How to Apply for a Latvia Schengen Visa from the UK

The EU Digital COVID Certificate was available starting 1 July 2021, provides proof that a person has either:

• been vaccinated against COVID-19
• received a negative test result, PCR or rapid antigen,
• or has recovered from COVID-19

The EU Digital COVID Certificate grants travellers the same rights as vaccinated, tested or recovered citizens of the EU Member State they are visiting and allows travel into the EU.

EU citizens and residents can have their Digital COVID Certificates issued and verified across the EU. You can find out about how Latvia is handling their EUDCC on their website.

Latvia is a Schengen country, which allows for free movement between the 26 EU and EFTA states (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland). A uniform Schengen visa issued by one of the Schengen states is valid for travel within the whole Schengen area.

The rules for travelling or working in European countries changed on 1 January 2021:

• you can travel to countries in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa as a tourist, to visit family or friends, to attend business meetings, cultural or sports events, or for short-term studies or training
• if you are travelling to Latvia and other Schengen countries without a visa, make sure your whole visit is within the 90-day limit. Visits to Schengen countries within the previous 180 days before you travel count towards your 90 days
• for long-stay visits, to work or study, for business or for other reasons, you will need to meet the Latvian government’s entry requirements.
• if you stay in Latvia with a residence permit or long-stay visa, this does not count towards your 90-day visa-free limit

At Latvian border control, you may need to use separate lanes from EU, EEA and Swiss citizens when queueing. Your passport may be stamped on entry and exit. You may also need to:

• show a return or onward ticket
• show you have enough money for your stay

There are separate requirements for those who are residents of Latvia. If you are resident in Latvia, you should carry proof of residence as well as your valid passport when you travel. You should also check your passport’s validity when you travel and renew it if you don’t have enough time on it. Your passport must be:

• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave Latvia or any other Schengen country
• less than 10 years old

Find out more on these requirements, in the UK government’s Living in Latvia guide.

Citizens of the following countries residing in the UK and planning to visit Latvia are required to get a Latvian Schengen visa in order to be able to enter Latvia.

• Latvia is the only Schengen country you plan on visiting
• Latvia is your main destination (the country you will be staying the longest in)
• Latvia is the first Schengen country you are visiting (when spending an equal amount of days in Latvia and another Schengen country)

In case you plan on staying in Latvia for more than 90 days you must apply for a residency permit, not a Latvia Schengen visa.

Please, note that if you are not a resident in the United Kingdom you should apply at the Latvia Embassy/Consulate/VAC in your home country of residence.

• Your passport with at least two blank pages, make sure that:
  • Your passport has been issued (not extended) within the previous 10 years,
  • Your passport has 2 full blank pages, one for the visa stamp and an additional spare page,
  • Your passport will be valid for at least three (3) months after the date you exit the Schengen Area.
• A valid UK residence permit or another form of Identity Card. The UK residency permit must be endorsed in the actual passport (or on a new biometric ID card)
• Latvia visa application form. The form should be fully, honestly, and correctly completed, printed, and signed at the end.
• A Cover Letter. This personal cover letter should explain the reason why you wish to visit Latvia, how long you intend to remain there, and what you will be doing there, amongst others.
• Proof of travel arrangements. Round trip flight/travel reservations from the UK to Latvia and back to the UK, or other proof of intended transport and complete itinerary of your visit to Latvia (if the several Schengen States will be visited or if the trip covers the several Schengen States and non-Schengen countries).
• Travel health insurance which covers at least 30,000 Euros and is valid for all Schengen countries
• Your residence address in the UK from a utility bill, bank statement, or another form
• Proof of civil status (marriage certificate, birth certificate of children, death certificate of spouse, ration card if applicable)
• Proof of accommodation in Latvia:
  • Evidence of a hotel booking in Latvia or rental agreement, or
  • Invitation from your Latvia host (family member, friend) along with a copy of their passport or ID (Proof of sponsorship if dependent)
• Proof of financial subsistence:
  • You need to show to the Latvia embassy in the UK that you have enough money to maintain yourself during your stay in Latvia (according to the information provided by the European Commission, a foreign national who wants to enter the territory of Latvia, while applying for a Latvia visa needs to attest owning 48€/day for the period of stay in Latvia). This could be a:
    • Original recent Bank Statement (covering the last 3 calendar months. The last transaction must be no more than 1 month old)
    • Traveller’s Cheques
      Note: Cash is not considered proof of financial subsistence.
• Any previous passports or visas that you have had
• Certificate of criminal record of the home country– showing that candidate has no open crime case involvement
• Proof of paid Latvia visa fee

Note: Photocopies of the original documents should also be submitted and documents should not be more than one month old.

The documents listed above are documents required in all cases, regardless of the purpose of your visit to Latvia.

