Immigrate to the Netherlands from Latvia

Latvian citizens do not need a residence permit to move to the Netherlands as EU nationals. Learn how to register with a municipality and get help.

Immigrate to the Netherlands from Latvia

Since Latvia is a member of the European Union, its citizens do not need a residence permit in order to immigrate to the Netherlands. Any Latvian citizen who intends to stay in the Netherlands less than four months must register as a temporary resident of the Netherlands. Latvian citizens who want to stay in this country for more than four months must register with the local municipality as residents of the Netherlands. At the registration you will be given a citizen service number (BSN). A Dutch health insurance is also compulsory in this situation. 

Our immigration lawyer in Netherlands can help you with the legal aspects of immigrating to the Netherlands from Latvia.  

Legalization of Latvian documents for use in the Netherlands

Since 16 February 2019 (EU Regulation 2016/1191), Latvian public documents such as civil-status certificates no longer need to be legalized by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign affairs. No apostille stamp is required for them, and multilingual standard forms can be requested to avoid translation. The most common documents you will need prior to immigrating to the Netherlands from Latvia are the following:

•    An official copy of a birth certificate;
•    A certificate of marriage;
•    A certificate of unmarried status;
•    An official copy of a divorce certificate;
•    An official copy of a death certificate.

Your Latvian documents must be original and complete. Any annexes to the documents must also be included in the process of legalization. A translation of these documents is needed if they are not drawn in English, Dutch, French or German. The translation must be done by a sworn translator; if the translator is registered outside the Netherlands, a certified translation made in any EU member state must be accepted without legalization. The content and the authenticity of your documents can be checked by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) or any other municipality in the Netherlands.

If you want to immigrate to the Netherlands from Latvia, our immigration lawyer in Netherlands can guide you through the entire process.

Latvian citizens working in the Netherlands

Any national of one of the EU/EEA countries, Latvia included, can travel and work legally within Netherlands, without the requirement of a work permit. However, in order to work legally in the Netherlands, you will have to obtain the BSN number within 5 days after moving to the Netherlands. You will need a home address in order to register with the local municipality and obtain this number.  Once you have obtained the BSN number you can start finding a job in the Netherlands.

All Latvian citizens who wish to immigrate to Netherlands are invited to contact our immigration lawyer in Netherlands for complete assistance in registering with a Dutch municipality and obtaining a BSN number.

Rolf Peter Rothuizen, Attorney at Law · 1 October 2026