The Republic of Latvia today ranks second in terms of economic development in the region, is part of the Schengen zone, the EU and NATO and attracts with its progressiveness and European atmosphere. And although work in Latvia is not the end goal for most labor migrants, it serves as a good springboard for moving further into Europe.
Why migrants choose to work in Latvia
The main advantage of getting a job in the Baltic state is belonging to the European community. But in order to be able to enter the European labor market, it is necessary to go through certain stages of legalization.
Do not forget that the standard of living and wages in Latvia is lower than in Western European countries. The unemployment rate is still high, which means that candidates will face a lot of competition.
But the republic has many advantages in terms of employment for Russians:
- living in a country with a clean environment (many environmental protection programs are being developed here);
- the opportunity to find a job in other European countries after obtaining a permanent residence permit;
- the opportunity to stay in Schengen without a visa for 90 days in each half of the year;
- thanks to the state policy aimed at attracting investors, the labor market has good growth prospects, and this promises the demand for highly qualified employees;
- low tax rates;
- inexpensive but high quality food;
- relatively low housing prices;
- proximity to the RF.
This also includes a mild climate, a large number of resorts and beautiful nature.
List of in-demand professions
The most favorable situation with vacancies is in Riga. The capital is the business and financial center of the country. Those who want to find employment with higher wages should immediately focus on this region. Daugavpils, Jurmala, Jelgava, Liepaja are also suitable for applicants.
Going in search of vacant jobs, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the region. Work in Riga is more suitable for people with higher education, work experience and knowledge of at least two foreign languages.
Here are in demand:
- managers;
- IT specialists;
- engineers;
- insurers;
- financiers.
There will be no problems with employment for security guards, sellers, hairdressers and masters in beauty salons, as well as cleaners, cashiers, mechanics, laborers, international truckers.
Those interested can choose to work on a rotational basis. This is how lumberjacks work, for example. Most of these professions are suitable for those who are interested in working in Latvia without knowing the Latvian language.
In resort regions, more emphasis is placed on employees of the service industry:
- waiters;
- cooks;
- animators;
- porter;
- dishwashers;
- administrators.
Foreign women are readily employed as maids in hotels, housekeepers, and nurses. Girls with knowledge of foreign languages can apply for the vacancy of a secretary, assistant manager. Mostly unskilled labor is available without work experience.
Requirements for candidates and working conditions
The labor market in Latvia is not distinguished by a variety of offers. Most of the chances of finding a job are with:
- those who can combine several specialties at once, or, for example, have an engineering degree and speak English fluently;
- sellers of a wide range. At the same time, it is not just the ability to work with one group of goods that is appreciated, but the talent to sell everything with which you have to work;
- programmers with outstanding abilities (by the way, it will be said that the IT-technologies market is underdeveloped here, and therefore there is no particular competition);
- crisis managers who know how to manage a company in any economic environment.
A foreign citizen can work in a Latvian company only if he has a national visa of category D, on the basis of which a residence permit was issued. Most candidates will also need a work permit.
Students are also allowed to work in Latvia, but no more than 20 hours a week (standard working hours mean 40 working hours).
The length of the working day depends on the line of business. Those who work 12 hours a day usually adhere to a floating schedule (two days after two) or a daily regimen.
Residential work is not a frequent option, but you can find it. Usually it is offered by those who recruit people on a rotational basis, as well as many sanatoriums and resorts. If the employee is of particular interest to the company, his employment contract can be drawn up taking into account the payment for housing by the employer. But it is extremely difficult to find such an option.
Job search methods
The easiest way will be for those who know exactly what position and in what company they want to work. In this case, you just need to send your resume and wait for an answer. But the expectation will be justified if the candidate's capabilities and the firm's requirements have been matched correctly.
One of the ways to find a suitable vacancy is the Internet. Here are some popular job search sites:
- cv.lv - has a Russian-language version, offers to sort offers by various criteria. Here you can find out which companies are the most popular in the Latvian labor market, as well as look at the list of vacancies with the highest salary;
- ss.com - convenient in that all vacancies are distributed by direction. There is a Russian-language page;
- carreerjet.com is an international resource where you can find offers in different regions of the country, setting criteria such as work schedule, focus and remuneration.
Do not neglect newspaper ads either. The best places to search are the Baltic Times and Dienas Business. Some help can be provided by the Job Center, forums and groups in social networks. The last two sources are also rich in reviews and helpful tips.