Since Latvia is a Schengen country, the visa fees are the same as any other Schengen visa.

The fee must be paid upon submitting the Latvia visa application. After you complete this payment, you will receive a receipt, which shows that payment has been made, which must be offered amongst other documents of the application. You will have to pay a Latvia Schengen visa fee in order for your application to be processed.

Find out about the Schengen visa fee in our blog post: Schengen Visa Fees – How Much Does a Schengen Visa Cost?

You can apply for a Latvia Schengen Visa 6 months before your planned trip. Depending on the nationality of the applicant, the processing time may take at least 15 days from the day of application. In some cases when required documents are missing from the application, this process may take longer.

• Approved – Once your visa is approved, it will be stamped in your passport. Make sure to carefully check the visa sticker to make sure everything is correct and exactly how you need it.
• Rejected – if your visa has been rejected, it would have been for a specific reason and you have the right to appeal.

• Marriage certificate missing – if you are applying for a visa for family reasons, you may have to prove family ties. This is why you must provide a marriage certificate
• You applied for the wrong visa – it is your responsibility to apply for the correct visa depending on how long you are going to Latvia for and your reason for travelling there
• It is not clear that you plan to return to the UK – it must be clear that you intend to return to the UK before the visa expires. If the visa staff have doubts about this, your visa will be rejected
• The purpose of your trip cannot be established – the reason why you are planning to go to Latvia must be made clear. You can do this by providing specific documents like a full itinerary, work contract or invitation letter, etc.

If you receive a negative answer in your Latvia Schengen visa application, this does not mean you cannot ever travel to Latvia. You have two options.

• File an appeal for Latvia Schengen visa rejection if you believe that the decision to deny you a visa is unjust. You should have a strong basis for your complaint. You can appeal this decision by writing an appeal letter for a Latvia Schengen visa rejection.
• Reapply by correcting the mistakes you did in your previous application. Or improve your situation to comply with the eligibility criteria for a Latvia Schengen Visa.

A person visiting Latvia on a Schengen visa is allowed by law to extend their visa if they have legitimate reasons. This could be either personal, professional, medical, emergency, or any other. The decisions to approve a Schengen visa extension request are handled case by case.

The duration you are allowed to stay in the country is stated in your Schengen visa sticker. It is important not to overstay during your trip to Latvia or the rest of the Schengen Zone or risk facing penalties like a fine, deportation, being banned from travelling back to the Schengen Zone, and having difficulties in your future Schengen applications. There are also cases when people do not get any penalties for overstaying, for example, a child or a person that cannot travel without a caretaker because of an illness or disability or an unforeseen event that prevents you from leaving the country, like COVID-19.

If you wish to extend your visa and stay longer in the Schengen Zone, then you need to start getting ready for your application. The overall process of extending your Latvia Schengen visa will involve:

• Determining whether you have a justified reason to request for an extension
• Submitting all the necessary documents. These include a valid passport that has the Schengen Visa used to get in the Schengen area stamped in it, one passport-sized photo, proof of financial subsistence, Schengen Visa Insurance that covers the extension duration, and all the documents that justify your reason for an extension
• Paying visa fees where applicable
• Attending a visa interview if necessary
• Waiting for the approval

You must apply for a Schengen visa extension before it expires. It may take a few days to a month for the authorities to process your visa extension request, during which you are legally permitted to stay in the country where you applied for the Schengen visa but cannot travel to other Schengen countries. If your visa extension request is approved, you can extend your stay in the Schengen Area until the visa validity. If your visa extension application is rejected, you will have to leave the Schengen area as soon as possible.

Yes, it’s easy to apply for a Latvia Schengen visa! You can apply for the visa online or use immigration services like IAM to make the process even simpler for you and have a higher chance of your application being accepted.

You can apply for a Latvian Schengen visa up to 180 days before your planned trip. The Latvian visa application process takes a minimum of 5 working days but can take up to 2 weeks. We advise you to make your application 3 weeks before your trip to make up for any possible delays in processing.

If you want to get a multiple entry visa to Latvia or any country in the Schengen area, you need to justify through your documents and your visa interview why you should be granted such a visa, which includes proving that you have sufficient resources to support your multiple trips.

The fee for a Latvian Schengen visa is 80€ for adults, 40€ for children between 6-12 years of age, and free for children younger than 6 years of age. Keep in mind that these fees may change depending on currency fluctuations and can be paid only in UK Pounds. Payments can be made in cash and by credit or debit card.

You can get a premium Schengen visa to get your Latvian Schengen visa within 24 to 48 hours, which includes personalised advice from an expert immigration adviser.

You will need 48€/day for the period of your stay in Latvia.

Yes, the country adopted the euro as their currency on 1 January 2014.

You can travel to any of the 26 countries in the Schengen Area and 18 other countries.