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Residence in Latvia

1. Is an asylum seeker allowed to work?

The right to work without restrictions is granted to a foreigner who has received an identity document of an asylum seeker and has not received a decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs regarding granting refugee or alternative status or a refusal to grant it within 6 months after submission of an application regarding granting refugee or alternative status, and it has not occurred due to his or her fault. The right to work is valid until the day when the final decision regarding granting refugee or alternative status or refusal to grant it has come into force and may not be contested.

2. Can the decision regarding granting the status be negative, if I have been brought to Latvia within an asylum seeker admission programme?

A decision regarding granting refugee or alternative status is taken on the basis of certain procedural activities and assessment of evidence, thus none of the asylum seekers is granted a positive decision within the administrative procedures.

3. When the family is allowed to reunite, if the status is granted?

A refugee or a person, who has been granted alternative status, is entitled to reunite with family members who are abroad. A person, who has been granted alternative status, has such a right if he has stayed at least two years in the Republic of Latvia after acquiring the status, but a person with refugee status is entitled to reunite with his family members immediately after the status has been granted.

4. Are there any reasons due to which residence permits are not extended?

Refugee status is revoked for a person, if at least one of the following conditions exists:

1) the person has committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity, as defined in international documents;

2) prior to arrival in the Republic of Latvia the person has committed a crime, which is not of political nature and which in accordance with the law of the Republic of Latvia should be recognised as a particularly serious crime;

3) the person has performed activities, which are aimed against the objectives and
principles of the United Nations Organisation;

4) there is reason to believe that the person poses a threat to national security;

5) the person, who has been recognised as guilty of committing a particularly serious crime by a court judgement of the Republic of Latvia, poses a threat to the society of Latvia;

6) such person has provided false information or has not provided information, which had crucial role in granting refugee status, including has used falsified documents.

A person loses alternative status, if the circumstances, due to which he or she was
granted alternative status, do not exist anymore or have changed so much that such person does not need the protection of the Republic of Latvia anymore. Alternative status is revoked for a person, if at least one of the following conditions exists:

1) the person has committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity, as defined in international documents;

2) the person has committed a crime, which in accordance with the law of the Republic of Latvia should be recognised as a particularly serious crime;

3) the person has performed activities, which are aimed against the objectives and
principles of the United Nations Organisation;

4) there is reason to believe that the person poses a threat to national security or public order and safety;

5) prior to the arrival in the Republic of Latvia the person has committed a crime, for which the deprivation of liberty would be applied, if it had been committed in the Republic of Latvia and has left his or her country of origin solely in order to avoid punishment for this crime.

6) such person has provided false information or has not provided information, which had crucial role in granting alternative status, including has used falsified documents.

5. Which family members are allowed to come to Latvia in order to reunite a family?

family member – the spouse of an asylum seeker, refugee or a person who has been granted alternative status or temporary protection, and also the minor child of an asylum seeker, refugee or a person who has been granted alternative status or temporary protection and the spouse of such person, who is not married and is dependent on both or one of the spouses or is adopted, and also the father, mother or other adult who in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia is responsible for the beneficiary of international protection, if the above mentioned beneficiary of international protection is a minor and not married, provided that such family has already existed in the country of origin.

6. How long can re-registration of the residence permit be delayed?

Re-registration of the residence permit must not be delayed. Documents for re-registration of a residence permit shall be submitted at least 30 days before the expiration term of the residence permit.

7. Is the residence permit annulled only in Latvia or in whole European Union?

If a residence permit issued in Latvia is annulled, it is invalid in the rest of the European Union as well.

8. Is a person entitled to submit his or her application again, if the status in Latvia is annulled?

The person is entitled to submit an application regarding granting refugee status again.

9. When does a person receive an allowance, after the status is granted?

A one time financial benefit is granted and paid to a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (hereinafter – the Office). An official from the Office makes the decision about granting the one time financial benefit to a person within one week after receiving an application from the refugee or the person under subsidiary protection.

A refugee or a person under subsidiary protection of a working age is entitled to an allowance, if he or she is unemployed (is not an employee or a self-employed person) on the day he or she claims an allowance, is registered with the State Employment Agency (hereinafter – SEA), or has been assigned the status of an unemployed person or a job-seeker and performs the duties of an unemployed person or a job-seeker, including participation in the official language study programs.

To obtain an allowance the applicant must submit to the State Social Insurance Agency (hereinafter – SSIA) an application using the form "Application for Granting an Allowance to a Refugee or a Person Under Subsidiary Protection”.

The period, for which an allowance is paid

A refugee is entitled to an allowance for 10 months within the period of 12 months from the day he or she has acquired the status of a refugee.
A person under subsidiary protection is entitled to an allowance for 7 months within the period of 12 months from the day he or she has acquired the status of a person under subsidiary protection.

