Residence Permit

Documents for requesting a first residence permit for foreigners who are in Latvia can:

• sent documents by by email, signed with a secure electronic signature or
• send by post in registered or unregistered letter, indicating your e-mail address and telephone number in the application documents.
• Foreigners residing outside Latvia may submit documents to the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia abroad.

Documents for requesting a repeated residence permit for foreigners who are in Latvia may:

• sent documents by by email, signed with a secure electronic signature or
• send by post in registered or unregistered letter, indicating your e-mail address and telephone number in the application documents.

Foreigners residing outside Latvia can:

• sent documents by by email, signed with a secure electronic signature or
• send by post in registered or unregistered letter, indicating your e-mail address and telephone number in the application documents.

It is set forth in Paragraph 5 of Part One of Section 4 of the Immigration Law that a foreigner shall be entitled to enter and reside in the Republic of Latvia, if he or she has the necessary financial means in order to reside in the Republic of Latvia. The amount of necessary financial means is determined by the Cabinet.

          As of 1 April 2024 the required provision for subsistence, pursuant to the 25 April 2017 Cabinet Regulations No. 225 “Regulations regarding the Amount of Necessary Financial Means for a Foreigner and Procedures for the Determination of the Existence of Financial Means” (hereinafter the Regulations), is as follows:  

1. a foreigner who enters the Republic of Latvia with a visa or is a citizen of a country that does not require a visa and wishes to obtain a visa and the right to employment:

1.1. in accordance with Sub-paragraph 5.3 of the Regulation, the necessary subsistence shall be determined not less than the salary according to the average monthly gross salary of employees in the Republic of Latvia in the sector according to the latest published information of the Central Statistical Office or the minimum salary established by the general agreement of the sector. SEE HERE. 

If the average salary in the sector of the foreigner's expected employment is higher than the average gross monthly salary of workers in the Republic of Latvia in the previous year, the amount of financial resources required for the foreigner shall be at least the average gross monthly salary of workers in the Republic of Latvia in the previous year –  EUR 1537;

1.2. in accordance with Sub-paragraph 5.4 of the Regulation, not less than the average gross slary of the foreign worker in the sector of employment envisaged, in the preceding year, if the foreigner is granted a visa and the right to employment as seasonal worker in the agriculture, forestry and fish farming sectors:

• crop and livestock production, hunting and related service activities – EUR 1297;
• forestry and logging – EUR 1748;
• fisheries – EUR 1539  (Central Statistical Office data – Average monthly earnings of employees by type of activity ,www.csb.gov.lv).

According to Paragraph 10 of the Regulation, if the foreigner has been granted a visa and the right to employment, the necessary subsistence is required for the entire period of employment.

2. a foreigner who requests or has received a residence permit:

2.1. on the basis if the data from the Central Statistics Bureau:

• in accordance with Sub-paragraph 11.1 of the Regulation – the work remuneration or income from commercial activities in the Republic of Latvia in accordance with double the average gross monthly work remuneration of working persons for the previous year if foreigners referred to in Section 23, Paragraph one, Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of the Immigration Law request a residence permit and their residence is related to employment or commercial activities – EUR 3074 (www.csb.gov.lv);

•  in accordance with Sub-paragraph 11.2 of the Regulation – the work remuneration in the Republic of Latvia in accordance with the average gross monthly work remuneration of working persons for the previous year by applying the coefficient 1.5 if a residence permit is requested by a foreigner who wishes to receive the European Union Blue Card – EUR 2306 (www.csb.gov.lv);

• in accordance with Sub-paragraph 11.3 of the Regulation – the work remuneration in the Republic of Latvia in accordance with the average gross monthly work remuneration of working persons for the previous year by applying the coefficient 1.2 if a residence permit is requested by a foreigner who wishes to receive the European Union Blue Card and who will be employed in a speciality (profession) which has been included by the Cabinet in the list of specialities (professions) in which significant labour shortages are expected – EUR 1844 (www.csb.gov.lv);
• in accordance with Sub-paragraph 11.4 of the Regulation – the work remuneration in the Republic of Latvia in accordance with the average gross monthly work remuneration of working persons in the sector or the minimum wage determined by sectoral general agreement for the previous year if a foreigner requests a residence permit in relation to employment not referred to in Sub-paragraph 11.1, 11.2, or 11.3. (SEE HERE) If the average wage in the sector of the expected employment of a foreigner is higher than the average gross monthly wage of working persons in the Republic of Latvia for the previous year, the amount of financial means required for the foreigner is not less than the average gross monthly wage of working persons in the Republic of Latvia for the previous year – EUR 1537;
• in accordance with Sub-paragraph 11.5 of the Regulation – personal and regular pension in accordance with pensioners present in the accounting of the social insurance institutions double the average amount of old-age pension disbursed per month for the previous year if a residence permit is requested by the foreigner referred to in Section 23, Paragraph one, Clause 26 of the Immigration Law – EUR 1028 (www.csb.gov.lv);

2.2.  Pursuant to Paragraph 2 of 24 November 2015 Cabinet Regulations No. 656 “Noteikumi par minimālās mēneša darba algas apmēru normālā darba laika ietvaros un minimālās stundas tarifa likmes aprēķināšanu” the minimum monthly work remuneration in the Republic of Latvia is 700 EUR:

• pursuant to Subparagraph 11.6 of the Regulations– financial means in accordance with triple amount of the minimum monthly work remuneration if a foreigner requests a residence permit in accordance with Paragraph 29 of Part One of Section 23 of the Immigration Law – 2100 EUR;
• pursuant to Subparagraph 11.7 of the Regulations– financial means in accordance with the minimum monthly work remuneration in the cases not provided for in Subparagraphs 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6 of the Regulations – 700 EUR;

• pursuant to Paragraph 12 of the Regulations the provision of subsistence for an underage child is 210 EUR.

