Latvia Latvia — entry & visa requirements
Many nationalities can enter Latvia visa-free for short tourism or private visits and stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period; everyone else needs a Schengen short-stay visa. Apply with a signed online form, passport, travel medical insurance, proof of accommodation and proof of means, no earlier than six months and no later than 15 calendar days before travel. The fee is EUR 90 for applicants aged 12 and over and EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 12. Decisions normally take 15 calendar days.
Who can enter visa-free
Visa-free agreements cover short-term private visits and tourism only, and the exempt list includes holders of Hong Kong and Macau SAR passports, United Kingdom nationals and holders of biometric passports from Serbia, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Studying or working requires a visa obtained in advance, and neither visa exemption nor a visa guarantees entry, because border guards decide individually.
- Visa-free entry applies only to short-term private visits or tourism; study or work needs a visa applied for in advance at an embassy.[3]
- Holders of Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR passports of the People's Republic of China may enter without a visa.[4]
- United Kingdom nationals, excluding certain British nationals, are on Latvia's visa-exempt list.[4]
- Serbia, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina are exempt only for holders of biometric passports meeting ICAO standards.[4]
- Visa exemption or a valid visa does not guarantee entry; border guards make an individual decision on admission.[3]
Visa-exempt by stay length
Latvia publishes a list of countries and territories whose citizens may enter without a visa and stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, while the authority block notes shorter permitted stays for some passports. The same material sets a subsistence rule of at least EUR 14 per day for stays of up to 30 days. Only fragments of the tier tables were archived, so the country-by-country detail is thin.
- Citizens of the listed countries and territories may enter Latvia without a visa and stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period.[1]
- For an intended stay of 30 days or less, the applicant must show at least EUR 14 for each day of stay.[2]
- The archived extract does not give the complete list of countries in each tier, so travellers should verify their own nationality.[1]
Duration of stay
The maximum permitted stay is 90 days within any 180-day period. Under bilateral visa waiver agreements a third-country national can stay up to another 90 days without leaving Latvia, depending on the agreement, although Our official archive does not say which nationalities this covers. Other Schengen states representing Latvia issue only short-stay visas for stays not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period.
- The maximum permitted stay in the Schengen area is 90 days within any 180-day period.[10]
- Under bilateral visa waiver agreements, a stay in Latvia can be extended by up to another 90 days without leaving the country.[10]
- Other Schengen member states representing Latvia issue only short-stay visas, for stays not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period.[5]
- EU citizens and their family members planning a stay of up to 90 days are covered by the visa-free rules.[1]
- A short-stay (C) visa covers only short-term or irregular work not exceeding 90 days within a 180-day period.[11]
Required documents
A Schengen visa application needs a passport issued within the past ten years, valid at least three months beyond your departure from the Schengen area and holding at least two blank pages. You must show the purpose of the journey, accommodation in Latvia or the means to cover it, enough money for the stay and the return journey, and travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area. Transit travellers need a visa for their onward destination unless they are exempt from one.
- The passport must be issued within the past ten years, valid at least three months beyond departure from Schengen, with two empty visa pages.[2]
- Travel medical insurance must be valid in all Schengen member states for the whole visit; the remote-work route requires cover of at least EUR 42,600.[2][6]
- Submit documents showing accommodation in Latvia, or sufficient means to cover it, together with evidence of the purpose of the journey.[2]
- Show sufficient means of subsistence for the stay and the return or onward journey, or the ability to acquire such means legally.[2]
- Transit applicants must hold a visa for the country they enter after the Schengen area, unless they do not need one.[2]
How to apply
You lodge a signed online visa application form, give biometric data and pay the visa fee. Applications may be submitted no earlier than six months and no later than 15 calendar days before the intended trip, and a decision normally takes 15 calendar days, extendable to a maximum of 45 in individual cases.
- Complete and sign the online visa application form.[2]
- Provide biometric data (fingerprints) unless a Schengen state has collected them within the past five years.[2]
- Lodge the application no earlier than six months and no later than 15 calendar days before the intended visit.[9]
- Expect a decision within 15 calendar days, extendable to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases.[9]
- If there is no Latvian mission where you legally reside, apply to the mission with territorial competence for your country or to a Schengen state representing Latvia.[5]
Fees
The short-stay visa fee is EUR 90 for applicants aged 12 and over and EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 12. Nationals of ten listed countries pay EUR 35 for standard processing, and several categories, including students, researchers and young non-profit representatives, are exempt.
