A visa is a sticker of a certain design affixed in a travel document. It shall certify that a person has requested an authorisation to enter and stay in the Republic of Latvia or in any Schengen Member State. There are three visa types: airport transit visa (Category A), short-term visa (Category C), and long-term visa (Category D). In order to reside in the Republic of Latvia for longer than 90 days within a 6 months’ period, the person has to apply for a visa. Exchange students of Riga Technical University can apply only for a long- term visa.
A citizen of a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area, or Switzerland, and a citizen of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR Passport Holders, Israel, Japan, Korea (South Korea), Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, Uruguay, USA, Vatican City State, Venezuela, may enter the Republic of Latvia without visa and reside there for 90 days within a 6 months’ period.
Particularly, a citizen of a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area, or Switzerland may reside in the Republic of Latvia for one year without visa.
If a person has entered the Republic of Latvia without a visa, approximately 3 weeks before the 90-day period expires, the person has to apply for a long-term visa.
First of all, an application form has to be filled out in the Foreign Students Department (FSD) in order to receive Invitation No. A copy of passport has to be submitted together with the application form. The documents are prepared no less than 8 working days. After receiving these documents from the FSD, the following documents have to be provided to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA):
Application for a long-term visa has to be done at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde). The office is located at Čiekurkalna 1. līnija, building K-1. To get there, take tram No 11 (the route can be found on the big map, which is included in the Welcome Package or on www.rigassatisksme.lv/en).
Take off the second stop after the bridge over the railway – the stop is called «2. MEŽA KAPI». The office is right across the street on the right, it is the large glass building, use the first entrance on the right side of the building. Inside the building, go to the administration (information desk) and inform them that you would like to apply for a long-term visa. They will call an official, who will receive your documents and guide you through the next steps to get your visa.
If you are not a citizen of countries which do not require visa to enter the Republic of Latvia, you must apply for a long-term visa at the assigned Embassy of Latvia.
Having received a positive admission from RTU, Foreign Students Department (FSD) will prepare the invitation and guarantee letters in order to apply for a long-term visa. Once they have been received to the personal email, rest of the documents can be prepared (see the document list below) and the assigned embassy of Latvia in the country of residence can be contacted to make an appointment. Once the long-term visa is prepared, the person can enter the Republic of Latvia and reside there for the requested period of time.
The necessary document to apply for a long-term visa:
More information on visas and invitations can be found on the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs’ homepage.
In case of necessity on this matter, please, contact: