Day by day our life becomes more and more digitalized and often foreigners face the situation, when they cannot have access to the e-services of Latvia and electronically sign the documents without the eID card issued in Latvia, that contains certified e-signature with qualified time stamp. This problem was solved by implementing ‘foreigners eID’.
What is foreigner’s eID?
Foreigner’s eID is a personal identity document that confirms the identity of its holder when receiving services in the digital environment as well as in presence (e.g. in banks, notaries, state authorities, etc). Latvian non-residents who has a connection (e.g. commercial connection, real estate, etc) have a possibility to obtain foreigner’s eID card.
What foreigner’s eID is for?
The main purposes the foreigner’s eID card is provided are:
- to use state and municipal e-services;
- to confirm person’s e-identity;
- to electronically sign documents*;
- to receive and use e-address, in order to ensure communication with state and municipal authorities;
- to certify person’s identity in presence at the authorities and companies.
- To e-sign documents for Latvian authorities instead of their notarization. Foreigner’s eID card provides the possibility to electronically sign documents in the following formats:
o EDoc is the unified format for electronically signed documents in Latvia. You can sign any document in eDoc format, for example, word, excel or graphic files. This format must be selected if the document is addressed to a partner or organization in Latvia.
o ASiC-E is the unified format for electronically signed documents in the European Union. You can also sign any type of document in an ASiCe format. This format must be selected if the document is addressed to a partner or organization in the EU.
o PDF is recognized in most countries, both in Latvia, Europe and elsewhere in the world. The important thing is that only PDF documents can be signed in PDF format, other formats cannot be signed. We recommend using this format when electronically signing documents with non-EU countries.
How to get foreigners eID?
There are two options to get foreigners eID:
1. Foreigners eID can be obtained in the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (OCMA). Person shall visit in person OCMA to submit application for registration in the Register of Natural Persons in order to receive personal identity code of the Republic of Latvia and sumbit biometric data (photo and fingerprints). You can receive service according to the queue or with prior appointment. During the visit you will have to present a personal identity document issued by his/her home country. Foreigners eID card ir produced within 2 working days, is valid for 5 years and the state fee is EUR 80.
2. Foreigners eID can be obtained at few diplomatic and consular representative offices of Latvia, that are located outside of the Schengen area, for example in UAE, USA, Canada, Ireland.
Full list of countries could be found here:
https://www.pmlp.gov.lv//article/where-outside-latvia-can-foreigners-eid-card-be-issued
To get foreigners eID outside of Latvia, person shall visit diplomatic and consular representative office by prior appointment to submit application to get registered in the Register of Natural Persons in order to receive personal identity code of the Republic of Latvia. After person gets his/her personal identity code, person shall visit diplomatic and consular representative office again by prior appointment to submit biometrics. It is possible to request foreigners eID card to be sent by post to its holder.
As diplomatic and consular representative offices do not register and issue eID by themself, they send the documets to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, the process of obtaining foreigners eID may take up to 2-3 months.
Seems difficult? Leinonen Latvia team can help you to go through this by managing the process of foreigners eID card receival by preparing application letter and booking the necessary appointments!
