First Steps to Employment
Useful information for asylum seekers, refugees, and persons with subsidiary protection status
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.