The amount of the allowance

for an adult – 139,00 euro per month;
if two persons are spouses, one of them will be paid 139,00 euro, and the other – 97,00 euro per month;
for a minor – 97,00 euro a month.

Receiving the allowance

Once in a month, until the 10th day of a month, SSIA will transfer the granted allowance to the personal account with a credit institution of the Republic of Latvia or an account with the postal settlement system indicated in the application.

The allowance will be paid for the first time in the calendar month following the day the allowance was granted at the latest and will be paid once in a month for the preceding month.

The allowance for a minor person will be transferred to his or her legal representative.

Useful information

Any amounts unduly or in excess of the amount of the allowance transferred to a persons account, the beneficiary is required to repay to the state budget on a voluntary basis.

10. Is the allowance lost, if the salary is less than the minimum salary in the state?

The refugee or the person under subsidiary protection does not lose the one time financial benefit.

If the refugee or the person under subsidiary protection is employed, the allowance is paid for no longer than three months from the day of acquiring the status of an employee or a self-employed person.

11. Is the allowance renewed, if a person loses job?

A one time financial benefit is granted and paid to a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (hereinafter – the Office), if the person has submitted an application to the Office in person within one month from the day the decision to grant the status of a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection was made, and the person does not possess sufficient means of subsistence, which is not related to finding or losing a job.

A refugee has the right to receive an allowance for 10 months during the period of 12 months from the day the person has acquired the status of a refugee, if he or she does not possess sufficient means of subsistence. A person under subsidiary protection is entitled to an allowance for 7 months during the period of 12 months from the day of acquiring the status of a person under subsidiary protection,if he or she does not possess sufficient means of subsistence.

12. Do all advantages (acquisition of Latvian in the Employment State Agency, change of the profession, etc.) have to be used before extension of the permanent residence permit, i.e., within a year, if a person has been granted alternative status?

The advantages obtained as a result of granting the status remain irrespective of the term.

13. Is the case of granting the status for the husband and wife examined jointly or separately?

A family case is examined jointly.

14. Is it possible to work in another EU Member State when the status is granted in Latvia?

Yes, but in compliance with the employment laws and regulations of the respective Member State.

15. Has the amount of the allowance increased as a result of legislative amendments to the payment procedure of an allowance?

No, the total amount of money paid to a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs as a one time financial benefit and by the State Social Insurance Agency as an allowance, has not changed.

16. Can my family – sister, mother, father – come from my homeland to visit me, when I obtain the status?

After you have obtained the status, you have the right to prepare an invitation in the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, which will enable your relatives to get a visa for entry in the Republic of Latvia.

17. Is the condition for family reunification for a person under subsidiary protection the same across the European Union?

The European Union has no uniform conditions for family reunification for a person under subsidiary protection. Each member state can establish its own procedure for family reunification.

18. What do I do if the decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs remains negative also after being appealed, and the situation in my country of origin has not changed to return there?

You have the possibility to travel to other country and not to return to your country of origin.

19. If I appeal a decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in the Administrative Court, do I have to submit additional evidences together with the application for appeal or can they be submitted later?

Additional evidences should be submitted together with the application.

20. If I obtain citizenship of Latvia and go to my homeland, can I feel safe there?

Your safety will depend on the situation in your homeland and causes of your leaving your homeland and seeking protection in the Republic of Latvia.

21. Will I get back the documents, which I gave to the Latvian Border Guard?

After a detailed evaluation of provisions of the Asylum Law and the Personal Identification Documents Law it can be concluded that approach to refugees and persons under subsidiary protection is different.

When the asylum procedure ends, personal identification and travel documents of persons, who were assigned the status of a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection, which were given to the State Border Guard, are sent to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (hereinafter – the Office).

As refugees, who receive a refugee’s travel document issued in Latvia, are obliged to submit their personal identification documents that were issued in a foreign country, for safekeeping to the Office, these personal identification and travel documents are safekept at the Office. If a person wishes to receive these documents, the person should submit an application stating the justification/need. Taking the circumstances provided in the application into consideration, it is decided to issue those documents, for example, temporarily.

In its turn, persons under subsidiary protection are not subject to these provisions and have the right to receive their personal identification documents that were given to the State Border Guard. To receive these documents, the person should submit an application requesting to issue the documents (no special justification required) and employees of the Department for Asylum Affairs will prepare a document certifying issue of these documents. At the same time, it should be taken into account that Latvia issues a travel document to the person under subsidiary protection only if the person has no valid travel documents issued by his/her country of citizenship and has no possibility to receive such a document.

The information has been coordinated with the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.