A third-country national must apply for a visa at the consulate of the competent Schengen state in whose territorial competence the applicant legally resides.
It is possible to distinguish following three options:
- If the third-country national, who intends to travel to Latvia, legally resides in a state where a Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Mission is present, he or she must lodge their visa application at this Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Mission. For information regarding the possibility of lodging a visa application via the services of the logistics company "Pony Express", please view the website of the Embassy of Latvia in Moscow, the website of the Embassy of Latvia in Ukraine and the website of the Consulate General of Latvia in St.Petersburg.
- If the third-country national, who intends to travel to Latvia, legally resides in a state without a Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Mission, but there is other Schengen Member State representing Latvia in the issuance of a Schengen visas, he or she must lodge their visa application at this responsible Diplomatic and Consular Mission of the other Schengen Member State. Please be informed that the Diplomatic and Consular Missions of other Schengen Member States represent Latvia only in the issuance of a short stay visas (uniform visa, visa with limited territorial validity and airport transit visa) with a duration of no more than three months in any six-month period from the date of first entry in the territory of Schengen Member State.
- If the third-country national legally resides in a place without a Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Mission and there is no other Schengen Member State that is authorised to issue visas on behalf of Latvia or the third-country national is willing to apply for long term visa with a duration of more than three months in any six-month period from the date of first entry in the territory of Schengen Member State, he or she must lodge their visa application at the Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Mission in whose territorial competence the applicant legally resides.
The territorial competence of the Latvian Diplomatic and Consular Missions is determined by regulations No. 725 “Regulations on the territorial competence on requiring visas at the Diplomatic and Consular Missions of the Republic of Latvia” issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia on 3 August 2010.
!!! Please note that the territorial competence in the above mentioned Regulations is distinguished by two different categories of visas and they are as follows:
- In compliance with a Community Code on Visas – a short term visa (uniform visa, visa with limited territorial validity and airport transit visa) with duration of no more than three months in any six-month period from the date of first entry in the territory of Schengen Member State (Annex 1 of the above Regulations);
- In compliance with Immigration Law of the Republic of Latvia – a long term visa with duration of more than three months in any six-month period from the date of first entry in the territory of Schengen Member State (Annex 2 of the above Regulations).
A visa application may be accepted by a competent Diplomatic and Consular Mission also if the third-country national is legally present but not residing in the territorial competence of the respective Diplomatic and Consular Mission. However, in this case the applicant has to provide a justification for lodging the application at that particular Diplomatic and Consular Mission. Since it is the Diplomatic and Consular Mission that decides on whether, according to a Community Code on Visas, it is competent to accept a visa application from an applicant who is legally present but not residing in it’s territorial competence, we suggest that the applicant contacts the relevant Diplomatic and Consular Mission in advance to clarify whether a visa application can be accepted by this particular Diplomatic and Consular Mission.
Diplomatic and Consular Missions of other Schengen Member States that issue visas for travelling to Latvia
! Please note that the Diplomatic and Consular Missions representing Latvia in the issuance of visas in third countries accept visa applications only from the citizens of state of residence and from those third-country residents who are staying in this state with residence permits.
When applying for a visa at a Diplomatic and Consular Mission issuing Schengen visas on behalf of Latvia, the applicant should be aware of the following:
- a translation into English or in the official language used by the relevant Mission shall be attached to the documents,
- an invitation approved by the Office of Migration of Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia should be submitted in paper-form.
An inviting party will be provided with an invitation in paper-form if the Diplomatic and Consular Mission of the other Schengen Member State issuing visas on behalf of Latvia is indicated as the location for applying for a visa. After the receipt of the invitation it must be forwarded to the visa applicant.
