• Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainian civilians are citizens of Ukraine and their family members, and also persons who have received a permanent residence permit, the status of a stateless person, or the status of international protection in Ukraine and their family members.
• Latvia has adopted and is operating a special law on the status of Ukrainian civilians, so it is not necessary to apply for refugee status.
• On arrival in Latvia via the border crossing points, a border check will be carried out for persons with biometric passports.
• If a person arrives without travel documents, the identity of the person will be confirmed in cooperation with the competent Ukrainian authorities.
• All EU countries bordering Ukraine allow entry to all people fleeing the war in Ukraine on humanitarian grounds regardless of whether the person has a biometric passport. This applies also to children.
• Ukrainian citizens who have a biometric passport do not need a visa for the first 90 days. Residents without a biometric passport will be issued a visa-free of charge.
• Ukrainian citizens can apply for a long-term visa with the right to work in Latvia. The visa will be issued for one year and will give access to the labour market.

Refugee status / asylum seeker status/ temporary protection status

• A Ukrainian civilian has the right to receive State paid health care services in the same amount as persons insured in Latvia within the scope of the State mandatory health insurance.
• Not depending on the refugee /asylum seeker or temporary protection status, all Ukrainian civilians who arrive in Latvia or are already here are eligible for the same free of charge state-covered healthcare and medical services, including medicines, as are available to Latvian residents.
• For the people residing permanently in Ukraine, having left the country to escape war from 24 February 2022 onwards, the temporary protection status in any EU country can be entitled.
• The Asylum Affairs Department of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs must decide on the granting of the refugee or alternative status or the refusal to grant one within three months after the personal interview with the asylum seeker, however, the decision on the granting of the refugee or alternative status must be taken no later than within a total of six months after the request of asylum was made.

The period of decision making may be extended by nine more months and, thus, the total decision-making period may reach as much as 15 months. As of December 9, the commission of the Latvian Seimas on Defense, Internal Affairs and Prevention of Corruption adopted amendments to the law, which provides for the support of Ukrainians. According to the new edition, refugees from Ukraine will be assisted until June 30, 2023. Check out for more updates