An application for asylum can be submitted in the territory of Latvia or at a port of entry (an airport, land border crossing checkpoint or seaport).
You can only apply for asylum in person!
➡️When entering the country, you can apply for asylum to a border guard (State Border Guard) at any border point at Latvia’s border. You do not need a valid visa, travel documents or a Latvian residence permit to apply for asylum.
➡️If you are already in Latvia and would like to apply for asylum, you should approach any of the State Border Guard offices in Latvia. An information booklet on the asylum process is available in 13 languages. You do not need to make an appointment to apply for asylum.
You can also find more information about asylum in Latvia on the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) website in English, Latvian and Russian. The OCMA also provides visual materials related to the asylum procedure in Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian (this link also contains a guideline for asylum-seekers in Arabic, Dari, English, Farsi, French, Latvian, Pashto, Russian, Tigre, Kurdish, Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Turkish).
All matters concerning the asylum procedure are managed by the Latvian authorities according to the national rules and regulations and with trained and competent national officials specialised in asylum matters. UNHCR is not involved in the processing of asylum applications in Latvia.
