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Temporary protection status plus a temporary residence permit (eID card) issued for 3 years (since Dec 2024). EU protection now runs until 4 Mar 2028, but the permit is not extended automatically: before it expires, send PMLP a free-form application with a copy of your passport.

Passport, ID card or internal passport (if none, a certificate from the Ukrainian embassy) and a residence permit form; expired Ukrainian passports are accepted until 4 Mar 2027. New applicants since 31 Jul 2026: passport exit stamp or an official document (e.g. from Reserve+) showing military duties are fulfilled or don't apply.

In person at any office of PMLP (Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs), e.g. Riga, Čiekurkalna 1. līnija 1 k-3, or at a one-stop service centre outside Riga; then declare your address within a month. Renewal: by e-mail with a secure e-signature (pasts@pmlp.gov.lv), by post or at a one-stop centre.

Status and personal code are usually granted on the day of the visit; the permit decision takes up to 10 working days and the card is made within 2 working days after biometrics. Renewal: decision within 3 months, card within 10 working days — apply early.

Ends with EU temporary protection (now 4 Mar 2028) unless extended again. Lost earlier if you don't apply for a new permit within a month after yours expires, visit Russia or occupied territories (since 1 Jan 2026), get protection elsewhere or move to another country where you may live.

No common border: bus Kyiv–Riga approx. 29 h (FlixBus, several a day); train or car via Poland and Lithuania (LTG Link Kraków–Vilnius and Vilnius–Riga daily); flights to Riga via Warsaw and other EU airports. Without a Latvian permit, file an electronic travel declaration at eta.gov.lv at least 48 h before entry.

Dogs, cats and ferrets from Ukraine may enter even without a chip, rabies vaccination or antibody test: a vet in Latvia chips and vaccinates the animal, takes blood for the test and issues an EU pet passport; no contact for 21 days after vaccination. Since 2026 owners pay for this; send the owner's declaration to the vet service PVD (ukrainas_dzivnieki@pvd.gov.lv).

Latvian (official). About a third of residents speak Russian at home (2022 data). The state funds free Latvian courses for Ukrainians (SIF programme; NVA for job seekers); children aged 5–16 can learn Latvian free even if they don't attend school.

Yes, the residence permit gives the right to work for any employer without a work permit; with a Ukrainian passport you can start earlier (contract up to 30 days, apply for the permit within 10 days). Latvian isn't required if the job allows; some regulated jobs (e.g. medics, pharmacists, taxi drivers) require A2 within 2 years.

Construction trades, metal and machinery workers (welders, fitters, mechanics), doctors and other health professionals (EURES, 2024 data); STEM and IT specialists.

Yes: state-funded healthcare on the same terms as insured residents (register with a family doctor). Since 2026 patient co-payments apply (GP visit €2, specialist €4) unless you are exempt (children, pregnant women and others). Adult dental care is paid. NVD info line: 80001234.

Yes: a right to a place in a municipal kindergarten where you live (from age 1.5); pre-school is compulsory from age 5. If the municipality has no place, it pays a private kindergarten (parents may have to pay the rest). Apply to the municipality (Riga info line 1201).

Yes, state and municipal schools are free and school is compulsory. Teaching is in Latvian: children get an individual plan and extra Latvian lessons; free lunch in grades 1–4. Apply to the municipality or the school, stating the grade completed in Ukraine.

State accommodation for up to 60 days with food for 30 days (apply to the municipality); vulnerable people (disability, pension age, pregnancy, a child under 2, etc.) up to 180 days, renewable — all until 31 Dec 2026. Then a housing benefit from the social service if housing costs exceed income (the lease must be registered with the tax office, VID).

Crisis benefit from the municipal social service: €425 per adult and €298 per child (2026). With a social service certificate — food and hygiene packs (ESF+); soup kitchens without documents.

No fixed allowance. With low income: GMI benefit from the social service, up to €187/month for the first household member and €131 for each other (2026, minus income); no means test in the first 3 months. People of pension age without a Latvian pension: state benefit €187/month (after 3 months in Latvia).

Family state benefit (VSAA) for children aged 1–16 (up to 20 if studying): €25/month for one child, €50 per child for two, €75 per child for three, €100 per child for four or more (2026). Childcare benefit €298/month for a child under 1.5; one-off birth benefit €600.

1-bedroom flat in Riga: centre approx. €555/month, outside the centre approx. €370; 3-bedroom approx. €1,090 and €700 (Numbeo, Oct 2026, crowdsourced); utilities extra.

Approx. $454/month per person for food in Riga (livingcost.org, 2026, partly crowdsourced).

Private kindergartens in Riga approx. €660/month (Numbeo, Oct 2026, crowdsourced); if the municipality has no place for a child aged 1.5+, it covers part of the private fee.

State and municipal schools are free (parents buy school supplies); international schools in Riga approx. €20,300/year (Numbeo, Oct 2026, crowdsourced).

Usually not needed: state-funded care with co-payments (GP €2, specialist €4). The price of private insurance (faster access, dentistry) depends on age and insurer, no reliable average; a private doctor's visit approx. $52 (livingcost.org, 2026).

Protection runs to 4 Mar 2028, but the 3-year permit is not renewed automatically: apply before it expires — a month late and you lose protection (PMLP cancelled 18,600 statuses this way in 2025). Without a Latvian permit, file an e-declaration at eta.gov.lv 48 h before entry. Since 31 Jul 2026 new applicants must prove legal exit or military status; since 2026 a trip to Russia or occupied territories ends protection. Free state housing: 60 days. Helpline: +371 27 380 380. PMLP for Ukrainians