Observing what is happening in other European countries, the Ministry of the Interior has come forward with several proposals to limit illegal immigration. One of them will make it more difficult for dishonest entrepreneurs to employ third-country nationals illegally – the focus of control will be on the person, not the company.
The current procedure stipulates that if a company commits violations in the field of employment of foreigners, the ban on inviting third-country nationals to work is imposed on that specific company. The Ministry of the Interior points out that there are situations where board members of such companies, in order to circumvent this ban, tend to set up another company and continue to invite foreigners and breach the conditions of their employment, because the new company has no such restriction. To address this situation, it is planned to introduce a time-limited ban on inviting third-country nationals for all companies in which the said person is a board member.
There are a number of restrictions on third-country nationals regarding entry, residence and employment, and the employer assumes full responsibility for the foreigner’s employment and residence, as well as – if necessary – the costs of expulsion.
“The system for the residence of third-country nationals in Latvia must be such that illegal residence in Latvia is not only unlawful, as it already is, but also disadvantageous. [..] The internal affairs services are already carrying out regular raids – those people who are staying in Latvia illegally are expelled. However, we are seeing trends not only in Latvia but also in Europe, and our main task is to tighten the system in good time at those control stages where it is necessary,” says Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis.
The Ministry of the Interior notes that in recent years the number of third-country nationals entering Latvia for employment and study purposes has increased. According to the data of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the right to employment (visas and temporary residence permits) in 2024 was granted to 19,825 third-country nationals (18,983 in 2023; 19,731 in 2022), and in the first half of 2025 to 10,214. The most common occupations for which third-country nationals entered were freight truck drivers, auxiliary workers and construction workers. Likewise, according to data from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, on 31 December 2024 there were 7,036 third-country nationals residing in Latvia who had entered the country for study purposes.
Given the situation in the Latvian labour market with third-country nationals, in 2025 the State Labour Inspectorate significantly increased the number of inspections carried out in cooperation with the State Border Guard and also plans to triple them over the coming years. At the same time, it has been concluded that supervisory authorities need to pay attention to the type of economic activity registered by the company.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/stingrak-kontroles-treso-valstu-pilsonu-nodarbinasanu/
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