Latvia visa guideA Latvian business visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for meetings with business partners, conferences, training and negotiating agreements in Latvia. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period but no paid work. You lodge the file at VFS Global, with centres in Jalandhar, Chandigarh and New Delhi, and the Embassy of Latvia in New Delhi decides, within 15 calendar days as a rule.
Latvia treats a business invitation the way it treats a family one. The Latvian company's invitation must be approved by Latvia's Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) and dated within six months of your application. Tickets must be prepaid, not reserved, and insurance has to run 15 days past the trip.
Do Indians need a visa for Latvia, and which one?
Yes. A business trip to Riga is made on a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, applied for under the business purpose. VFS describes the Latvian business visa as being for people coming to discuss matters with business representatives, to take part in a scientific, educational, professional or company meeting or conference, to work out an estate or to negotiate an agreement.
It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. The Embassy of Latvia in New Delhi decides, and every file is lodged through VFS Global. There is no e-visa.
Latvia business visa in brief
- Visa type
- Schengen type C, business visit
- Stay allowed
- Up to 90 days in any 180 days
- The key documentDated no more than 6 months before you apply
- Invitation approved by PMLP
- Your sideIdentity, purpose, period and place of stay
- Employer's cover letter
- Tickets and hotelNo hotel needed if the invitation covers it
- Prepaid, with invoices
- Decided byWithin 15 calendar days as a rule
- Embassy of Latvia, New Delhi
Embassy of Latvia in India, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PMLP and VFS Global Latvia India, checked 14 Oct 2026
A business visa is for meetings, not jobs. The EU Delegation to India says Schengen visas do not grant the right to work, and Latvia keeps paid work on a separate track: PMLP's fee list shows a separate charge when a company asks for an invited person's right to employment. Doing paid work in Latvia needs a work visa, which is a different application.
Regular visitors can ask for a multiple-entry visa. For Indians, the EU's April 2024 cascade rules allow a two-year multiple-entry visa after two Schengen visas obtained and lawfully used within the previous three years, normally followed by a five-year one.
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Latvia's foreign ministry sends all applications to its missions through VFS Global, and Punjab has two Latvia centres of its own. Jalandhar opens Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00 and Chandigarh from 09:00 to 15:00; New Delhi keeps the same days from 09:00 to 16:00.
Since 1 October 2026, VFS accepts Latvia applications only from people with a pre-booked online appointment, so walk-in submissions have ended. A file lodged outside New Delhi takes two extra days to reach the embassy by post.
For company travellers:
- One person, one appointment. Each traveller attends; VFS says nobody can be sent in your place, and the embassy notes that commercial intermediaries such as travel agencies cannot collect biometric data.
- Bring the VFS extras. A printed application, two copies of the 2D barcoded sheets and two copies of the passport bio page, besides the file itself.
- Fingerprints. Latvia's embassy collects them, in principle, every 59 months, so a recent Schengen visitor may not need to give them again.
Check dates on the Latvia appointment availability page before you agree meeting dates with Riga.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common list sits lower on this page. What makes a Latvian business file different is the order of work: the Latvian company acts first.
The PMLP-approved invitation
Latvia's business checklist wants two things from the Latvian side. The first is an invitation approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), dated not later than six months before your application date; a letter on company letterhead does not replace it. The second is the company's own invitation letter. If the approved invitation includes your accommodation, no hotel booking is needed.
The two letters must agree
The embassy wants an invitation from the inviting company or organisation and a cover letter from your employer, and says both must, as a minimum, confirm:
Your identity
Your name and details as they appear in your passport.The purpose
Meetings, conferences, training or business-related events.Period and place of stay
The dates and the city or address where you will stay.
Draft both from one note so the dates, the city and the purpose match word for word.
Your proof, by role
Employee
- What Latvia asks for
- Payslips for the last 3 months; the embassy page adds the employment contract and the employer's approval of the leave
Company owner or self-employed
- What Latvia asks for
- Certificate of registration of the company, including its GST registration number
Costs paid by the Latvian side
- What Latvia asks for
- Proof of sponsorship and/or the sponsorship information in the invitation
Everyone also gives an original private bank statement covering the last three months, stamped and signed by the bank, and, according to the embassy's India page, Indian ITR acknowledgements for the last two assessment years.
Two items are stricter than in most Schengen files. Round-trip tickets must be prepaid and confirmed, with the payment invoice. And unless the invitation covers your stay, the hotel must be prepaid, with proof of payment.
