Latvia business visa (Schengen type C)

A business visa covers meetings with partners, negotiations, signing contracts, visiting fairs and similar activities where you remain employed and paid outside Latvia. If you will perform work for a Latvian company, the employer must arrange a visa with the right to employment instead; OCMA lists exceptions only for very short stays, for example work in Latvia of no more than 14 days in a 180-day period.

Latvian missions accept either an invitation approved by OCMA or a letter from the inviting company that gives its name and registration number, the purpose of the trip, whether the company pays for your stay, the dates and number of entries, your address in Latvia, and the name and position of the signatory. A company can file an OCMA invitation electronically, with every attached document signed with a secure electronic signature.

You show EUR 14 per day of stay for trips of up to 30 days, or rely on the inviting company if it guarantees your costs in an approved invitation. Travel medical insurance must cover all Schengen states for the whole stay with at least EUR 30,000.

Apply no earlier than six months and no later than 15 days before travel. A decision is due within 15 calendar days, extendable to 45. Frequent business travellers can ask for a multiple-entry visa; you may apply for a new one while a multiple-entry visa valid for at least six months is still running. The 90-days-in-180 limit applies to all stays together.

The inviting company cannot appeal on your behalf unless it is your authorised representative with a notarised power of attorney. You appeal within 30 days to the Director of the MFA Consular Department; the decision follows within 30 days and can be challenged at the Administrative Court.