The decision on your asylum case will be communicated by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) to you or, if you have a lawyer, to your lawyer.
There are three possible outcomes of the asylum procedure:
- You are recognized as a refugee and issued a permanent residence permit with an initial duration of 5 years, which will be extended for 5-years periods.
- You are granted subsidiary protection and issued a temporary residence permit with an initial duration of 1 year, which can be extended for another 2 years and, after that, it might be issued again if the reasons for your protection in Latvia continue.
- Your application for international protection is denied.
If you are granted asylum (refugee or subsidiary protection), the OCMA will issue you a travel document and a residence permit. The rights and services are generally the same if you are recognized as a refugee or if you are granted subsidiary protection. The main difference is in the length of the residence permit you are issued (5 or 1 years). You will also be enrolled in the adaptation programme where you learn about living in Latvia. If your asylum application is denied, the full decision will be translated by the OCMA into a language that you understand and sent to you in a letter to your address. If you have a lawyer, the decision will only be in Latvian, and you can ask your lawyer to explain it to you.
