Blue Card.

Usually, employment contracts in Latvia are concluded for an indefinite period. However, it is also possible to conclude an employment agreement for a fixed period, although this has to be justified (seasonal work, substitution, etc.) and might have some legal limitations.

When concluding an employment contract, a probation period may be established to determine whether the employee is suitable for the role. If the employment contract does not mention a probation period, then you have not been assigned one. The probation period cannot exceed 3 months and during the probation period, the employer and the employee have the right to terminate the employment contract in writing three days in advance.

Employees in Latvia are entitled to paid annual leave. The paid annual leave is 4 calendar weeks yearly and does not include public holidays. The 4-week-long paid annual leave may be divided up and comprised of smaller vacation periods. However, one instalment of the annual leave must be at least 2 consecutive calendar weeks long. Additionally, employees are entitled to unpaid leave on the basis of an agreement with the employer (non-EU citizens have to spend the unpaid leave outside Latvia).

Employees who are studying at any type of educational institution while working may be granted paid or unpaid study leave (depending on the terms and conditions of their employment contract and the internal regulations of the workplace in question).

For detailed information about benefits that employees can receive, please visit the State Social Security Agency website. 

While working and paying taxes in Latvia, you are contributing to the Latvian pension system. To find out how it is structured, read more in manapensija.lv.

8 hours per day is considered to be a standard full working day in Latvia, with a 5-day work week totalling up to 40 hours. However, the number of working days can also be extended up to 6 days if required by the nature of the work in question.

Overtime hours are acceptable only in cases where a written agreement concerning overtime has been concluded between the employee and employer or in specific cases related to urgent public needs or force majeure. The Latvian Labour Law specifies that overtime work cannot exceed 144 hours over a 4-month period. The overtime hours or work on holidays should be rewarded with a premium worth 100% or more of the respective daily/hourly/piecework salary.

Latvia and Riga are very welcoming to start-ups and foreign investments. If you are interested in finding out more about entrepreneurship or self-employment in Latvia, visit the national state's webpage & State Revenue Service of the Republic of Latvia. For non-EU citizens, additional information regarding the residence permit based on self-employment can be found here.

For guidance, business development support, and investment attraction, we advise contacting the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (IDAL)!

Qualification

If you intend to work here in a regulated profession (teacher, engineer, etc.), your education or qualification documents must be recognised beforehand. Visit this link to read more about regulated professions in the EU.  In Latvia, qualifications are recognised by the Academic Information Centre. On its webpage, you can see the full list of professions in Latvia that require the recognition procedure.

Foreign document usage in Latvia

Foreign public documents must be legalised or verified with an Apostille at the relevant foreign institution in order to be submitted to institutions in Latvia. For more detailed information about document legalisation, visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!