Published: 04.03.2020.
Updated: 30.11.2022.

In order to acquire the status of an unemployed person, one shall carry out the following:

  • applying may be accomplished using the SEA self-service portal, where applicants may upload and register the application for acquiring the status of an unemployed person;
In order to apply for the status of an unemployed person at the SEA CV and vacancy portal, one shall, no earlier than on the next business day after termination of the employment legal relationship, take the following steps:
  1. Open the SEA CV and vacancy portal;
  2. Click on the text "Log In" in the upper right section.  
  3. Log in using one of the authentication methods available at the portal latvija.lv;
  4. Select the option "Apply for the unemployed status or job-seeker status";
  5. Choose the option "Apply for unemployed status" and indicate the SEA branch with which you want to cooperate;
  6. Download and fill in the application for granting status of an unemployed person (no signature required); 
  7. Save the completed application in WORD format and as an attachment send it to the SEA.

Unemployed person's status will be granted from the date of receipt of the application:

  1. If the application for granting the status has been submitted in person at the SEA branch, the date of receipt of the application shall be the day when it was actually received at the SEA branch;
  2. If the application for granting the status has been submitted electronically (using the portal www.latvija.lv or the CV and vacancy portal), the date of receipt of the application is considered to be the day when it is submitted (also outside the SEA working hours).

In order to correctly assess your eligibility for the status of the unemployed person, we recommend you to submit an application no earlier than the next day after the termination of the employment legal relationship. Data on termination of employment, period and places of earning income can be checked in the Electronic Declaration System (eds.vid.lv) of the State Revenue Service, in the section of Payroll Tax Booklet. 


After receiving the application, the SEA will determine the day when the person will have to arrive at the SEA in person in order to participate in appropriate active employment or preventive unemployment reduction measures.
 

Important!

In order for the unemployment benefit to be paid to you to be calculated from the first day of granting the status of the unemployed, after sending the application to the SEA, apply for the unemployment benefit by submitting the application to the State Social Insurance Agency. 


The application for the benefit can be sent via portal www.latvija.lv and the system therein "E-application for SSIA services", via post, or in the form of an electronic document in accordance with regulatory enactments regarding the execution of electronic documents.

The rights to unemployed status after registration with the State Employment Agency are held by a person who:

  • is not employed (is not considered to be an employee or self - employed according to the law On state social insurance);
  • is searching for employment;
  • is able to work (employment-capable) and ready to enter into an employment relationship immediately;
  • has reached the age of 15;
  • has not reached the age which gives the right to receive a state old-age pension, or is not a person to which a state old-age pension has not been granted/been declined (including prematurely);
  • has not been admitted to the primary or secondary education program in person (in face to face or day department education);
  • does not perform commercial activities or his/her commercial activities have been suspended in accordance with regulatory enactments;
  • is not located in a place of imprisonment, except for serving a custodial sentence in an open prison, or in an institution of long-term social care or social rehabilitation, where the services are fully financed from the state or local government budget;
  • is the owner of a micro-enterprise within the meaning of the Micro-enterprise Tax Law, the micro-enterprise of whose has no turnover (including after obtaining the status of an unemployed person);
  • is self-employed (except for a natural person who performs economic activity and pays a patent fee for it) who does not earn income (including after acquiring the status of the unemployed).

 
A person who is employment-capable, in the meaning of Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law, shall also be considered a person who has been diagnosed with a disability within the meaning of this Regulation, except in cases where the State Commission of Doctors Examining Health and Working Ability has determined 100 per cent loss of working capacity.

The decision on granting the status of the unemployed, if the person meets all the above criteria and has presented the necessary documents, is made by the SEA within one working day.


 
In order to register for the status of unemployed, a person must present the following documents:

 

  • an identity document (passport or identity card or identification card – eID) or a travel document;

  • a document certifying the right of residence of a person in the Republic of Latvia, if in accordance with the regulatory enactments regulating the residence of foreigners in the Republic of Latvia such a document must be at the disposal of the person applying.

Consultations

If you are unsure about applying for unemployment status, you can get additional information by calling the SEA information toll-free number 80200206 or writing to e-mail konsultacijas@nva.gov.lv 

As of April 18, 2020 the Article 23 of transition regulations of the Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law which provides that, during that period, persons who were simultaneously self-employed on the date of loss of the status of worker, may acquire the status of unemployed provided that they do not earn an income from economic activity during the month of granting the status and thereafter.


If the status of an employee has been lost before 18.04.2020, a person has the right to earn income without reaching the amount of the minimum monthly salary set by the Cabinet of Ministers.

In order to be granted the status of an unemployed person, the compliance of the person with the below criteria specified in Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law (hereinafter referred to the Law) shall be assessed:

  • In the Law, one of the criteria is that the person does not work (is not considered an employee or self-employed in accordance with the Law On state social insurance).
  • Article 1, Part 2, Sub-clause (m) of the Law On state social insurance stipulates that a member of the board of a capital company, if the turnover of the capital company in the current month of the taxation year is higher than the amount of the minimum monthly salary specified by the Cabinet of Ministers, multiplied by a factor of 5, and there are no employees in the capital company this month or the object of mandatory contributions for all employees is less than the amount of the minimum monthly salary set by the Cabinet of Ministers, shall be considered an employee.
  • In accordance with Article 134, Part 2 of the Commercial Law, a capital company is a society with limited responsibility (hereinafter referred to as an LLC/SIA) or a joint stock company (hereinafter referred to as an JSC/AS).

It can be concluded from the above that a member of the Board of an LLC/SIA and JSC/AS can obtain and maintain the status of unemployed until the moment the turnover in the current month of LLC/SIA or JSC/AS taxation year exceeds the amount of the minimum monthly salary set by the Cabinet of Ministers [Ministru kabinets] multiplied by the coefficient of 5 (a turnover of EUR 500.00 x 5 = EUR 2500.00), and the LLC/SIA or JSC/AS in the said month does not have a single employee or the object of mandatory contributions for all employees is less than the amount of the minimum monthly salary set by the Cabinet of Ministers.


Information on the achievement of the turnover of the current month of the taxation year for the above-mentioned threshold, namely, EUR 2500.00, on the basis of which a member of the Board acquires the status of an employee, shall by submitted by the board of an LLC/SIA or JSC/AS itself submits to the State Revenue Service [Valsts ieņēmumu dienests], on the basis of which the State Revenue Service [Valsts ieņēmumu dienests] enters information on the status of the employee in the database. Thus, the Agency does not need to control the amount of turnover of LLC/SIA or JSC/AS, the information necessary for granting/maintaining the status of the unemployed will be reflected in the work history by the State revenue service.


If the person is not an employee within the meaning of the Law, and there are no other incompatibilities for obtaining the status of unemployed in accordance with the criteria stipulated by Article 10, Part 1 of the Law, a person may acquire the status of unemployed.