- The short-stay visa fee for applicants 12 years of age and older is EUR 90.[7]
- Children between 6 and 12 years of age pay EUR 45.[7]
- Nationals of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Moldova pay EUR 35 for standard processing.[7]
- Researchers, pupils, students and accompanying teachers travelling for study, and non-profit representatives aged 25 or under attending organised events, are fee-exempt categories.[7]
At the border
A refused, annulled or revoked visa can be contested only by the applicant, by appeal to the Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the negative decision stays in force during the appeal. The Director decides within 30 days, and that decision can be challenged in a Latvian court, whose ruling is final. Travellers entering Latvia should hold valid health insurance covering healthcare in Latvia and repatriation.
- Only the person whose visa or border traffic permit was refused, annulled or revoked may appeal; third parties cannot file on their behalf.[12]
- Appeals go to the Director of the Consular Department, and the negative decision remains in effect while the appeal is processed.[12]
- The Director decides within 30 days of receiving the appeal whether to keep, repeal or partly repeal the mission's decision.[12]
- The Director's decision can be appealed in a court in Latvia, and that court ruling is final and cannot be appealed.[12]
- Those entering Latvia should have health insurance covering healthcare in Latvia, including repatriation after serious illness or death.[1]
Notices & things to watch
Two operational notices affect where you file: the Embassy of Belgium has temporarily suspended acceptance of visa applications, and applicants from Syria should lodge their applications at the Embassy of Latvia in Turkey while visa issuance at the Netherlands' consular section in Damascus is suspended. Remote work visa holders have no right to employment in Latvia.
- The Embassy of Belgium has temporarily suspended acceptance of visa applications.[13]
- Applicants from Syria wishing to travel to Latvia should lodge applications at the Embassy of Latvia in Turkey while the Netherlands' consular section in Damascus is not issuing visas.[13]
- Recipients of a remote work visa do not have the right to employment in the Republic of Latvia.[6]
Legal basis
Under Article 22 of the Visa Code, applications from nationals of specific third countries, and from people granted stateless or refugee status abroad, undergo prior consultation and in-depth examination. The listed countries are set out in Cabinet Regulation No. 554 of 21 June 2010.
- Prior consultation applies to nationals of specific third countries listed in Cabinet Regulation No. 554 of 21 June 2010 and to persons granted stateless or refugee status in a foreign country.[9]
- Under Article 22 of the Visa Code, applications from those nationals receive an in-depth examination.[9]
Frequently asked questions
The archived FAQ material for Latvia deals with personal identification documents and the eID card service, not with visitor visa questions. No official visitor-facing questions and answers were archived, so this topic is effectively empty in the sources reviewed.
- archived FAQ text describes identity card (eID) issuance, procedures and state fees rather than visa questions for visitors.[8]
Official downloads
3 files as ZIP ≈1.3 MBThree English-language files were kept: a consular fee schedule and two visa document packs covering documentation and photo rules. Only the fee schedule is essential for a visitor visa application; the others are reference material.
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PDFlv mfa consular feeA seven-page consular fee schedule listing visa and other state fees, used to check what you must pay when applying.
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PDFlv mfa visa documents1A two-page visa document pack covering categories such as long-stay, work and study, which visitor visa applicants will rarely need.
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PDFlv mfa visa photo reqA six-page specification of visa photo requirements, consulted before having your photograph taken.
Official sources
Official Latvian MFA and PMLP pages cover visa exemption rules, required documents, fees and processing times fairly well, but the visa-exempt country list and bilateral-agreement details arrived only as partial fragments.
Numbers match the markers in the text above; click a marker to jump here. Groups are collapsed by domain - click a heading to expand. A source cited more than once keeps a single number.
www.mfa.gov.lv9 URLs · cited 36 times
- 1www.mfa.gov.lv/en/countries-and-territories-whose-citizens-may-enter-latvia-without-visacited 4×
- 2www.mfa.gov.lv/en/documents-required-apply-visacited 8×
- 3www.mfa.gov.lv/en/countries-and-territories-which-latvia-passport-holders-may-enter-without-visacited 2×
- 5www.mfa.gov.lv/en/applying-visacited 2×
- 7www.mfa.gov.lv/en/visa-application-feescited 6×
- 9www.mfa.gov.lv/en/processing-visa-applications-and-prior-consultationcited 5×
- 10www.mfa.gov.lv/en/entry-requirements-citizens-countries-whom-latvia-has-signed-bilateral-visa-waiver-agremeentcited 3×
- 12www.mfa.gov.lv/en/appeal-against-refusal-annulment-and-revocation-visa-and-local-border-traffic-permitcited 4×
- 13www.mfa.gov.lv/en/diplomatic-and-consular-missions-other-schengen-member-states-issuing-visas-enter-latviacited 2×
www.pmlp.gov.lv4 URLs · cited 7 times
Popularity rank #53 (score 16.82). This page was written by an AI from the official material listed above and adds no facts from outside it; visa rules change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.