If you are planning a trip to Latvia and are a citizen of a visa waiver country to visit the EU and Schengen Area, you will have to apply for ETIAS travel authorization from 2025 on. Learn all about ETIAS Latvia and find out how to apply.
As part of the EU and Schengen Area, Latvia will require travelers from visa-waiver countries to apply for the digital travel authorization ETIAS from 2025 on.
This means that visitors to Latvia who used to travel without any paperwork (only using their passports) will have to take an extra step in the future and pay € 7 for their electronic travel authorization.
ETIAS is seen as an improvement in travel security as it is supposed to prevent identity fraud, misuse of travel documents, terrorism, and serious crime. The system follows the American example of ESTA, which has been increasing travel security in the USA for several years.
If you are a national of one of the following countries, you will be eligible to travel to Latvia with ETIAS:
| ETIAS: eligible countries | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania1 | Antigua and Barbuda | Argentina | Australia |
| Bahamas | Barbados | Bosnia and Herzegovina1 | Brazil |
| Brunei | Canada | Chile | Colombia |
| Costa Rica | Dominica | El Salvador | Georgia1 |
| Grenada | Guatemala | Honduras | Hong Kong S.A.R3 |
| Israel | Japan | Kiribati | Macao S.A.R4 |
| Malaysia | Marshall Islands | Mauritius | Mexico |
| Micronesia | Moldova1 | Montenegro1 | New Zealand |
| Nicaragua | North Macedonia1 | Palau | Panama |
| Paraguay | Peru | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia |
| Saint Vincent | Samoa | Serbia2 | Seychelles |
| Singapore | Solomon Islands | South Korea | Taiwan5 |
| Timor Leste | Tonga | Trinidad and Tobago | Tuvalu |
| Ukraine | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom6 | Uruguay |
| USA | Vanatu | Venezuela | |
1The visa exemption applies only to holders of biometric passports.
2Excluding holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (in Serbian: Koordinaciona uprava)
3The visa exemption applies only to holders of a "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" passport.
4The visa exemption applies only to holders of a "Região Administrativa Especial de Macau" passport.
5The exemption from the visa requirement applies only to holders of passports issued by Taiwan which include an identity card number.
6Including British Overseas Nationals (BOTC, BOC), British protected persons (BPP), and British Subjects (BS)
ETIAS enables you to visit Latvia and all other ETIAS countries for tourism, business trips, or medical travel. Furthermore, you can freely move between the ETIAS countries within your 90-day maximum stay.
You may not work or study in Latvia with ETIAS. This would require a special Schengen work or study visa.
An ETIAS Latvia approval is valid for three years. Once you have your travel authorization, you can visit Latvia and all ETIAS countries within the EU and Schengen Area for up to 90 days.
After exiting the EU or Schengen Area, you may come back anytime within the three years of validity as long as you do not exceed 90 days within a time frame of 180 days.
You can enter Latvia as often as you want within the 3-year validity of your ETIAS but only stay for up to 90 days within 180 days.
In a 2023 press release, the EU clarified that ETIAS travelers will not have to provide health information, vaccination records, or biometric data.
However, it says that travelers will have to answer some security questions so that the system can assess whether they pose a threat to the Schengen area and the EU. These include questions about criminal records and travel to conflict zones.
All applications will be checked against EU security databases before making a decision. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), 97% of applicants will have their ETIAS application processed and approved immediately.
The remaining 3% of applications will be manually reviewed by the ETIAS Central Unit and National Units to make a final decision.
If you want to travel to Latvia with ETIAS, you must fulfill the following ETIAS requirements:
If you fit all these requirements, you may apply for ETIAS and travel to Latvia after approval.
Your biometric passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your departure date for a successful ETIAS application. In addition, the document must not be older than ten years.
The EU will soon provide a web service and mobile app for ETIAS Latvia applicants to complete their requests. Upon application for ETIAS Latvia, you will have to:
After an automated data check, you will receive the ETIAS travel authorization within a short time between a few seconds and 96 hours.