Schengen Short-Stay (Type C) — Seafarer (Informational) Verified 2026-05-01Seafarer Visa (Schengen Type C)
Latvia Seafarer Visa (Schengen Type C) — special for sailors entering Schengen to board / disembark vessels at Riga or other Schengen ports. Carrier-driven (shipping company / maritime agency initiates). Informational only.
- Processing time
- About 2 weeks
- after you submit
No visa is ever guaranteed — the final decision always rests with the Latvia visa authority. We make sure your file is presented at its strongest.
Latvia's Employment (D) and Residence Permit (D) visas require Latvian-side approval before VFS submission: for Employment, the Latvian employer secures an OCMA-approved invitation backed by labour-market clearance from State Employment Agency; for Residence Permit, the OCMA must first issue a positive decision on residence permit rights (the applicant only walks into VFS after that decision is in hand). Indian travel-visa consultancies cannot substitute for OCMA's substantive decision-making. Seafarer visas are carrier-driven — the shipping company / maritime agency in the Schengen Member State initiates the invitation with seafarer's book details, ship name and flag, port and itinerary; SureshotVisa specialises in individual short-stay and student visas, not carrier-specific crew submissions. SureshotVisa handles Latvia's Schengen Short-Stay (Type C) visas — Tourist, Business, Cultural/Sports, Family/Friends, Medical Treatment, Airport Transit — plus the Student (D) Long-Stay visa, all end-to-end through VFS. For Employment / Residence Permit / Seafarer cases, please initiate with the Latvian employer / OCMA / shipping agency directly; we can advise on the India-side VFS step once you have the underlying approval.
Latvia — Schengen member · Embassy New Delhi · Hello Verify is MANDATORY before VFS
One Latvia visa = all 29 Schengen countries. But Hello Verify must come BEFORE VFS appointment.
All India applications are decided by the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia, New Delhi through VFS Latvia centres. India and Sri Lanka applicants cannot book a VFS appointment without first uploading their documents to Hello Verify and getting a confirmation slip — this is the single most-skipped step. For most categories, an OCMA invitation (from Latvia's Office of Citizenship & Migration Affairs at pmlp.gov.lv) is also mandatory and must be dated ≤6 months before application.
29 Schengen countries
Full Schengen member — Latvia visa unlocks the whole zone, not just Latvia.
Embassy New Delhi only
All India + Sri Lanka files decided by Embassy of Republic of Latvia, New Delhi.
10 working days (C) · 15 days (D)
Apply 2+ weeks before. Non-Delhi VFS centres add ~2 days for postal delivery to the Embassy.
The Hello Verify rule (India + Sri Lanka)
- Upload all visa-application supporting documents to Hello Verify for verification.
- Receive the Hello Verify confirmation slip — keep it; you must hand it to VFS at submission.
- Only then can you schedule the VFS appointment. Without pre-payment of VFS service charges (₹2,913) when scheduling, no slot is allotted. The slip is single-use — re-applying = redo Hello Verify.
VFS helpline: 022-67866025 · info.latviain@vfshelpline.com
Student visa applicants: all interviews are conducted via Video Conferencing — applicable across India. Separate ₹3,776 VC fee charged at appointment scheduling. Long-Stay D visas need €42,600 minimum insurance (vs €30,000 for short-stay) — note the higher coverage.
Note: SureshotVisa handles Latvia Tourist, Business, Cultural & Sports, Family/Friends, Medical Treatment, Airport Transit short-stay visas plus the Student (D) long-stay visa end-to-end through VFS. Employment (D) and Residence Permit (D) are informational only — those need a Latvian-side employer (with OCMA labour-market clearance) or an OCMA-issued positive residence-permit decision before VFS submission. Seafarer visas are carrier-driven (shipping company / maritime agency initiates) and informational on this site.
Processing
10 working days standard processing for…
Stay Duration
Schengen short-stay
Starting Fee
₹9,709
Apply At
12 VFS centres
Good to know before you apply
Rules that apply to every Latvia visa type — worth a quick read so nothing trips up your file.
- 1Embassy of the Republic of Latvia, New Delhi processes ALL India + Sri Lanka applications. Single jurisdiction across India.
- 2HELLO VERIFY IS MANDATORY: India and Sri Lanka applicants cannot schedule a VFS appointment without first uploading documents to Hello Verify and obtaining a confirmation slip. The slip is single-use — re-applicants must redo the Hello Verify process.
- 3OCMA INVITATION RULE: For most Schengen short-stay categories AND all Long-Stay D Visa categories, an invitation approved by Latvia's Office of Citizenship & Migration Affairs (OCMA / pmlp.gov.lv) is mandatory. The invitation must be dated NOT LATER than 6 months before the application date.
- 4VFS service fees + Video Conferencing fee (where applicable for student visas) MUST be paid through the contact centre / online at appointment scheduling. Without pre-payment, no slot is allotted.
- 5Photo specification: 35mm × 45mm (3.5 × 4.5 cm), no more than 6 months old, white or off-white background, full face non-smiling, no sunglasses / hat / cap / head covering (except for religious or ethnic reasons with all facial features clearly visible).
- 6Travel medical insurance: €30,000 minimum coverage for Schengen Type C (plus 15-day 'period of grace'), €42,600 minimum for Long-Stay D Visa (90 days), covering urgent medical attention + emergency hospital + medical transportation + repatriation.
- 7Indian passport must be valid 3 months beyond intended Schengen departure, ≤10 years old, with at least 2 blank pages.
