Published: 07.11.2022.
Updated: 27.12.2022.

Employment of refugees and people with an alternative status

According to the Immigration Law, all persons who have been granted refugee or alternative status, as well as asylum seekers, have the right to employment without restrictions in Latvia if, for reasons beyond their control, no decision on granting or refusing to grant refugee or alternative status has been taken within six months.

The staff of the project "Integration of Refugees and Persons with Alternative Status into the Latvian Labour Market" implemented by the SEA will help you find a suitable employee from among refugees and persons with alternative status.

The project "Integration of Refugees and Persons with Alternative Status into the Latvian Labour Market" was established at the beginning of 2016 with the aim to promote the integration of refugees and persons with alternative status into the Latvian labour market. Project duration - 5 years.

HOW DO EMPLOYERS APPLY TO EMPLOY REFUGEES AND PERSONS WITH AN ALTERNATIVE STATUS?

Step 1
To apply for employment of refugees and persons with an alternative status, the employer must inform the SEA of the vacancy which is available.

Vacancies for refugees or people with an alternative status can be submitted by:

  • Contacting the staff of the project "Integration of Refugees and Persons with Alternative Status into the Latvian Labour Market": tel. 25704510, e-mail: integracija@nva.gov.lv
  • in person, electronically or by phone (contact details of the SEA branches are available under “Contacts”).


To submit a vacancy, please provide the following information:

  • Name and registration number of the employer;
  • Occupation;
  • Scope of activity;
  • Job responsibilities and preferred skills and competences;
  • Address of the workplace
  • Remuneration;
  • Number of job vacancies;
  • Contact details of the employer.

Step 2
A specialised consultant of the project “Integration of Refugees and Persons with Alternative Status into the Latvian Labour Market” will contact you to find out more detailed information about the vacancy and offer you the most suitable candidate.

Step 3
A specialised consultant of the project  “Integration of Refugees and Persons with Alternative Status into the Latvian Labour Market” together with a potential employee and, if necessary, an interpreter will visit the employer for an interview and to get acquainted with the potential workplace.

Step 4
If necessary, the SEA provides an interpreter to communicate with the worker on the day of the conclusion of the employment contract and on the first day of work.

If you employ refugees and persons with an alternative status, you can benefit from the support of the SEA for employers by participating in one of the following measures:

State language

When employing refugees and persons with an alternative status, the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No 733 of 7 July 2009 on the scope of knowledge of the state language and the procedure for testing proficiency in the state language for the performance of professional and official duties, obtaining a permanent residence permit and acquiring the status of permanent resident of the European Union and the state fee for testing proficiency in the state language and Section 6 of the State Language Law shall be taken into account.

This means that in the private companies, a person can be employed without a national language certificate if their activities do not affect legitimate public interests (public security, health, morals, health protection, consumer and labour rights protection, workplace safety, public administrative supervision).

The SEA offers refugees and persons with alternative status 120 h of Latvian language courses for each of the six levels of the state language skills. At the end of the course, you can take the national language proficiency exam at the National Centre for Educational Content.

After completing the first level of the course, the person can communicate in basic Latvian.