Information for travellers from USA to Latvia on the provisions for preventing the spread of COVID-19

Travel to Latvia without additional restrictions is allowed for persons living in the United States of America who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with a vaccine authorized with the European Medicines Agency or with an equivalent regulator or recognized by the World Health Organization, or persons recovered from COVID-19 and holding a document certifying that (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC).

All persons travelling to Latvia must fill out an electronic form on the Covidpass.lv website not earlier than 48 hours before entering Latvia and provide the requested information concerning vaccination or recovery from COVID-19.

Please follow information on the webpage of The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDPC) of Latvia.

If proof of vaccination or recovery cannot be provided

Only essential travelers, non-vaccinated, non-recovered from COVID-19, may enter Latvia. Complete list of categories of those who are allowed to enter Latvia is listed in Paragraph 168 of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation, “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection”.

All persons travelling to Latvia must fill out an electronic form on the Covidpass.lv website not earlier than 48 hours before entering Latvia and provide the requested information concerning testing.

 * a PCR test 72 hours before boarding the carrier’s vehicle or entering Latvia, or an antigen test taken not earlier than 48 hours before boarding the carrier’s vehicle or entering Latvia.Proof of a negative COVID-19 test result must be presented to the airline. If this is not done, the passenger will be denied boarding to Latvia.  Children under the age of 12 are exempted from this Covid-19 testing requirement.

**Upon entering Latvia, individuals must immediately, but no later than 24 hours after arrival, undergo a Covid-19 test at the nearest testing site at his or her own expense and must immediately go to the place of self-isolation until a negative test result is received. This testing requirement also does not apply to children who are under the age of 12.

For detailed requirements and a comprehensive list of persons exempt from the test, see Paragraph 159 of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation, “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection”.

***Upon entering Latvia individuals shall, 10 days after leaving the United States, ensure self-isolation. Self-isolation may be discontinued if on the seventh day after leaving the U.S. he or she undergoes a COVID-19 test and the test result is negative. Information on exceptions to self-isolation requirements after arriving in Latvia is outlined in Paragraph 168 of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation, “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection”.

Air travelers entering the Republic of Latvia, including persons who have an interoperable vaccination or recovery certificate, are offered to voluntarily undergo free-of-charge COVID-19 testing in the territory of Riga International Airport.

The airport staff or the State Border Guard and the State Police officers have the right to demand that the arrivals get tested.

As from 1 February 2022, the period of validity of the EU digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate has been set at 270 days after the completion of the primary vaccination cycle for the purposes of travel within the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The 270-day validity period will be applied regardless of the type of vaccine administered. This period of validity does not apply to certificates issued after receiving the booster dose and is not limited in time.

The COVID-19 recovery certificate is valid for 180 days.

As from 15 February 2022, at the national level, the following validity periods have been set for the use of certificates to attend events and receive services in Latvia:

• 5 months after receiving the Johnson&Johnson (Janssen) vaccine;
• 9 months after receiving any other vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency;

Information how to obtain a short-term vaccination certificate for use in Latvia can be found here.

More detailed information about the creation of the digital COVID certificate if vaccination was performed outside European countries can be found here.

More detailed information for travelers to Latvia available here.