Residence permit for the spouse of a foreigner holding a permanent residence permit

Route status

Active as of 2026-05-20^[1]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Status details
Nationality restrictions	Nationalities: ru, by Restriction: excluded as of 2026-05-20^[1]^[5] Immigration Law Section 23.1(1): citizens of the Russian Federation and of the Republic of Belarus may request a temporary residence permit only in the cases named in Section 23 paragraphs three, six and seven and in Section 23.1 itself. No Section 23(1) ground in this record is among them. Section 23.1(2) and (3) list the narrow cases those two nationalities may still use – for Russian citizens, among others, employment determined by European Union law and participation in a scientific cooperation project or studies at an accredited institution, each for a period not exceeding one year – so a reader should not read this exclusion as closing every work or study path to them, only this route. The 2022 OCMA announcement cited alongside describes the original suspension and its then end date of 30 June 2023; the operative rule today is the standing Section 23.1.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)	Terminuzturesanas atlauja pastavigas uzturesanas atlauju sanemusa arzemnieka laulatajam (Imigracijas likuma 26. pants) as of 2026-05-20^[1] Latvia does not brand these permits; the Immigration Law describes each ground and OCMA titles its pages after the ground. The string recorded is the descriptive statutory designation, not a programme name.
Official name (English)	Residence permit for the spouse of a foreigner holding a permanent residence permit as of 2026-05-20^[1] English string from the statutory description, or from OCMA's English page where one covers the ground; marked as a translation rather than an official programme name.
Legal basis	Immigration Law (Imigracijas likums) Section 26, with Section 24(1)(2) as of 2026-05-20^[1]
Instrument type	residence permit as of 2026-05-20^[1] Section 23 issues a terminuzturesanas atlauja – a temporary residence permit; OCMA issues it as a foreigner's eID card.

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this route	EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2025-07-24^[3]
Minimum age	Not established from a qualifying source No minimum age is stated for this ground in the sources read.
Criminal-record condition	Not established from a qualifying source

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration	1 year as of 2026-05-20^[1]^[6] Section 26(1)(1): a temporary residence permit for one year on the first filing, four years on the second, a permanent residence permit on the third. Immigration Law Section 26(3): in the cases of Sections 25(1), 26(1), 30(1) and 31(2) the residence permit is issued on condition that the marriage is monogamous, that the spouses will live together and that they have a common household. Section 26(2) cancels the temporary permit if the marriage is dissolved before the permanent permit is received. Section 27 bars a foreigner who obtained the permanent permit on this track and then divorced from inviting a new foreign spouse under Section 26 until three years after receiving that permanent permit.
How the initial term is set	fixed
Renewable	Not established from a qualifying source Not stated for this ground in the sources read.
Work rights	full as of 2026-05-20^[1] Immigration Law Section 9(5)(2): the right to employment without restrictions is granted to a foreigner who has received a temporary residence permit as the spouse of a Latvian citizen, a Latvian non-citizen or a foreigner holding a permanent residence permit. Section 9(5)(3) extends it to that spouse's child, employed under the Labour Law.

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residence	Yes as of 2026-05-20^[1]^[6] Section 26(1)(3): a permanent residence permit on the third filing, subject to the state-language condition of Section 24(5).

Requirements

Requirements
Who can sponsor	permanent resident as of 2026-05-20^[1] Recorded from the statutory description of who the applicant must be related to.
Eligible relations	spouse as of 2026-05-20^[1] Recorded from the statutory description of the qualifying relationship.
Sponsor accommodation requirement	Not established from a qualifying source Section 26(3) requires a common household but no separate accommodation standard was read.
Sponsor waiting period	Not established from a qualifying source No period of prior residence by the sponsor is stated as a condition, beyond the sponsor holding a permanent residence permit.
Pre-entry language test	No as of 2026-05-20^[1] No pre-entry language test is stated. Immigration Law Section 24(5): a foreigner within Section 24(1)(2), (3), (6) or (7) may receive the permanent residence permit only if he has acquired the state language; the Cabinet sets the level, the testing procedure, the concessions and the exemptions. Section 24(5.1) makes the language test itself subject to a state fee. Where that condition is not met, Section 23(1)(25) keeps a temporary residence permit of up to five years open instead.

