The type of permit (temporary residence permit or visa) appropriate in your specific case depends on various aspects such as salary level, employment length, education, and previous work experience.
Your employer will be responsible for reviewing your specific case and providing guidance on the type of permit and documents applicable. However, below you can find information about the most popular visa/permit types in Latvia.
! Important: application times vary significantly between permit types and individual cases. To estimate the relocation timeline, consult your potential employer.
1. Temporary Residence Permit with the rights for employment
- Length of term: Up to 5 years with the possibility of extension;
- Eligibility: at least 3 years of official related work experience or respective education;
- Prerequisites: you have to have a Job Offer from an Employer in Latvia. The employer has to submit a Sponsorship Request for you at the OCMA.
Detailed information is available here!
Important to know:
Residence permit application documents can be submitted in Latvian, English, French, Russian and German.
If you are a citizen of the country with which Latvia does not have a visa-free regime, among other documents, you must submit a police clearance certificate (issued by the competent authority of the citizenship country or home country, if the foreigner has stayed there for over 12 months).
Residence permit application documents must be authenticated with an Apostille if they were issued in a foreign country which has joined the October 5, 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Documents or properly legalised by relevant authorities if they were issued in a foreign country which has not joined the aforementioned convention.
Some useful benefits that the temporary residence permit has over visas:
- Access to eSignature (digital signature included in eID card) and the possibility to receive a permanent residence permit after 5 years of residence in Latvia and passing the Latvian language exam;
- Possibility to relocate your spouse and children;
- Registration with National Compulsory Health Insurance Scheme that gives you access to state-funded healthcare;
- Application for a Tax Payroll Booklet that gives you access to tax relief on a monthly basis.
2. EU Blue Card (suitable for job seekers that are considered highly qualified)
- Length of term: up to 5 years with the possibility of extension;
- Eligibility: at least 5 years of official related work experience or respective education (the length of program – at least 3 years);
- Prerequisites: you have to have a Job Offer from an Employer in Latvia. The employer has to submit a Sponsorship Request for you at the OCMA.
Detailed information is available here!
Some useful benefits that the EU Blue Card has over visas:
- Access to eSignature (digital signature included in eID card) and a possibility to receive a permanent residence permit after 5 years of residence in Latvia and passing Latvian language exam;
- Possibility to relocate your spouse and children;
- Registration with National Compulsory Health Insurance Scheme that gives you access to state-funded healthcare;
- Application for Tax Payroll Booklet that gives you access to tax relief on a monthly basis;
- In the event that your employment relationships are terminated after 12 months of employment, you will be entitled to register as a Job Seeker in Latvia and apply for unemployment benefit. This will allow you to stay in Latvia for another 3 months to look for a new Employer.
3. Startup visa (suitable for those looking to establish a scalable business that’s registered in Latvia)
- Length of term: up to 3 years;
- Application time: 3-5 months;
- Draft of the start-up idea (no more than a one-pager) outlining the team, technological aspect of the idea, competitive advantage and development plan for three years.
More info is available here!
4. Schengen or Short-term C visa for work
- Length of term: up to 90 days in any 180-day period;
- Allows you to enter the country once, twice or an unlimited number of times during the period specified in the visa, in other words, to cross in transit or to enter and plan to stay in the territory of the member states of the Schengen Agreement;
More info is available here (use the Translate to English option)!
More info on the Schengen Visa can be found here!
5. Long-term D visa for work
- Length of term: up to 1 year;
- Eligibility: at least 3 years of official related work experience or respective education;
- Prerequisites: you have to have a Job Offer from an Employer in Latvia. The employer has to submit an Invitation for you at the OCMA.
More info here (use the Translate to English option)!
Please note: unlike a temporary residence permit (including an EU Blue Card), a visa does not grant you access to the Latvian eID card or the advantages that come with it.
Useful information
Depending on your specific case, you can apply for a temporary residence permit (including an EU Blue Card) through the Latvian embassy or consulate in your country of residence or directly in Latvia at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.
If you are a citizen of the country included on the list of countries specified in the Cabinet Regulation No. 554 Regarding States for the Citizens of which in Issuing a Visa or a Residence Permit an Additional Assessment shall be Performed, then the processing of the documents may take longer. At present, the list includes 30 countries (since September 2022, Belarus and Russian Federation have been added to the list).
- Documents required for a visa application
- Visa checklist
- More information about visas in Latvia
- Step by step application process for the initial residence permit
- Online application form for Schengen visa and D type visa
- Short and useful description of employment for foreigners