The first week in Latvia has a rhythm of its own. You land in Riga, the old town smells of wet cobblestones and roasted coffee, and a stranger on the tram tells you, in careful English, that the stop you want is the next one. Then you realise that nothing official will move until you have an address, a code and a certificate. Moving to Latvia is easy to start and rewarding to finish, provided you do things in the right order.
This guide gives you that order for an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen. British readers should start with our guide for moving to Latvia from the UK, because the route is different.
What do you need before moving to Latvia?
Less than you fear. For the first three months an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen enters with a passport or national ID card and does not register anything. That is a comfortable window: use it to find a flat, open a bank account and see whether the climate and the language suit you.
Before you leave home, collect these:
- your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), requested from your home health fund, which covers necessary and urgent care in Latvia while you are insured at home;
- an up-to-date passport or ID card, and copies of every page of the passport that carries stamps or entries;
- proof of your situation: an employment contract, student enrolment, a pension statement or evidence of savings, depending on why you are coming;
- if you are retired or insured elsewhere, an S1 form from your home insurer (see healthcare in Latvia for expats).
Bring documents that must be recognised, such as diplomas and marriage or birth certificates. Latvian administrations work in Latvian, so a document in a foreign language generally needs a translation.
What is the right order for moving to Latvia?
Here is the sequence that avoids dead ends.
- Find an address. Rent with a written lease (see renting in Latvia). The lease is the paper you will use to declare your home.
- Apply for the registration certificate (Savienības pilsoņa reģistrācijas apliecība) at a regional office of the PMLP if you plan to stay more than 90 days. The first application is made in Latvia.
- Receive your personal code (personas kods). It is generated when your data enters the Register of Natural Persons. Our guide to the Latvian personal code explains what it opens.
- Declare your place of residence (dzīvesvietas deklarēšana). If your application already contains the necessary data, it counts as the declaration; otherwise declare on latvija.gov.lv, at the municipality or at the PMLP.
- Open a bank account and set up secure online access (see bank account in Latvia and digital ID in Latvia).
- Register with a family doctor (ģimenes ārsts) or have your S1 registered with the National Health Service (see healthcare in Latvia).
- Sort out work and tax: your employer needs your personal code and, for the monthly allowance, your electronic tax book via the VID's online system (see working in Latvia).
- Children and car: school or kindergarten through your municipality, vehicle and licence through the road safety directorate, the CSDD.
Which of these steps apply to you, and in which order for your passport and your job? Moovy can build the list for your case, explain what each office expects and draft a polite Latvian or English message for it. Anything that needs a lawyer or an official decision stays with the competent office.
How much does moving to Latvia cost in paperwork?
The paperwork itself is cheap. Our fact sheet found no fee for the first registration certificate in the current regulations, and a replacement costs 25 euros. Declaring your address is free on latvija.gov.lv and 4.27 euros at a counter. A Latvian general eID card costs 30 euros in 10 working days, or 45 euros in two.
The real costs sit elsewhere: a deposit that may reach two months of rent, sometimes one to three months of rent in advance on top, a translator for your documents, and a first month of everyday expenses before the first salary. EURES gives a typical rent of 350 to 650 euros a month in Riga, utilities excluded, and rarely below 130 euros elsewhere. Latvia has used the euro since 1 January 2014, so there is no currency to convert if you come from the euro area.
Which authorities will you meet?
A short cast, because Latvia centralises most things in a few agencies:
- PMLP (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde): residence, personal code, ID cards.
- Your municipality (pašvaldība): address declaration, school and kindergarten places, property tax.
- VID (Valsts ieņēmumu dienests): taxes, via its online system EDS.
- NVD (Nacionālais veselības dienests): state-funded healthcare and S1 registration.
- VSAA (Valsts sociālās apdrošināšanas aģentūra): pensions and family or unemployment benefits.
- CSDD: driving licences, vehicle registration and technical inspection.
Most services run through the state portal latvija.gov.lv, where your electronic ID decides how far you get. That is why digital identity deserves its own step.
What mistakes slow people down when moving to Latvia?
Four come up again and again. The first is trying to apply for the certificate from abroad: the first application is made in Latvia. The second is forgetting the address declaration, which a family doctor, a school or a municipality will ask for. The third is ignoring a change of address later: you must declare it within a month. The fourth is underestimating the language. Latvian is the only official language, and Russian, although you will hear it, is legally a foreign language.
There is also one point of timing. Failing to report a change in your data to the register can lead to a warning or a fine of up to 700 euros, so keep PMLP informed within 30 days of changes such as a new nationality or a foreign address.
When is moving to Latvia not a three-month question?
You do not have to register, even after three months, in three cases listed by the PMLP: if you are looking for a job with a genuine chance of being hired, if you work in Latvia but return to another EU country at least once a week, or if you study for a year at most. For everyone else, three months is the line. Do not cut it fine: apply during the second month so the certificate is in your hand before you need it for a doctor, a school or a bank.
Finally, keep an eye on the legal calendar. Latvia's parliament adopted a new Immigration Law in June 2026; the President sent it back, the Saeima reviewed it again on 20 August 2026, and the PMLP says it takes effect on 15 September 2026. It is a law for non-EU nationals, so it is not the source of the EU-citizen rules above, but rules for family members who are not Europeans can differ. Ask the PMLP before you move if that is your case.
What does a Latvia expat checklist look like for the first month?
Relocating to Latvia goes more smoothly when you split the month into short blocks. This Latvia expat checklist keeps to what the rules require and leaves the rest to taste.
Week one. Sleep, orient yourself, and secure the address. Rent with a written lease, keep a copy, and ask the landlord whether he is willing to support your address declaration. Take photographs of the flat. Buy a local SIM card or an e-SIM so that offices can reach you by phone, because the PMLP application asks for an e-mail address and a telephone number.
Week two. Apply for your registration certificate if you plan to stay beyond 90 days. Bring your questionnaire, certified copies of your passport pages, and proof of your ground: contract, enrolment or resources. If the application contains what the municipality needs, your Latvia declared address is handled at the same time; if not, declare it on latvija.gov.lv, where it is free.
Week three. Open a bank account and ask about secure online access. Register with a family doctor whose area covers your home, or have your S1 registered at the NVD. Ask your employer whether he has your personal code, and hand over your electronic tax book through the EDS so that the 550 euro monthly allowance applies.
Week four. Look at everything that has a deadline: kindergarten waiting lists, a car that must be registered within five days if you are resident, and your TV or internet contract, which landlords sometimes leave to the tenant.
Is relocating to Latvia realistic without speaking Latvian?
For the first year, yes, especially in Riga, where services in English are common. Over the longer run you will want the language. Latvian is the only official language, the public school system runs in it, and EURES says it is essential for most jobs. Plan for lessons early: the Latvian Language Agency has free online resources, and the State Employment Agency can fund a course for registered unemployed people.
If you want to see how daily life feels before you commit, read living in Latvia and the best places to live in Latvia.