March 4 is approaching, when around 15,000 Ukrainian civilians will reach the end of their long-stay visas and residence permits in Latvia. Renewal of documents is a necessary and a simple process, but at the moment there is a lack of activity in the application process. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (hereinafter – the OCMA) is ready to process all applications, but please note that the processing time can take up to three months.
Most of the Ukrainian civilians still residing in Latvia have long-stay visas and temporary permits that were issued during a period until 31 December 2022. This means that they expire on 4 March 2025. It is compulsory for Ukrainian civilians to have a valid residence permit in order to continue their stay in Latvia, so it is very important to check its validity.
If you have previously been issued with a residence permit or a long-stay visa, submit the following to extend it:
- a copy of a travel document;
- a completed free-form application.
However, if a Ukrainian civilian is an adult citizen of Russia or Belarus, the following should be submitted to the OCMA to receive a residence permit or a long-stay visa:
- a copy of a travel document;
- a completed residence permit application questionnaire;
- an additional questionnaire to provide information to the competent state authorities.
The prepared documents may be submitted as follows:
- electronically, signed with a secure e-signature and sent to the following e-mail address pasts@pmlp.gov.lv;
- by post to the address of the territorial OCMA division;
- at the state and municipal single customer service centres.
If the decision is positive, the applicant will have to go to any territorial OCMA division to have the new eID card for the residence permit issued, which will be produced within 10 working days.
A residence permit is linked to the possibility of receiving benefits and other services in Latvia. Applications can take up to three months to be processed, so the OCMA urges you to check the validity of your documents and provide all the information you need in timely manner to ensure that your benefits and other services are not interrupted.
More information in Latvian and Ukrainian is available on the website here: https://www.pmlp.gov.lv/en/extension-temporary-protection-status
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs
Public Relations Division
prese@pmlp.gov.lv, +371 67219185