Process

Process
Where to apply from	either as of 2026-05-20^[1] Immigration Law Section 32(1), in the wording in force from 20 May 2026: documents for requesting a residence permit may be filed at a Latvian representation outside the Schengen area; at a representation inside it where the foreigner holds a valid residence permit in that state; at OCMA where the foreigner is staying in Latvia lawfully, or is a child born in Latvia; at OCMA electronically from abroad with a secure electronic signature; or with an outsourcing provider under a delegation contract.
Statutory processing time	up to 30 days as of 2026-03-18^[7]
Fees	Kind: application Amount: EUR 160 as of 2026-03-18^[7] Review of documents submitted for requesting a temporary residence permit, within 30 days. Source: Cabinet Regulation No. 731, as published by OCMA. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: review within 30 days Kind: expedite Amount: EUR 280 as of 2026-03-18^[7] Review within 10 working days, in place of the EUR 160 standard fee. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: review within 10 working days Kind: expedite Amount: EUR 560 as of 2026-03-18^[7] Review within 5 working days, in place of the EUR 160 standard fee. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: review within 5 working days Kind: other Amount: EUR 75 as of 2026-03-18^[7] State fee for review of documents submitted for registration of the temporary residence permit, within 30 days (EUR 140 within 10 working days, EUR 290 within 5 working days). Registration of an issued permit is a separate act from applying for one. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: registration of the temporary residence permit, within 30 days
Quota	Quota exists: Not established from a qualifying source

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be included	Yes as of 2026-05-20^[1] Immigration Law Section 23(4): in the cases named in Section 23(1) the foreigner's spouse, the minor children (including children under guardianship) of the foreigner or of the spouse, and persons under trusteeship may likewise request a temporary residence permit for the term of the permit issued to the foreigner.
Eligible relations	spouse, minor child, other dependent as of 2026-05-20^[1]
Family may apply at the same time	Not established from a qualifying source Section 23(4) gives family members the right to a permit for the term of the principal's permit but does not state whether applications must be lodged together.
Family members' work rights	Not established from a qualifying source Not stated for the derived Section 23(4) permits in the sources read. Section 9(5) grants unrestricted work rights to the spouse and child of a Latvian citizen, non-citizen or permanent-resident foreigner, which is a different case from the spouse of a temporary permit holder.
Additional means per family member	Relation: minor child Amount: 0.30 × minimum monthly wage within normal working time per month as of 2026-04-01^[2]^[4] Relation: spouse Amount: 1 × minimum monthly wage within normal working time per month as of 2026-04-01^[2]^[4]

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited	7
of which official (tier 1)	7
Oldest as-of date	2025-07-24
Newest as-of date	2026-05-20
Reviewed on	2026-08-22
Schema version	1.1

Sources

[1] Imigrācijas likums (Immigration Law), consolidated text in force from 20 May 2026
Saeima / Latvijas Vēstnesis (likumi.lv consolidated-law service) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[2] Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 225 "Noteikumi par arzemniekam nepieciesamo finansu lidzeklu apmeru un finansu lidzeklu esibas konstatesanu"
Ministru kabinets / Latvijas Vestnesis (likumi.lv) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2024-02-08 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[3] The long-term resident status of the European Community in Latvia
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-07-24 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[4] The necessary subsistence
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-16 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[5] Latvia temporarily suspends issuance of temporary residence permits to Russian and Belarusian citizens
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2022-06-13 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[6] How long may the residence permit be issued for?
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2022-06-13 · Accessed 2026-08-16
[7] State fee for issuing the residence permit
Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-18 · Accessed 2026-08-16