Upon arrival in Latvia, newcomers often face challenges in matters related to their life, work, and education. The Integration and Inclusion Agency of Latvia of the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) offers a wide range of consultations covering such topics as migration, employment, housing, healthcare, social support, and education. Since the start of activity, the VPA has assisted more than 5,700 newcomers across Latvia, providing more than 10,000 consultations. Alongside direct consultation, important support to newcomers is also provided by LiveLatvia.lv which is an easy-to-use website with a wide range of information on services, support, and Latvian language courses.

By 1 December, the VPA had provided 10,625 consultations to 5,702 clients. Most of the assistance was related to migration issues (42%), but a significant share also included consultations about education (15%), household issues (16%), employment (9%), and social services (8%). On average, 150 individual consultations are provided per week. During the consultations, newcomers ask not only questions about finding a job and a place to stay, but also about learning the Latvian language. They are also very interested in getting to know Latvian people and Latvian culture. That is why the VPA provides information on cultural orientation and Latvian language courses offered in cooperation with various non-governmental organisations throughout Latvia.

Support includes not only information but also practical services. A total of 1,516 interpretation and translation services were provided, most of them in French (410), followed by Arabic (301), and Farsi (286). Practical services include interpretation (59%), translation (18%), psychological services (16%), and legal counselling (9%). The support provided helps newcomers to integrate more successfully into Latvian society by providing both up-to-date information and practical support according to their needs.

“Our mission is to help newcomers become an equal part of Latvian society. In order to achieve this, it is important to develop a coherent, systematic approach and to strengthen cooperation between different sectors. So in 2025, we plan to improve the range of services we offer and strengthen cooperation with national and local government authorities, NGOs, employers, and universities. At present, almost 130,000 third-country nationals have valid residence permits in Latvia, which is more than twice the population of the city of Liepāja. Newcomers are an important part of our society. It is essential to support everyone in Latvia in order to build a united society and support all groups in society. Many matters that are simple and easy for us to find out are very challenging for newcomers, e.g. submitting an application to a national authority, drawing up of documents, understanding of the tax system, finding a family doctor, etc. Our work contributes not only to an inclusive society, but also to the sustainable development of the country,” says the Head of the VPA Inese Saldābola.

The LiveLatvia.lv website serves as a central resource for newcomers and is comprised of five main sections, i.e. Entry, Live, Work, Study, and Learn Latvian. It provides information on migration, job and study opportunities, national and local government services, and language learning opportunities, e.g. free and fee-based courses, learning materials, and other resources. There is also aggregated information on all free courses available to Ukrainian civilians – 2,599 civilians attended the courses in 2022, but 4,378 and 5,737 civilians attended the courses in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

“Our experience shows that most Ukrainians currently living in Latvia are low-skilled workers, e.g. assistants, cleaners, or service workers. However, in order to fill more than 90,000 vacancies offered by the State Employment Agency, the knowledge of the Latvian language is required in most cases. This situation clearly highlights the need to organise and improve the Latvian language learning system. The VPA is an important support mechanism where newcomers can receive individual consultations to start their life in Latvia, including information on available Latvian language courses. However, the main challenge at the moment is the limited availability of these courses, and this needs to be addressed comprehensively to promote the inclusion of all newcomer groups and labour market development,” says I. Saldābola.

The LiveLatvia.lv website is regularly updated and is currently being supplemented with information on Latvian culture, traditions, and everyday life. It is a convenient and accessible platform that helps to navigate the social and administrative environment in Latvia, especially for those who do not live in the capital.

For reference: According to the data of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the number of residence permits has increased by 18.6% in a year and a half – from 31.12.2022 to 01.07.2024, and currently almost 130,000 foreign citizens have valid permits in Latvia, of which a significant number – 29,400 residence permits – have been issued to Ukrainian civilians. According to the SIF data, the largest number of foreigners is currently from Ukraine, but other countries are represented as well – India, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Sri Lanka, China, and Belarus. Latvia has an untapped labour potential of foreigners, especially third-country nationals. For example, at the beginning of this year, the data collected by the Ministry of Economics show that around 24,000 Ukrainians currently residing in Latvia are of working age, but the records of the State Revenue Service show that only 8,700 Ukrainian nationals were registered as employees.