Latvia visa guideA Latvian family and friends visit visa is a Schengen short-stay visa (type C) for staying with someone who lives in Latvia, for less than 90 days in any 180-day period. You lodge the file in person at VFS Global in Jalandhar, Chandigarh or New Delhi, and the Embassy of Latvia in New Delhi decides, within 15 calendar days as a rule.
Latvia handles the host's side differently from most Schengen countries. A private letter from your relative is not enough: the invitation has to be approved by Latvia's Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) before you apply, and only certain residents may invite. Everything else in the file is built around that approved invitation.
Do Indians need a visa for Latvia, and which one?
Yes. To visit a son, daughter, sibling or friend who lives in Latvia, an Indian citizen applies for a Schengen short-stay visa, type C, under the family and friends visit category. VFS describes it as the visa for visiting family or friends for a travel period of less than 90 days. The rule behind it is the Schengen one: at most 90 days in any 180-day period across all member states.
The Embassy of Latvia in New Delhi decides, and the file is lodged in person through VFS Global. What sets Latvia apart is that the visit starts in Latvia, not in India: your host must get the invitation approved by the State before you can apply.
Visiting family in Latvia: the short version
- Visa
- Schengen type C, family and friends visit
- Longest visit90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area
- Less than 90 days
- Host's partDated no more than 6 months before you apply
- Invitation approved by PMLP
- Lodged atPre-booked appointment required
- VFS Jalandhar, Chandigarh or New Delhi
- FeePlus the VFS service charge
- €90 adult, €45 child aged 6 to 11
- DecisionUp to 45 in individual cases
- Within 15 calendar days as a rule
Embassy of Latvia in India, PMLP and VFS Global Latvia India, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At VFS Global, which Latvia's foreign ministry names as the channel for all visa applications to its missions. Punjab families have two Latvia centres nearby: Jalandhar, open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00, and Chandigarh, open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 15:00. New Delhi is open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00. Files lodged outside New Delhi need two more days for postal delivery to the embassy.
Since 1 October 2026 every Latvia applicant needs a pre-booked online appointment; VFS no longer takes files from walk-ins.
For parents and children:
- Each adult attends. VFS says you cannot send someone in your place. Only applicants, and one parent or caregiver with a child under 18, may enter the centre.
- Children's attendance. VFS's Latvia page says in one place that a child under 14 need not attend, and in another that children aged 12 to 17 give fingerprints with a parent present. Bring the child unless VFS confirms in writing that it is not needed.
- Older parents. If fingerprinting is physically impossible, VFS asks for a medical certificate.
- What to carry. A printed application, the 2D barcoded sheets in two copies, two copies of the passport bio page, and the passport with two pages blank on both sides.
Check how dates are opening at the Latvia appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The full list sits further down. A Latvian family file has three parts: what your host does in Latvia, what proves the relationship, and what proves your own standing in India.
Your host's part
- The PMLP-approved invitation. Latvia's checklist asks for an invitation approved by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, dated not later than six months before the application date.
- Their address, contact details and the visit period. The embassy's India page lists an invitation from the family member or friend with these details.
- Proof of their citizenship or legal residence in Latvia.
- Accommodation. If the approved invitation includes your stay with them, no hotel booking is needed. If not, Latvia asks for a prepaid hotel booking with proof of payment.
Proving the relationship
Latvia's family checklist asks for a certificate proving the family relationship when you visit relatives, and a marriage certificate if you are married and your passport does not show your marital status. It also mentions a copy of the ration card, if applicable. Make the names match the invitation letter for letter; a spelling that differs between an Indian certificate and the PMLP invitation invites questions.
Your own standing
Retired parents
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Pension statements for the last 3 months and proof of regular income from a business
Working parent or relative
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Payslips for the last 3 months
Business owner
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Certificate of registration of the company
Trip paid by the host
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Proof of sponsorship and/or the information in the invitation, with a bank statement for the last 3 months
Child with one parent
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Notarised consent of the other parent or guardian, unless one parent has sole custody
Child without parents
- What Latvia's family checklist asks for
- Notarised consent of both parents or guardians
Every applicant gives an original private bank statement for the last three months, stamped and signed by the bank. The embassy's India page also lists Indian ITR acknowledgements for two assessment years, so include them. For a child, add copies of the parents' passports or, if not possible, the birth certificate and the parents' ID card copies.
How much is the Latvia visa fee for Indians?
