Do I need a visa to Riga? Latvia is one of the states that are part of the Schengen area. Therefore, to enter the specified country, Russian citizens have to draw up the relevant documents. An exception is persons who have a residence permit in Riga and other cities. In the presented material, we will consider how the visa is issued to Latvia.
Schengen visa
The visa to Riga of the presented plan allows not only to enter the territory of the country, but also to move through the territory of the states that are part of the Schengen zone. A document is suitable for visiting the country for tourist purposes and looks like the best solution for a long stay with relatives or friends. There is a single and double variety.
Transit visa
A transit visa to Riga for Russians may be required if visiting Latvia is considered as an intermediate link on the way to the territory of neighboring states. As a rule, it is issued in cases when a foreigner needs to perform a transfer between airplanes that follow separate directions. Such a document makes it possible to stay in the transit area of the airport for 24 hours without leaving the city.
Long term visa
A long-term visa to Riga for Russians exists for those who plan to stay in the republic for a long time. This document is a kind of alternative to a residence permit and makes it possible to stay in the country for 90 days. Moreover, a long-term visa to Riga opens up the possibility of visiting other Schengen states if territorial restrictions are not initially imposed on the document.
Visa by invitation
To receive an invitation to Latvia, when filling out a visa application form, you will have to indicate the code for such a request. Legal entities, friends or relatives are required to contact the migration agencies in this country in advance with the appropriate intention to make a call.
In most cases, the invitation takes about 2 days. Based on the norms of the Latvian legislation, such a call is entitled to the citizens of this country, persons who have a residence permit.
If there is an invitation, a visa to Riga is issued by the consulate. In particular, the future residence, the purpose of the trip, is taken into account. The inaccurate address at which it is planned to be located in Latvia often becomes a reason for refusing to confirm the invitation. Therefore, before submitting a request for review, it is recommended that you carefully check the data.
Forwarding an invitation to the Latvian Embassy is not required. It is only necessary to note the number of the request in the visa application form. The latter is entered into the database of a state institution. The indicated numerical code remains valid for six months from the moment of sending the invitation.
Tourist visa
Russian citizens who travel to Latvia for tourism are required to provide for consideration of the embassy staff a ticket for the Moscow-Riga plane, as well as a printout of a letter confirming the hotel reservation. Refusals to ordinary travelers to enter this country are extremely rare. Often the causes of trouble are:
- lack of a ticket for the Moscow-Riga plane;
- lack of free pages in the passport, expiration of its validity;
- submission of photos that do not meet the requirements;
- incorrect health insurance.
Deadlines
How long does it take to prepare a visa (Latvia)? The visa center in most cases copes with this task within 5 working days from the date of application. The procedure can be completed in 3 days if there is a good reason for this. At the request of the embassy, visa processing in some cases lasts for 30 days. However, this happens extremely rarely, in particular, if you need to carefully examine or verify the suspicious data specified in the documentation.
Where is the Latvian Visa Application Center in Moscow located? The department can be found at the following address: Nizhny Susalny Lane, Building 5. It is convenient to get here by arriving at the Kurskaya metro station.
The cost of a visa to Latvia
How much does the paperwork cost? To get a visa, you have to visit the Latvian embassy to pay the consular fee. Based on the required preparation of documents, the price will be:
- 35 euros for a regular, non-urgent tourist visa;
- 70 euros for urgent preparation of documents.
When applying for a visa to travel to Latvia for a child, citizens are exempted from consular fees.
Visa Application Form
Visa to Riga requires filling in the appropriate application form. You can do this on the official website of the Latvian Consulate. The questionnaire is filled out exclusively in Latin script. Then the document is printed, after which it is examined at the embassy and signed by the representatives of the visa center.
If you plan to travel with minors, parents are filling out the questionnaire. The document indicates comprehensive and reliable information. Moreover, all the items presented on the form are filled out without exception. If embassy staff finds incorrect data, any false information, the applicant will be immediately denied a visa.
Documents required to obtain a visa to Latvia
The bulk of Russian citizens who are sent to Riga prefer to apply for a Schengen visa. To receive such a document, you will have to send the following papers to the embassy for consideration:
- Application form for each person going on a trip.
- A passport with at least two blank pages. The identity document must remain valid for 3 months after the expiration of the visa.
- Internal Russian passport. Submitting the original document is not required. Sufficiently clear photocopies of U-turns, where a photograph of the applicant, data on the place of his registration is presented. For minors, as an alternative, a birth certificate is presented here.
- Photos in a format that meets the standards declared by the visa center. The latter must be done no later than 6 months before applying for a visa. One of the photographs is attached to the completed application form.
- Documents confirming the purpose of entry into the territory of Latvia. First of all, these are plane tickets in both directions, forms that confirm registration at the hotel. In cases where it is planned to travel by car, employees of the visa center are presented with photocopies of the driver’s license, as well as a certificate of registration of the car.
- Insurance valid in the territory of the states that are part of the Schengen zone. The amount of policy coverage should be 30,000 euros, and in the case of a long-term visa - at least 42,600 euros.
- Statements confirming the availability of funds required to travel. When financing a trip by a third party, the employees of the visa center are presented with relevant statements in his name. For a visa to Riga to be issued, the traveler must have at his disposal an amount of 30 lats per day.
- A receipt confirming payment of mandatory consular fees.
Additional papers
Based on the special purpose of the trip, the staff of the visa center may require a number of additional documents from the applicant. In particular, if a person leaves for Latvia to conduct business or entrepreneurial activity, an invitation letter drawn up by the receiving party in the republic is mandatory. In addition, in such a situation, a certificate of employment will be required, where the position is indicated.
Persons who go to Riga for employment must provide the visa center staff with:
- A certificate of a comprehensive medical examination. The data indicated in the form must confirm the absence of dangerous ailments.
- Original document of an employment contract signed by an employer in Latvia.
- A letter from the host, information from which indicates that the applicant for a visa is a future employee.
Features of applying for a child visa
In order to draw up a document for a child under 14 years of age who does not have her own passport, the following conditions must be met. First of all, such children fit into the passports of their parents. A special visa application form is attached to each of them, to which a photo card is attached. If the children are over 14 years old, photocopies of the internal Russian passport are attached to the package of papers.
It happens that a child must go on a trip accompanied by only one parent. In such situations, special permission is required to leave the country, which comes from the father or mother and is notarized. If the second parent is absent, this fact must be confirmed by relevant documents (court decision, death certificate, etc.).
Children have the right to travel to Latvia unaccompanied by adult guardians. To make such a move, you will need permission from the parents, which is the basis for crossing the Russian border. A letter must be attached to it containing information on who will take responsibility for the minor while he is in Latvia. In the latter case, the presence of a child's passport is a prerequisite for traveling.
To summarize the above, it becomes clear that only minors who have reached the age of 14 have the right to enter Latvia without unaccompanied parents. Moreover, they must have a document signed by the guardians, which allows the child to travel independently.
Finally
So we found out whether a visa to Riga is needed, what documents are required to apply for it. As you can see, with strict observance of the established procedure for submitting papers, as well as the requirements of the consulate, it is not so difficult to obtain a document that gives the right to enter Latvia.