672 foreigners, most of them from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, granted Latvian work permits lately

RIGA - Since June 10 when the state of emergency over Covid-19 was lifted in Latvia, the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) has issued work permits to 672 foreign nationals, mostly from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the agency's director Kaspars Rozkalns informed LETA. 

He said that as of today, LIAA has granted 117 entrepreneurs' requests to let them import workforce from non-EU countries. Based on these permissions, 672 foreign nationals have been allowed to arrive and work in Latvia. 

In most cases, Latvian employers attract labor force from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Spain, the Czech Republic, the UK, Sweden and other countries. 

In Rozkalns words, Latvian work permits are issued for work in five areas. Currently, 139 foreign technicians, most of them Russians and Ukrainians, are involved in the maintenance of machinery and equipment. Also, 120 foreign ICT experts and civil engineers, mostly from Russia and Uzbekistan, are working in the sphere of compliance. 

Another 32 foreign experts are involved in the maintenance of such national infrastructure objects like Riga Airport and Riga Hydroelectric Power Plant. Around 100 foreigners from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have received work permits as part of export promotion programs. These foreign nationals mostly come to Latvia to conclude contracts, examine goods and potential investment objects. 

The fifth category are foreign laborers involved in seasonal works like peat extraction, farming, logging, etc. To date, 282 foreigners from Uzbekistan and Ukraine have received work permits in this category.