Published: 04.03.2020.
Updated: 16.08.2023.

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.

 
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.

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.

In order to acquire the status of an unemployed person, one can apply:

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. If you are entitled to unemployment benefit, fill in the information for applying for the benefit. 
  7. To complete the application, click "Apply for unemployed status"

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 CV and vacancies portal or online form in official electronic address), 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.

Consultations and enquiries for information

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.

 

If you want to make sure you are entitled to unemployment status and get an explanation of the legal framework in your particular case before you apply, you can submit a request for information to the SEA. The application must be in the state language (Latvian) and should include: a description of the situation on which you want to receive a statement; the specific question on which you want a legal assessment; an explanation of the need for a statement. The application can be sent to the official electronic address of the SEA at Latvija.lv, signed with a secure electronic signature to the e-mail pasts@nva.gov.lv or signed by hand by post to the address Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela 38 k-1, Riga, LV-1010. 

 Unemployed status can be acquired by a person who is not self-employed under the Law on State Social Insurance. A person engaged in commercial activity or receiving author's remuneration has the right to unemployment status provided that in the calendar month in which the person applies for the status, the person has not paid the full amount of compulsory contributions to state social insurance and is not socially insured as a self-employed person.
If there has been a period in the month during which the person has been fully liable for social security contributions, the person is considered to be socially insured as self-employed for the whole month. 

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  shall be considered an employee, if:

  • the board member has a position that entitles the holder to remuneration, if remuneration is actually set;
  • the turnover of the capital company (limited liability company or joint stock 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.