If you cannot find a job in Latvia on your own, you can contact intermediaries. But it is better to choose trusted firms with a good reputation, for example:
- CV-Market - exists since 2003, is known in 5 European countries, carries out high-quality recruitment for large companies.
- CV-lv– founded in Estonia in 1996, entered the Latvian market in 1999, owns an Internet resource for the selection of jobs and personnel.
How to get a job in a Latvian company
There are clear requirements for hiring foreign citizens. To begin with, the candidate must find an employer, obtain a permit, a national visa and apply for a residence permit.
The employer will notify the State Employment Agency in Latvia that it is necessary to hire a non-citizen of the republic. The department will check whether there are candidates for this position among local residents. Verification is not required when it comes to:
- those who are engaged in creativity: actors, composers, dancers;
- coaches and professional athletes;
- holders of the "Blue Card";
- university teachers;
- businessmen;
- those who organize creative events or sports competitions;
- experts who work on the basis of international agreements.
After the application is approved, the employing company must send an invitation to the prospective employee. Previously, this document must be certified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Only then can the employee proceed with the visa request.
Immediately after crossing the Latvian border, you need to apply for a temporary residence permit. It will be issued for a year.
It is very important that during the entire period of the residence permit the migrant is not dismissed from this enterprise. Otherwise, the basis for migration will be lost.
And in order for the work permit to remain valid, you need to work in the same company, or you will have to receive a new document.
What documents will be needed
At each stage, you must provide a certain set of papers. When applying for a visa and residence permit, it will be approximately the same. It is important to take into account that all documents drawn up in a foreign language must be translated into Latvian and certified by a notary.
Work contract
An employment contract in the Republic of Latvia is signed without fail by both parties - the employer and the employee. All terms of cooperation are negotiated in writing.
This happens before the application for a work visa and residence permit is filed. When contacting the consulate, the candidate must already have a copy of such an agreement.
The validity period of the document is most often not prescribed. The exception is seasonal and temporary employment, internships and paid social work.
The contract must include the following information:
- information about the employee;
- employer data;
- place of work;
- profession;
- wage;
- the number of working hours in one week;
- links to the necessary sections of the company's collective agreement that address employment issues.
A document is drawn up in 2 copies. To confirm qualifications, an employee will need a diploma of education and a copy of a work book with translation and notarization.
Work permit
Work permits in Latvia are issued by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. Such a document gives a foreign citizen the right to work only in a certain company. For permission, an electronic copy is drawn up, which will be kept by the department.
The work permit cannot be extended. After its expiration, you will need to receive a new one.
The following are not required to submit a request for the issue of a document:
- relatives (spouses, children, parents) of Latvian citizens or those who have already received permanent residence;
- citizens or owners of permanent residence in the EU and their family members;
- persons with a special status (for example, employees of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in the republic);
- stateless persons, victims of human trafficking, refugees, asylum seekers.
The renewal of the work permit is undertaken by the employer. This must be done before the expiration of the previous document, otherwise the employee will be forced to leave the country.
National visa
To be able to live in the country for more than three months, you need to obtain a work visa to Latvia. You can submit documents to the consulate of the republic in your homeland. To do this, you need to prepare:
- Foreign passport with a clean spread and unexpired validity period. It is important to know that even if the applicant has a biometric passport and lives in a state with which Latvia maintains visa-free relations, it will still be necessary to apply for a Category D visa.
- Civil passport with a copy of the main page and registration.
- Visa application.
- Photo 35 x 45 mm.
- Financial guarantees (430 euros for 1 month).
- Insurance.
- Documents that confirm the purpose of the visit (invitation from the employer, copy of the employment contract).
- Receipt for payment of the fee (60 euros).
- Confirmation of the availability of housing (own or rented).
It will take about 15 calendar days to review the request. In some cases, this period is extended up to 30 days, in exceptional cases - up to 60 days.
Features of recruiting CIS residents
Work for Ukrainians in Latvia, citizens of the Russian Federation and other CIS states is available in the same way as for Europeans. But the order of their registration is somewhat different. For employment you will need:
- Category D visa.
- Work permit.
- An agreement with the employer, which must indicate that the remuneration of the future employee will not be less than the average monthly salary recorded in the past year.
- Health certificate and insurance policy.
- Residence permit and registration at the place of residence.
