Amendments to the Law on the Register of Natural Persons provide for the expansion of the powers of Latvia's diplomatic and consular representations regarding the inclusion of third-country nationals in the Register of Natural Persons in cases where they apply for a visa with the right to work in Latvia. The draft law has been developed taking into account the information report on improving the legal regulation of the stay of third-country nationals in Latvia, adopted at a Cabinet meeting in December 2025. At that time, the Ministry of the Interior was tasked with assessing possible solutions that would allow for the assignment of a unique identifier to all third-country nationals legally residing in Latvia. Visas with the right to work are issued by both the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) and Latvia's diplomatic and consular representations. Currently, information about individuals applying for a visa with the right to work in Latvia is registered in the National Visa Information System (NVIS). However, a Latvian personal code is not assigned to these individuals, so their data is not included in the Register of Natural Persons. Several state institutions, including the State Revenue Service, the National Health Service, the State Social Insurance Agency, the Central Statistical Bureau, and the Road Traffic Directorate, have faced challenges in identifying such individuals due to the lack of a unified identifier. The draft law stipulates that in the future, information about foreigners applying for a visa with the right to work in Latvia can also be entered and updated in the Register of Natural Persons by diplomatic and consular representations. At the same time, a unique personal code will be assigned to the foreigner. This should simplify the identification of foreigners and, subsequently, the administration of taxes related to their employment in Latvia. The foreigner's data will be entered into the Register of Natural Persons after a decision is made to issue them a visa with the right to work. The personal code assigned in Latvia will be indicated on the visa sticker. The foreigner will be able to inform this code to the employer, who will use it when submitting information about the commencement of employment relations to the State Revenue Service. The draft law also provides for the possibility of updating the information in the Register of Natural Persons regarding the termination of the contact address specified by the foreigner. This will help keep the data up to date if the person is no longer reachable at the previously provided address. The foreigner will be able to inform the PMLP about the termination of the contact address, and in certain cases, other competent persons will also be able to do so.