          If together with the principal applicant referred to in Subparagraphs 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6 and 11.7 of the Regulations the residence permit is requested by his/her family members as well then they shall deliver the document confirming legal provision for subsistence pursuant to Subparagraph 11.7 or Paragraph 12 of the Regulations.

Documents for the approval of a letter of invitation may be filed with ANY regional office of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

A letter of invitation may be submitted only electronically:

• Using the electronic service “Approval of an invitation for requesting a visa or an invitation for requesting a residence permit in the Republic of Latvia” on the portal Latvija.lv.
• To a legal entity or employer - by sending the application and the documents attached to it electronically, confirmed with a secure electronic signature. Each attached document must be electronically signed.

The documents necessary for sponsorship approval may be submitted in Latvian, English, French, Russian or German.

The submission and explanations required for the sponsorship approval shall be provided by the inviter only in Latvian.

The procedure of approval of a letter of invitation is set forth by the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 564 of 21 June 2010:

Approval of a letter of invitation

The documents for the approval of a letter of invitation are filed by:

• an adult citizen of Latvia or non-citizen of Latvia;
• an adult foreigner who holds a valid permanent residence permit in the Republic of Latvia;
• a citizen of a European Union Member State, a European Economic Area Member State or the Swiss Confederation that is residing in the Republic of Latvia with a registration certificate or a permanent residence certificate;
• a governmental institution of the Republic of Latvia;

• A registered legal person of the Republic or a foreign legal person, having a registered authorised person in the Republic of Latvia;

• a person who has reached legal age and obtained alternative status or temporary protection in the Republic of Latvia for the purpose of reunification with family members within the meaning of the Asylum Law;

• lawful representative of an unaccompanied minor, who has been granted refugee or alternative status in the Republic of Latvia and who wish reunification with his mother and father, if an opinion of the Orphan's Court has been received that it is in the interests of the minor.

An individual shall file the documents personally. If due to justified reasons the person is not able to file the documents personally and such is confirmed by a respective certification, the documents may be filed by an authorised person by presenting a notarised Power of Attorney.

The official of the OCMA shall make a decision regarding the approval of the invitation within two working days or, if the request for the invitation is related to the employment of a foreigner in the Republic of Latvia, within five working days after submission of the documents necessary for approval of the invitation. If an additional inspection is required to make a decision, the official shall inform the inviter thereof and the decision shall be made within 10 working days.

If the invitation is not confirmed, canceled or the inviter withdraws the invitation, the submitted documents shall not be issued to the inviter and the collected state fee shall not be refunded.

The inviter is an individual 

The inviter is a legal entity

The employer invites the foreigner

In which cases the letter of invitation is not accepted

Administrative liability in the field of residence permits

According to section 68.² of the Immigration Law, a warning or a fine of up to seventy units of fine shall be applied for staying in the Republic of Latvia without a valid travel document, visa, residence permit, Union citizen’s certificate of registration, permanent residence certificate, health insurance policy, or for violation of other conditions related to staying in the Republic of Latvia.

According to section 68.¹ of the Immigration Law, a warning or a fine of up to thirty units of fine shall be applied for the failure to register the residence permit.

The first paragraph of Section 3 of the Law on Administrative Penalties for Violations in the field of Administration, Public Order and Use of the Official Language states that a warning or a fine of up to one hundred forty units of fine shall be applied to a natural person for the failure to provide information, improper provision of information, or provision of false information.

Documents to be submitted for requesting a residence permit shall be valid:

• written request - six months after approval thereof;
• documents confirming the necessary provision of subsistence and planned place of residence in the Republic of Latvia - three months after issue thereof;
• statements, letters and other letters, except the  civil registry documents, court rulings, archive statements and education documents - six months after the issue thereof;
• statement about results of X-ray or fluorographic examination - a year after issue thereof.

How to contest a negative decision regarding issuing a residence permit?

The inviter or the foreigner, who does not require a letter of invitation to apply for a residence permit, is entitled to contest the decision regarding refusal to issue or register a residence permit within 30 days after the day of entry into force of the decision to the Head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

Sample of the application.

Head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs

M.Roze

Name Surname,

residing in ... (city), ... (street), ..... (No of apartment)

application

Riga, 25 April 2021

[Text of the application]

Personal signature

Please take into account that applications are accepted in the official language only.The aforementioned persons are entitled to appeal the decision of the Head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs regarding refusal to issue or register a residence permit or annulment of a residence permit to the court in the procedure set forth by law.