At the same time, citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway can cross the Latvian border on the basis of their biometric passport without a visa and do not even register for 183 days after entry.
For Belarusians and other residents of the CIS, a competitive selection is mandatory, in which preference is always given to local residents.
The employing company is not obliged to notify the Employment Center of the employment of an EU citizen. He does not need a work permit either.
As for the residence permit, Europeans first receive an EU citizen certificate, valid for 5 years, and then a permanent residence permit.
For citizens of Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the post-Soviet space, a temporary residence permit is provided first, requiring an annual extension, and after 5 years - a permanent residence permit (subject to passing the state exam for knowledge of the Latvian language).
Wage level
Salary in Latvia depends on the profession, industry, work experience, region and even locality. The highest level of salaries is in Riga and Jurmala. Here you can count on 1,100-1,200 euros per month.
In general, the minimum salary in Latvia in 2021 was fixed at 430 euros (excluding taxes).
By profession, the data was distributed as follows (information is indicated per month, in euros):
- administrative workers - 500-600;
- secretaries / clerks / office managers / assistant managers - 550-800;
- working as a driver in Latvia - 750-900, international officials can earn up to 1,300 euros;
- programmers with over 5 years of experience - 2,000-2,500;
- lawyers - 1,000-1,200;
- gardeners - 400-500;
- packers - 400-550;
- cashiers - 350-400.
Considering that the cost of basic goods and services in the country is also not too high, we can say that even the minimum wage will be enough to cover the costs. The living wage in the republic is set at the level of the minimum wage.
Some professions provide for hourly wages, for example, in the construction industry. The rate can range from 4 to 4.5 euros per hour.
Tax system
Taxes in Latvia continue to be among the lowest in Europe. And although the government in recent years has been trying in every possible way to harmonize the country's fiscal system with the requirements of the Eurozone, the country's economy has not yet strengthened after the 2008 financial crisis. To ensure its growth, the authorities are constantly developing loyalty programs for entrepreneurs.
Income tax in Latvia is paid by all residents without exception. This is not affected by either the country of origin or the level of income. Taxes have to be paid on the following types of profits:
- wages;
- professional or economic activity;
- other income provided by the laws of the state.
For individuals, the salary tax is 20-23% (depending on the level of income), capital gains - 15%, dividends - 10%.
Immigration for businessmen
Business organization can also become the basis for immigration to Latvia. To do this, you can open your own company or invest in an existing one.
The procedure for obtaining a residence permit will be the same as for employees, but one of the conditions must be fulfilled:
- buy real estate in the amount of 250 thousand euros;
- to acquire a business in Latvia or create a new one by investing in the company from 360 thousand euros and annually paying from 28 thousand euros to the treasury as taxes;
- open a deposit in a Latvian bank, on the account of which there must be at least 286 thousand euros.
After 5 years, a businessman will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit, and after another 5 years - for citizenship.According to the latest changes in the law, for the extension of a temporary residence permit for 5 years, you will have to pay 5 thousand euros (1 thousand per year or the entire amount at once, but without a discount).
What does illegal employment lead to?
Persons who risk finding a job without permission and going through all stages of legalization must be prepared for certain penalties. The Latvian authorities have developed a series of laws that provide for penalties of varying severity.
If the violation is recorded for the first time, the immigrant faces a fine of 100 to 700 euros. The actions of the employer, who will have to pay a penalty in the amount of 2,000 euros, will not go unpunished either.
If the law is violated again, more severe measures will be applied. In particular, the migrant faces a fine, the cancellation of his documents issued in Latvia, expulsion from the country and a ban on subsequent entry.
Do not forget that information on violations of migration legislation is entered into the EU's Unified Information System. This means that in the future a foreigner may have difficulties in obtaining visas in other countries as well.
As far as the employer is concerned, in addition to administrative responsibility, criminal liability may be imposed on him.
It should be noted that if a foreign citizen received a work permit at one enterprise, and later quit and got a job at another, this option is also considered as illegal employment.
Outcomes
Applying to a Latvian company is one of the grounds for immigration to this Baltic state. But in order to carry out their plans, residents of the CIS need to obtain a special permit to carry out labor activities.
The process begins with the search for an employer who needs to hold a competition among local residents, submit an application to the Employment Center and obtain a permit, which must be certified by the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After collecting the necessary package of documents and opening a national visa, a foreigner can enter Latvia and apply for a temporary residence permit.