How much is the Latvia visa fee for Indians?
A business applicant pays the standard €90, which VFS charges as ₹9,794 from 1 October 2026, plus VFS's service charge of ₹2,938 including GST (checked 14 Oct 2026). VFS takes cash or a debit or credit card, and neither amount comes back if the visa is refused. Latvia waives the visa fee for researchers travelling for scientific research or a scientific seminar or conference, and for representatives of non-profit organisations aged 25 or under attending seminars, conferences or similar events. The Latvian company pays PMLP's own state fee for approving the invitation. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Count backwards from the meeting. First the Latvian company files its invitation with PMLP and receives the approval. Then you book VFS. Then the embassy decides, within 15 calendar days of lodging according to Latvia's foreign ministry, and up to 45 calendar days in individual cases. VFS gives a shorter estimate of up to 10 working days and asks for applications at least 2 weeks before travel; plan on the ministry's figure.
Applications can be lodged up to six months before the trip and no later than 15 calendar days before it. A business traveller who already holds a multiple-entry visa can apply for the next one up to six months before the current one expires, which avoids a gap between visas.
The invitation's own clock matters too: it must be dated no more than six months before you apply, so an approval obtained for a postponed trip may need renewing.
Why do Latvia business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The refusal form lists numbered reasons. In Latvian business files these do the damage.
A company letter without PMLP approval (reason 2)
Without the PMLP-approved invitation the purpose of the trip is not properly justified. Ask the Latvian company for the approved document as well as its own letter.
Invitation and employer letter tell different stories (reason 10)
Latvia wants both letters to confirm the same identity, purpose, period and place of stay. If they differ, the information can be judged unreliable.
A business that is hard to verify (reason 12)
Doubts about the authenticity of documents follow a firm with thin paperwork. Give the registration certificate with the GST number and a stamped statement showing real trade.
Doubts about your return (reason 13)
An employee with a contract, recent payslips and an approved leave, or an owner with an active business, shows a reason to come back.
Each refusal reason, and the evidence that answers it, is covered on our Schengen refusal reasons page.
Tips for a stronger business file
- Ask what the invitation covers. If it includes accommodation and sponsorship, your hotel booking and part of the money proof are already answered.
- Buy changeable fares. Latvia wants paid, confirmed tickets with the invoice, and the embassy says it does not take responsibility for purchased tickets if a visa is refused.
- Insurance with 15 days to spare. Latvia's checklist asks for cover for the entire visit plus a 15-day period of grace, at least €30,000, valid in the whole Schengen area. The inviting company may take out the policy for you.
- Stamped, not printed at home. The statement must be original and stamped and signed by the bank.
- Two photos. 35 × 45 mm, colour, white background, under six months old.
- Copies you want back. The embassy asks applicants to hand over copies of any documents they need returned.
- Be ready to talk. Latvia's business checklist says the embassy may ask for more documents or call you for an interview.
How does a Latvian company get the invitation approved?
This is the part your Latvian partner handles, and it helps to send them PMLP's rules. A legal person registered in Latvia, or a foreign company with an authorised person registered there, may invite. PMLP says documents for approval are submitted by the inviter only in electronic form: a company sends the application and enclosed documents electronically, each one approved with a safe electronic signature, or uses PMLP's e-service for approving a written invitation. It can be filed with any territorial division of PMLP.
PMLP's state fee is 17 euro for a request, or 10 euro when filed through the online form on the latvija.gov.lv portal, plus 10 euro for each person included. Ask your partner to list every traveller in one request and to copy your name exactly as your passport prints it in the Latin alphabet. PMLP charges 14 euro for each correction made at the inviter's request.
If the visa is refused, you can appeal within 30 days of notification, in writing in Latvian or English, to the Director of the Consular Department of Latvia's foreign ministry. Only you can appeal; the inviting company cannot do it on your behalf. Our refusal deadline tool counts the days, and the Latvia country page covers the other routes.
Official sources
- Short Stay (Schengen) visas from India, Embassy of Latvia
- Consular FAQ, Embassy of Latvia in India
- Approval of written invitations, Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP)
- Where to lodge a visa application, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Visa fees and exemptions, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Processing times and prior consultation, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Appealing a visa refusal, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Latvia visas in India, VFS Global start page and news
- Latvia visa categories, fees and processing time, VFS Global India
- Latvia application centres and hours, VFS Global India
- Appointment day rules for Latvia, VFS Global India
- Cascade rules for multiple-entry Schengen visas for Indians, EU Delegation to India
