Latvia: Changes to language requirements for healthcare workers and pharmacists from Ukraine

Latvia’s parliament amended the national Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians to extend support measures for Ukrainian civilians residing in Latvia into 2025, for the most part without significant legislative change. One significant change, however, was made to the required level of Latvian language knowledge for Ukrainian healthcare workers and pharmacists.

Thus far, Ukrainian civilians have seen reduced Latvian language requirements in order to be eligible to work in Latvia. With this new amendment, those who are practicing healthcare workers and pharmacists will have to have B1 level knowledge of the Latvian language within 3 years of receiving their Latvian residence permits. In practice, this means that those who arrived in Latvia from Ukraine in early-mid 2022 will be required to attain B1 Latvian language level by early-mid 2025.

Considering that a specific language level has not been required of Ukrainian civilians in Latvia thus far, this new, short-notice requirement may pose a challenge for many in this group, and could have significant implications on their employment.

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