EU Blue Card residence permit in Latvia.

The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for non-EU nationals. It provides you with extensive social and economic rights along with the right to a permanent residence permit and EU citizenship.

The conditions and privileges of the EU Blue Card are specified in the Directive 2009/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council (25.05.2009) “Conditions of entry and residence of non-EU nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment”.

The EU Blue Card in Latvia authorizes a non-EU national to apply for a residence permit in compliance with the procedure specified in the Law on Immigration. They may get employment in a Latvian company under a work contract or a corporate agreement.

The Blue Card grants the right to family reunification.
The following family members are eligible: spouse, under-aged children, including those from previous marriages, persons under custody of the applicant, provided that the relevant government agency of the country of citizenship has issued a decision on the custody of the applicant.

When applying for employment in Latvia under the Blue Card Program, the applicant shall comply with the following requirements:

• have over 5 years of work experience, or
• have a university degree (at least 3 years of completed course of study).

The Blue Card residence permit is issued for a period of one year and can be renewed biannually. It does not require a trial employment period, although the work contract should have a minimum of 1 year duration. Furthermore, with this type of residence permit, you can apply for a work permit for the whole family. The maximum duration of the Blue Card in Latvia is 5 years.

When an applicant is going to be employed:

• in a position where there is a lack of workforce in Latvia.
  Their salary after obtaining a residence permit should not be less than EUR 1130 post-tax deductions, + EUR 906 as taxes per month.
• in a position where there is no lack of workforce in Latvia.
  Their salary after obtaining a residence permit should not be less than EUR 1413 post-tax deductions,+ EUR 1,113 as taxes per month.

EU Blue Card benefits Latvia has for the Applicant:

• Fast track document procedure,
• Simplified residence permit application procedure,
• Family reunification,
• Social and legal guarantees,
• Eligibility for state unemployment benefits,
• Right to social security.

EU Blue Card benefits Latvia has for the applicant’s family members:

• Eligibility to be employed in the EU.

Certain criteria have to be met:

• An employee is not allowed to stay in the non-EU countries for a period exceeding 12 consecutive months or more than 18 months in a five-year period.
• EU Blue Card can be applied by submitting the documents:
  • to the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Department,
  • to the Latvian Consulate abroad.

The average time for document processing is 10 working days, while the fast-track procedure takes 5 working days.

Required documents* for EU Blue Card application:

• certificate of employment (indicating the company name, registration number, employer’s legal address, employment period, position and responsibilities),
• official document issued by the State Social Insurance Agency from the country of the nationality of the applicant confirming the fulfillment of social security contribution and income tax,
• university degree which complies with European higher education standards,
• a work contract stating the employment conditions and wage, or
• work arrangement document approved by the relevant authorities and signed by each of the contracting parties,
• criminal record certificate,
• certified copies of each page of the national and international passports,
• health insurance for the entire stay in the country,

Documents* requirements for family reunification according to the EU Blue Card regulations:

• proof of family/social ties (birth certificate, marriage certificate)
• a notarized letter of consent for children to live in Latvia (in case of children born from previous marriages),
• proof of sufficient financial resources (a minimum of EUR 7440 per adult and EUR 2232 per child).

* Documents must be legalized (apostilled).