Temporary residence permit for basic or secondary education at an accredited educational institution

Route status

Active as of 2026-05-20[2]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Status details
Nationality restrictions
    • Nationalities: ru, by
    • Restriction: excluded
    • as of 2026-05-20[2][6]

    • 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 macibam akreditetā izglitibas iestadē pamatizglitibas vai videjas izglitibas posma (Imigracijas likuma 23. panta pirmas dalas 10. punkts) as of 2026-05-20[2]
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)Temporary residence permit for basic or secondary education at an accredited educational institution as of 2026-05-20[2]
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 basisImmigration Law (Imigracijas likums) Section 23(1)(10) as of 2026-05-20[2]
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2026-05-20[2]
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 routeEU, EEA, EFTA as of 2025-07-24[4]
Minimum ageNot established from a qualifying source
No minimum age is stated for this ground in the sources read.
Criminal-record conditionNot established from a qualifying source

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial durationNot established from a qualifying source[2]
Section 23(1)(10): the permit is issued for the period of learning, where residence in Latvia is connected with acquiring education at an accredited educational institution at the basic- or secondary-education stage, education having been begun before the age of 18. The statute states no number at all – the term is the period of learning – and no ceiling was found in the sources read, so no duration value is recorded. initial_duration_basis carries the rule: matches_course.
How the initial term is setmatches the course
RenewableNot established from a qualifying source
Not stated for this ground in the sources read.
Work rightsNot established from a qualifying source
Cabinet Regulation No. 55 paragraph 2.3 attaches the 20-hour entry to Section 23(1)(10.1) and to student exchange under 23(1)(19), not to this ground; nothing was read that states the work rights of a school pupil's permit.

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceNo as of 2026-05-20[1][2]
Immigration Law Section 24(3), in the wording given by the amending law of 23 April 2026 in force from 20 May 2026: the five-years-of-continuous-residence condition for a permanent residence permit under Section 24(1)(7) does not apply to a foreigner who received a temporary residence permit for the period of learning or studies under Section 23(1)(10) or (10.1). Time on a study permit therefore does not build the permanent-residence qualification.

Requirements

Requirements
Enrolment status requiredenrolled as of 2026-05-20[2]
The statute conditions the permit on education being acquired at an accredited institution, begun before the age of 18.
Means requirement1 × minimum monthly wage within normal working time per month as of 2026-04-01[3][5]
Post-study route existsNo as of 2026-05-20[2]
Section 23(1)(32) is limited to research-project cooperation and to full-time master's or doctoral programmes; it does not follow school education.

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2026-05-20[2]
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 timeup 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
    • Kind: other
    • Amount: EUR 17 as of 2026-03-18[7]
      State fee for review of a submitted request for approval of a sponsorship (izsaukums), EUR 10 where it is submitted electronically through the state administration services portal latvija.lv, plus EUR 10 for each further person included in the request. Paid by the inviter, not by the applicant.
    • Charged per: application
    • Paid by: sponsor
    • Condition: approval of the sponsorship (izsaukums)
    • Kind: other
    • Amount: EUR 85 as of 2026-03-18[7]
      State fee, in addition to the sponsorship fee, for each person invited with the right to employment. Paid by the inviting employer.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: employer
    • Condition: per invited person with the right to employment
Quota
  • Quota exists: Not established from a qualifying source

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedYes as of 2026-05-20[2]
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 relationsspouse, minor child, other dependent as of 2026-05-20[2]
Family may apply at the same timeNot 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 rightsNot 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[3][5]
    • Relation: spouse
    • Amount: 1 × minimum monthly wage within normal working time per month as of 2026-04-01[3][5]

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 cited7
of which official (tier 1)7
Oldest as-of date2025-07-24
Newest as-of date2026-05-20
Reviewed on2026-08-22
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Grozījumi Imigrācijas likumā (amending law of 23 April 2026)
    Saeima / Latvijas Vēstnesis · gazette · Tier 1 · Published 2026-05-06 · Accessed 2026-08-16
  2. [2] 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
  3. [3] 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
  4. [4] 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
  5. [5] The necessary subsistence
    Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-16 · Accessed 2026-08-16
  6. [6] 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
  7. [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

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