At the end of November, the Latgale branch of IIA started its work in Daugavpils providing timely informative and practical support to third country nationals and persons in need of international protection (refugees, persons who have been granted alternative status, and asylum seekers) who are legally staying in the territory of Latvia. The Latgale branch is located at Ģimnāzijas Street 11. Phone number for inquiries and consultations: +371 29557630.

In November, the service of written translation in more than 24 languages was added to the range of services of the agency, oral translation is also available on a wider scale, and legal consultations are planned to be offered to the target group in December. Until now, the interpretation service was only available in some rare languages – Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Tajik, Turkish and Azeri, but since November it is available in full scale. In order to apply for an oral interpretation service, you need to fill out the interpretation application form, indicating the desired time, language combination, place and duration of the translation. To request a written translation service, you must submit a full copy of the document, including the count of all characters and symbols on each page, and fill out the translation request form. Requests for oral interpretation and written translation, as well as questions about services, should be sent to the e-mail address: [email protected]. Contact number for communication with the VPA Translations Coordinator: +371 26800377.

Most asked questions by the target group in November were on topics such as the issuance of residence permit and other issues related to migration; e-services through Latvija.lv; opportunities to learn the Latvian language and questions related to healthcare. VPA Client Consultants and Change Agents make sure to provide the necessary assistance in the preparation of letters to state institutions, information on the availability of social services and help in explaining the formal decisions made by state institutions.

VPA Client Consultants and Change Agents are actively involved in the search for individual solutions suitable for each client`s unique life situation. The agency`s Change Agent helped the Ukrainian civilian with a rare disease to find the necessary psychological support for herself and her child, as well as to place woman in the cultural orientation course in order to improve her understanding of Latvian culture, values and laws, as well as to facilitate her integration into Latvian society. The agency`s specialists helped the existing clients, a couple from Ukraine working in Riga, who chose Latvia as their country of residence even before the start of war in Ukraine, to receive the necessary social assistance benefits, while other clients were given advice on how to find a job opportunities in Riga in order to ensure the fastest possible integration into the Latvian labor market.

In November, a total of 432 individual consultations were provided by the IIA Client Consultants, of which 333 consultations were given to new (first-time) clients. We remind you that individual consultations and translation services are available at the IIA branches in Riga, Liepāja, Jelgava and Daugavpils.

Services of the Integration and Inclusion Agency are provided by the Society Integration Foundation within the framework of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund’s project (Agreement No. PMIF/13.1./2022/1/01). The funding has been allocated by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (75%) and Latvian State budget (25%).