Help employees to settle in

After moving to Riga, third-country nationals who have received a positive decision from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs on being granted temporary residence permit or EU Blue Card will be required to apply for eID card and declare their address in Latvia. Detailed information is available here. As an Employer, you should take into account that official employment can begin only once eID card is issued to a third-country national.

Third-country nationals who have successfully received long-term D-visa for work can begin their employment straight after moving to Riga since they are not required to apply for eID card or declare their address in Latvia.

Do not forget to support your employee as they settle-in:

  • Once the employee arrives and during the transition period while they settle in, don’t forget to provide the employee with much needed support. Ideally, you should allow your employee some time off to get acclimated to their new residence or to search for a permanent home after they arrive. The employee might also require time to adjust to their new time zone depending on from where they are arriving. Consider giving employees a few days or a week of paid time off so that they can really get accustomed to their new environment!
  • It is important to introduce the new employee to existing team members - maybe even create a team-building event, e.g., a welcome lunch shortly after they arrive. Additionally, pairing the new employee with a local employee could be very beneficial and make the new employee feel more welcome and at home.
  • If you haven't already done so, make an onboarding manual so that the employee has easy access to all the information they need to know about your organisation!
  • Keep in touch with the new employee! Have an employee from the company’s staff routinely check in with the relocated employee to see how they are adjusting and to provide any assistance or guidance if they need it.
  • Get feedback from the new employee to find out what they think about relocation and the whole relocation experience. The feedback could be collected before the arrival, shortly after arrival and after returning home (if the employee leaves after a while). This feedback could provide you with valuable insights that would help you tailor your relocation programme for future foreign employees!
  • Don’t forget to take the employee's days off into consideration (public holidays in their culture, etc.), so they feel more welcome and respected!
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