Work in Latvia as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• LMALatvian Medical Association (Latvijas Ārstu biedrība)

  Recognition of foreign qualifications for doctors, medical specialists and dentists; certification of doctors

  How to register with the LMA

• Health InspectorateHealth Inspectorate (Veselības inspekcija)

  Recognition for general care nurses, nursing assistants and dental assistants; Register of Medical Practitioners

  Read the registration guide

1. 1

   1. Check which body decides for your profession

   Use the AIC's database of regulated professions or Cabinet Regulation No. 566 to confirm that your profession is regulated and which body issues the recognition decision. Doctors and dentists go to the Latvian Medical Association, general care nurses to the Health Inspectorate, midwives to the Latvian Nurses Association and pharmacists to the Latvian Pharmacists Association, but in every case you apply through the information institution, which for health professions is the AIC. The Latvian Medical Association tells foreign-trained doctors to contact the AIC first.
2. 2

   2. Start Latvian early

   Doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists need Latvian at C1 under Cabinet Regulation No. 157. You prove it with a state language proficiency test run by the State Education Development Agency, which costs €52 for people who are not Latvian, EU, EEA or Swiss citizens. Reaching C1 takes most learners a long time, and you need the certificate before the Health Inspectorate will register you.
3. 3

   3. Gather, translate and legalise your documents

   The AIC lists an application form, a copy of your passport, your diplomas and transcripts, documents from your home country on your right to practise, evidence of work experience, and for doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists a certificate of good standing. Documents other than your ID must be translated into Latvian; the AIC says a notarised translation is not required. Documents issued outside the EU and EFTA must be legalised for use in Latvia, and missing legalisation is a common reason for delay.
4. 4

   4. Apply to the AIC and pay the €240 fee

   The fee for the professional recognition procedure is €240, paid to the information institution. The AIC checks your documents, may ask for more, and prepares a statement on your education. Cabinet Regulation No. 827 says it forwards the file with its statement to the deciding body within one and a half months of registering your application.
5. 5

   5. Receive the recognition decision

   The deciding body compares your qualification with Latvian requirements and may consult experts. It can recognise your qualification, recognise it with additional requirements, refuse it, or recognise it for part of the profession only. For qualifications from outside the EU the AIC gives the decision deadline as 6 to 12 months from the submission of all documents. You can appeal under the Administrative Procedure Law.
6. 6

   6. Complete the aptitude test or adaptation period

   If your training differs substantially, the decision sets an aptitude test or an adaptation period, lists the subjects or skills to be assessed, and tells you where, how and at what cost. An adaptation period is supervised work in Latvia of up to three years that ends with an assessment. Once you have met the requirement and sent the evidence, Cabinet Regulation No. 827 gives the body one month to decide on recognition.
7. 7

   7. Register with the Health Inspectorate

   With your recognition certificate and Latvian language certificate, apply for first registration in the Register of Medical Practitioners. The Health Inspectorate also asks foreign-educated applicants for a certificate of good standing from their previous competent authority. First registration is free, the Inspectorate decides within one month of a complete application, and registration lasts five years.
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   8. Get certified to practise as a specialist

   Doctors who want to practise independently in a specialty, and other practitioners who want to use a specialty or method, apply for certification to their professional organisation, for doctors the Latvian Medical Association. The certification exam is held in Latvian and has a theory part and a practical part. A certificate lasts five years and must then be renewed through recertification.
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   9. Secure the job and residence permit

   Your employer registers the vacancy with the State Employment Agency and, for long-term work, submits a sponsorship request to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA). You then apply for a residence permit at a Latvian diplomatic or consular mission. OCMA says a third-country national can be employed only if the vacancy has been open for at least 10 working days.

• Latvia does not use IELTS or OET for health professional registration. The language requirement is the state language, Latvian.
• Cabinet Regulation No. 157 sets Latvian at C1 for doctors (ISCO group 221), nursing and midwifery professionals (222), physician assistants (224) and other health professionals in group 226, which includes dentists and pharmacists. Nursing associate professionals (322) and pharmacist assistants also need C1.
• The AIC's recognition page states the same rule: physicians, nurses and physician's assistants must know Latvian at the C1 level.
• The test is run by the State Education Development Agency. People who are not Latvian citizens, Latvian non-citizens or EU, EEA or Swiss citizens pay a state fee of €52, which must be paid at least seven working days before the test and is not refunded if you fail.
• The Health Inspectorate asks foreign-educated applicants for first registration to submit a state language proficiency certificate together with their recognition certificate.
• Certification exams for doctors and other practitioners are held in Latvian, and Cabinet Regulation No. 391 bars certification where the certifying body is told a practitioner does not have the required command of the state language.

• Residence permit for long-term employment

  OCMA describes the steps: the employer registers the vacancy with the State Employment Agency, submits a sponsorship request to OCMA with the employment contract and education documents, you apply for a residence permit at a Latvian diplomatic or consular mission, and OCMA issues the permit with the right to work. You then register as a taxpayer with the State Revenue Service.

• Vacancy test

  OCMA says a third-country national may be employed only if the vacancy has been free for at least 10 working days and registered on the State Employment Agency's vacancy portal. Ask your employer to confirm this has been done before the sponsorship request goes in.

• Short-term employment

  For short-term work the employer submits an invitation request instead of a sponsorship request, and you apply for a visa. This route suits short assignments, not a permanent move into clinical practice.

• New Immigration Law from 15 September 2026

  OCMA says a new Immigration Law took effect on 15 September 2026. It reduces the maximum processing time to 4 months from application, sets a two-year term for temporary residence permits in several cases while abolishing annual permit registration, and accepts first visa and temporary residence applications in Latvian or English. Check the current OCMA guidance for your case, because detailed rules under the new law are still being published.

• EU Blue Card

  OCMA publishes a guide for EU Blue Card applicants. We could not confirm the salary threshold that applies under the new Immigration Law from an official page, so check it with OCMA or your employer before you rely on this route.

• Language and settlement

  Under the new law, OCMA says only one type of permanent status remains, EU permanent resident status, which needs at least 5 years of prior residence on a temporary permit. It also makes state language skills and a course on Latvian history and culture part of integration requirements, with a transition period to 31 December 2027.

Cabinet Regulation No. 851 sets the lowest monthly salary for medical practitioners in state and municipal institutions, state and municipal companies and public-private companies that provide state or municipally funded health care. The rates below are the minimum gross monthly salary for a full-time post in each qualification category, from Annex 2 as amended in December 2023, the version in force when we checked in October 2026. Each hospital sets its own salary scale at or above these rates, and the regulation adds a seniority supplement of up to 10% (rising to up to 15% after 16 years in health care), plus supplements for high-risk work. Private providers are not covered.

Monthly amounts

• Certified doctor or dentist (category 1)

  From €1,813

  Lowest monthly salary rate for category 1.

• Registered doctor, dentist or resident (category 2)

  From €1,607

  Registered but not yet certified in a specialty.

• General care nurse, certified or registered (category 3)

  From €1,189

  Category 3 also covers certified midwives and physician assistants.

• Registered midwife or physician assistant (category 4)

  From €1,056

• Nursing assistant (category 6)

  From €863

• Private clinics: Set by employerRegulation No. 851 does not apply.