|
Country of representation |
Mission of the Schengen Member State
representing Latvia |
|
Republic of Albania (Tirana) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (Algiers) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Republic of Argentina (Buenos Aires) |
Embassy of Lithuania |
|
Republic of Armenia (Yerevan) |
Embassy of France |
| Commonwealth of Australia (Canberra ) |
Embassy of Austria |
|
Republic of Benin (Cotonou) |
Embassy of France |
|
Bosnia un Herzegovina (Sarajevo) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Botswana (Gaborone) |
Embassy of France |
|
Republic of Bulgaria (Sofia) |
Embassy of Estonia |
|
Republic of Cameroon (Yaoundé) |
Embassy of France |
|
Republic of Chad (N'Djamena) |
Embassy of France |
|
People's Republic of China (Shanghai) (see note # 1) |
Consulate General of Hungary |
|
Republic of Colombia (Bogotá) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Abidjan) |
Embassy of France |
|
Republic of Cuba (Havana) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
The Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) |
Embassy of the Netherlands |
| Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) |
Embassy of Austria |
|
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Skopje) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of India (Mumbai) (see note # 2) |
Consulate General of the Netherlands |
|
Republic of India (New Delhi) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Republic of Indonesia (Jakarta) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Islamic Republic of Iran (Tehran) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Amman) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty) (see note # 3) |
Consulate General of Hungary |
|
Republic of Kenya (Nairobi) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
The Republic of Korea (Seoul) |
Embassy of Slovakia |
|
Repuclic of Kosovo (Pristina) |
Embassy of Slovenia |
|
State of Kuwait (Kuwait) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Republic of Lebanon (Beirut) |
Embassy of Hungary |
| Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) |
Embassy of Austria |
|
Republic of Mali (Bamako) |
Embassy of France |
|
Islamic Republic of Mauritania (Nouakchott) |
Embassy of France |
|
Republic of Moldova (Chisinau) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Mongolia (Ulan Bator) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Kingdom of Morocco (Rabat) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Montenegro (Podgorica) |
Common Application Centre (CAC)
at the Embassy of Slovenia |
|
Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Islamabad) (see note # 4) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Karachi) (see note # 5) |
Consulate General of Germany in Karachi |
|
Republic of Peru (Lima) |
Embassy of the Netherlands |
|
Republic of the Philippines (Manila) |
Embassy of the Netherlands |
|
Romania (Bucharest) |
Embassy of Slovakia |
|
State of Qatar (Doha) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Russian Federation (Yekaterinburg) (see note #6) |
Consulate General of Hungary |
|
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Serbia (Belgrade) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Singapore (Singapore) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Republic of Slovenia (Ljubljana) |
Common Application Centre (CAC)
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Slovenia |
|
Republic of South Africa (Pretoria) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Colombo) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Suriname (Paramaribo) |
Embassy of the Netherlands |
|
Syrian Arab Republic (Damascus) |
Embassy of the Netherlands |
|
Kingdom of Thailand (Bangkok) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain) |
Embassy of France |
|
Republic of Tunisia (Tunis) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
Republic of Turkmenistan (Ashgabat) |
Embassy of Germany |
|
The United Mexican States (Mexico City) |
Embassy of Slovakia |
| Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Caracas) |
Embassy of Austria |
|
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Hanoi) |
Embassy of Hungary |
|
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) (see note # 7) |
Embassy of Germany in Abu Dhabi |
|
United Arab Emirates (Dubai) (see note #8) |
Consulate General of Germany in Dubai |
Notes:
1. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian Provinces.
2. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Mumbai only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh, Andaman en Nicobar Islands, Dadra en Nagar Haveli, Daman en Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.
3. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of Hungary in Almaty only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Hungary in Almaty: City of Almaty, Almaty Region, South Kazakhstan, Jambul, East Kazakhstan and Kizil-Orda.
4. Visa applications may be lodged at the Embassy of Germany in Islamabad only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Embassy of Germany in Islamabad: Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces.
5. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Karachi only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Germany in Karachi: Sindh and Balochistan Provinces
6. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of Hungary in Yekaterinburg only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Hungary in Yekaterinburg: Republic of Altay, Republic of Bashkortostan, Republic of Buryatiya, Republic of Khakasiya, Republic of Tuva, Altay Kray, Krasnoyarsk Kray, Perm Kray, Transbaykal Kray, Chelyabinsk County, Irkutsk County, Kemerovo County, Kurgan County, Novosibirsk County, Omsk County, Sverdlovsk County, Tomsk County, Tyumen County, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
7. Visa applications may be lodged at the Embassy of Germany in Abu Dhabi only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the German Embassy: Abu Dhabi.
8. Visa applications may be lodged at the Consulate General of Germany in Dubai only by persons who are residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Germany in Dubai: Dubai, Ajman, Furjairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain (6 out of 7 states of the UAE, except Abu Dhabi).
