First Steps to Employment
Useful information for asylum seekers, refugees, and persons with subsidiary protection status
Welcome to the State Employment Agency!
As soon as you have obtained the status of a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection and a residence permit from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA), as well as a travel document in special cases, you are entitled to seek employment in Latvia. The status of a refugee or a person under subsidiary protection in Latvia does not give you any right to seek declared employment in other European Union Member States.
We encourage you to make use of the support measures offered by the State Employment Agency (SEA) to speed up and facilitate the process of finding work.
SEA is an institution that provides assistance to inhabitants of Latvia, including refugees and persons under subsidiary protection, in finding employment. SEA will provide you with information about vacancies, along with assistance in your search for a job. SEA organises Latvian language courses, vocational training and other courses, and provides career consultations. All SEA services for unemployed persons and job-seekers are free of charge.
Residence Permit
- The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs has granted you a residence permit in Latvia.
- You receive a personal identity code and an identity document – a travel document.
- Your path to employment starts here!
Mentor
- A mentor helps you start an independent life in Latvia – advise you on how to find accommodation, enrol your children in school or kindergarten, open a bank account.
- A mentor helps you arrange your first meeting with a State Employment Agency advisor.
Interview at SEA
- A State Employment Agency advisor will ask you about your education and work experience in the country you come from.
- You will be granted the unemployed or job seeker’s status.
- You will jointly draw up a career plan and a Latvian language learning plan.
Latvian Language Classes
- You will learn Latvian free of charge.
- Learning without an intermediary language, using Latvian on a daily basis.
- You will receive an allowance of 5 EUR per each day.
Vocational Education
- You can broaden and hone your professional skills.
- You can acquire a new profession.
Job
- Look for appropriate vacancies by yourself or together with a State Employment Agency advisor.
- Take up a subsidised job or start on-site training.
- Start working independently.