The family visit fee is the Schengen standard: €90 for an adult, which VFS charges as ₹9,794 from 1 October 2026, and €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, charged as ₹4,897. Children under 6 pay no visa fee, but every applicant, of any age, pays VFS's service charge of ₹2,938 including GST (all checked 14 Oct 2026). VFS takes cash or a debit or credit card, and the fee and charge are not refunded after a refusal. Your host pays PMLP's separate state fee for the invitation. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Start with your host. Only once PMLP has approved the invitation can you book VFS. After you lodge, Latvia's foreign ministry says a decision is made within 15 calendar days, extendable up to 45 calendar days in individual cases; VFS quotes up to 10 working days. Plan on the ministry's figure, plus two days of post from Jalandhar or Chandigarh.
The application window opens six months before the visit and closes 15 calendar days before it. For a convocation, a wedding or a new grandchild, ask your host to start the invitation as soon as the dates are fixed, and remember the invitation goes stale after six months.
Because Latvia asks for prepaid flights, a late decision costs real money. The family checklist wants tickets confirmed by the airline with payment details, so buy a fare that can be changed.
Why do Latvia family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The refusal letter ticks numbered reasons from the EU form. Family files usually fall on these.
The invitation is not the approved one (reason 2)
A letter your relative writes and signs is not what Latvia's checklist names. Without the PMLP-approved invitation, the purpose and conditions of the visit are not justified.
Parents whose return is in doubt (reason 13)
Parents of children settled in Latvia are judged on their ties to India. Pension slips, property papers, other family at home and a return date well inside 90 days answer that doubt.
Names and dates that do not match (reason 10)
The invitation, the relationship certificate, the tickets and the insurance must agree. A different spelling or a shifted date can make the information look unreliable.
Insurance or money that falls short (reasons 3 and 16)
Latvia wants insurance of at least €30,000 for the visit plus 15 days, and means of at least €14 a day for stays up to 30 days. Check both against your dates.
If the visa is refused, only you can appeal, within 30 days, in writing to the Director of the Consular Department of Latvia's foreign ministry; the foreign ministry says inviting persons cannot file an appeal on your behalf. Our Schengen refusal reasons page explains each reason, and the refusal deadline tool counts the days.
Tips for a stronger family file
- Ask your host to name the accommodation in the invitation. It saves you a prepaid hotel booking.
- Let the host buy the insurance if easier. Latvia's checklist allows the inviting person to take out the policy, as long as it covers the whole Schengen area for the visit plus 15 days, with at least €30,000 of cover.
- Stamped statements. Your three-month statement must be the original, stamped and signed by the bank.
- Two photos. 35 × 45 mm, colour, white background, taken in the last six months.
- Keep copies. The embassy asks you to provide copies of any documents you want returned.
- If something goes wrong in Latvia. The embassy says a Schengen visa can be extended for force majeure or humanitarian reasons, such as a sudden illness that stops you flying, and in Latvia this is handled by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.
Who in Latvia can invite you?
Not everyone. PMLP lists who may act as an inviter:
- a citizen or non-citizen of Latvia;
- an adult foreigner with a valid permanent residence permit in Latvia;
- a foreigner with a valid temporary residence permit, but only to invite a spouse or a relative up to the third degree in direct or side line, and only for a period not longer than their own permit's validity;
- a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland staying in Latvia on a registration certificate or certificate of permanent stay.
That third line matters if your host is a student or worker on a temporary permit. A son or daughter studying or working in Latvia on a temporary permit can invite parents, grandparents or a spouse, but not a friend, and not for dates beyond the permit's expiry.
PMLP accepts the request only in electronic form, so a private host uses its e-service for approving a written invitation. PMLP asks for the guest's names in the Latin alphabet exactly as in the passport, with nationality, date and place of birth, occupation, the address of stay, the purpose and dates of the visit, and where the visa will be applied for. If the host covers your costs, they show their own financial means, although PMLP may not ask for that when a spouse, parents, grandparents, children or grandchildren are invited and the host signs a confirmation of sufficient means. The state fee is 10 euro through the latvija.gov.lv online form or 17 euro otherwise, plus 10 euro for each person invited.
Is your host an EU citizen from another member state, and you their spouse, child under 21 or dependent relative? The embassy offers a simplified, accelerated and fee-free procedure in that case, which can be booked through VFS or directly at the embassy. For Latvia's other visa types, see the Latvia country page.
Official sources
- Applying for a Short Stay (Schengen) Visa, Embassy of Latvia in India
- Frequently Asked Questions, Embassy of Latvia in India
- Approval of written invitation, Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP)
- Applying for a visa, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Documents required to apply for a visa, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Processing of visa applications and prior consultation, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Appeal against refusal, annulment and revocation of a visa, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- VFS Global Latvia India: home and news
- VFS Global Latvia India: visa types, fees and processing time
- VFS Global Latvia India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Latvia India: what happens at the centre
