Publication

As the world is facing unprecedented times, the immigration process has become more advanced and lengthier than before. Due to VILGERTS’ extensive experience in the immigration sphere, we have summarised four crucial aspects that should be considered before beginning the process of obtaining a temporary residence permit (“TRP”) in the Republic of Latvia (“Latvia”).

First, since the most time-consuming part is obtaining and gathering all the necessary documents for submitting an application to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (“OCMA”) or to a representative office of Latvia abroad (i.e., an embassy or the consulate), it is important to follow our guidelines to save time and speed up the process. One of the most common mistakes we have observed is the obtention of invalid apostilles. Therefore, at this stage, it is important to ensure the apostilles, for the required documents, are requested from the appropriate authority.

Second, precise planning and booking of the appointments at the OCMA or the representative office of Latvia abroad well in advance is of importance. In practice, at this time, waiting time for a booking at the OCMA can take up to three months, therefore, to save time, we always provide accurate planning of all the necessary bookings in advance. That way an applicant can be confident his or her TRP will be obtained in the shortest term possible.

Third, crucially, using the possibility to submit the documents electronically, where possible, saves plenty of time in the process of obtaining the TRP. It is possible to submit all the required documents electronically when applicant is in Latvia. In this case, the only time the applicant needs to visit the OCMA is to pass a biometric data test and collect the TRP card after the positive decision has been made.

Fourth, many are not informed that in order to avoid the waiting time to pass the biometric data test and then collect the granted residence permit card, it is possible to pass the biometric data test before the final decision on the granting of the residence permit card has been made. Hence, another tip to save time is to pass the biometric data test before the final decision is issued. However, this is not something the applicant must worry about as we will take care of this process.

In sum, there are four main tips to be followed in order to obtain your residence permit in the shortest timeline possible, in some cases, this can be done within 10 business days in Latvia. It is vital to remember the following:

• The required documents are obtained well in advance and all of these documents are valid for the submission of the application;
• accurate planning and making sure the necessary booking arrangements at the OCMA or the representative office of Latvia abroad are made in advance;
• submitting the necessary documents electronically when possible;
• pass the biometric data test before the final decision is issued.