Ministry of Economics, in cooperation with Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) have prepared an informative road map in English about the application procedure for residence permit with the rights to employment for foreigners that are citizens of a non-EU or non-EEA countries.
The informative guide is available in the following link http://workinlatvia.liaa.gov.lv/ and will help employers, as well as foreign employees to better understand the application procedure for residence permit with the rights to employment. In future, this informative web page will be supplemented by additional information on other forms of work permits (for example, work permit issued with a visa), as well as extensive information on immigration, employment and related regulation in Latvia.
The informative guide is set up within the framework of smart immigration policy that focuses on attraction of highly qualified labour in sectors where we have identified shortage of specialists. Our objective is implemented by thoughtfully improving the procedures concerning obtaining a work permit.
A work permit is issued together with a visa or a temporary residence permit, after a Latvian employer has demonstrated a necessity for a specific specialist. In accordance with the data provided by OCMA, 6007 work permits have been issued in 2016 and 2/3 of those have been issued together with a temporary residence permit, which makes it the most popular way of obtaining the rights to employment in Latvia.
Public Relations Division
Ministry of Economics
Latvia
E-mail: prese@em.gov.lv