- 8Apply at least 2 weeks (14 days) before travel. Non-Delhi VFS centres add ~2 days for postal delivery to Embassy.
- 9Student visa applicants are interviewed via Video Conferencing — applicable across India. Bookable on Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri (operational day varies by centre — check before booking).
- 10Indian Income Tax Return (ITR) acknowledgments are mandatory: 2 years for short-stay, 3 years for Employment / Long-Stay D categories (Form 26AS + Form 16/16A + ITR-V).
Who Can Apply
- Sailors with valid seafarer's book and confirmed shipping-company contract
- Crew members on vessels boarding/disembarking at Riga or other Schengen ports
Not eligible under this visa:
- Crew members travelling outside scope of their carrier role — apply for appropriate Type C
What it costs
Government & VFS fees
Paid directly to Latvia / VFS — these are not our service fee, and we never mark them up.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Schengen Short-Stay visa fee — adult (Type C) | ₹9,709 |
| Schengen visa fee — child (6–12 years) | ₹4,855 |
| Schengen visa fee — child below 6 years | ₹0 |
| VFS service charge | ₹2,913 |
Visa fees are set by the Embassy of Republic of Latvia in INR and are non-refundable in case of refusal. The applicable INR fee tracks the current EUR / INR exchange rate and may change without notice. All VFS service charges are inclusive of CGST 9% + SGST 9%. As of 9 July 2018, VFS service fees + Video Conferencing fee (where applicable) must be paid through contact centre / online when scheduling an appointment — without pre-payment, no slot is allotted. The VFS service fee is in principle non-refundable, even if the applicant doesn't attend the appointment. Helpline: 022-67866025 / info.latviain@vfshelpline.com.
Flights · Hotels · Insurance · Itinerary
What Latvia actually requires — and what it does not.
Latvia applies the Schengen rules, so travel insurance is not a nice-to-have — it is a legal condition of the visa.
2 of 4 are compulsory for Latvia
Flight reservation
The Latvia consulate wants a return itinerary with a real PNR covering your exact dates. It does not want a paid ticket, and buying one before a decision puts your money at risk for nothing.
Where people slip: Flying into one city and out of another with nothing showing how you travel between them. Officers read the whole route, and an unexplained gap reads as a plan that does not hold together.
How to hold a flight without payingHotel booking
Accommodation for EVERY night of the stay. Not most nights — every one. A gap is a documented refusal ground under the Schengen code.
Where people slip: Free-cancellation bookings are accepted, but if the entire file is free-cancellation the officer sees a trip nobody has committed to. Some of it should be real spend.
Refundable hotel booking, explainedTravel insurance
Minimum EUR 30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen state, including repatriation and emergency medical evacuation, for the full period of stay. Regulation (EC) 810/2009 — this is law, not preference.
Where people slip: Buying cover for the adults and forgetting the children. Every traveller needs their own EUR 30,000, infants included — a real refusal we have seen on a family of four.
What the cover must actually sayTravel itinerary
A day-by-day plan matching your flights, your hotels and the country you applied to. Latvia must be your main destination or your first point of entry, or you are at the wrong consulate.
Where people slip: Spending more nights in another Schengen country than in Latvia. That gets a file rejected before it is even assessed.
The letter your itinerary attaches toWe arrange all four for your Latvia file.
We are a B2B travel agency as well as a visa consultancy, working with partners including Riya Travel — so the flight, the hotel and the policy all come from us, issued the same day, and you deal with one team instead of four. Every booking is a real one under your own name.
What to gather
Documents required
Having a document isn't the same as presenting it right — that's the part we handle.
Seafarer-Specific Documents (informational reference)
5 items- Employment contract / appointment letter (with employment duration)Required
- Copy of seafarer's working contract / appointment letter to board the shipRequired
- Seafarer's bookRequired
- Invitation from shipping company / maritime agency in Schengen Member StateRequired
Signed and sealed; must include: seafarer's name, place/date of birth, passport + seafarer's book number, validity dates, position on boat, name + flag of boat, port + dates of boarding / disembarking, itinerary into Schengen area, name + address of Indian collaborating agency, statement that the shipping company bears all responsibility (including repatriation).
- Flight reservation if applicable + covering letter from Indian shipping/maritime agency with list of applying seafarers
Required · optional / if applicable
The journey.
3 steps from intake to approval. Curved spine on the right shows the natural pace — never as linear as government sites pretend.
- 01
Shipping company / maritime agency initiates the invitation
Done by the airline / shipping / maritime employer's authorized person in the Schengen Member State.
- 02
Indian collaborating agency presents the visa applications
The shipping company indicates in the invitation the Indian agency that will present applications.
- 03
Crew member / agency completes Hello Verify + VFS appointment
Standard Latvia VFS flow.
Download official forms
Each link opens the official Latvia page on VFS Global (we never host third-party forms): pick your visa category there and use its "Download Form" section for the current version.
Latvia Schengen / Long-Stay Visa Online Application Form
Online form via VFS Latvia India. Print and sign before VFS appointment.
Hello Verify Document Upload Portal (MANDATORY for India + Sri Lanka)
All Latvia applicants from India and Sri Lanka MUST upload visa-application supporting documents to Hello Verify FIRST and obtain a confirmation slip. Without the slip, VFS cannot schedule an appointment. Single-use — re-applicants must redo the Hello Verify process.
Latvia Office of Citizenship & Migration Affairs (OCMA) — Invitation Portal
OCMA (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde) is the Latvian government body that approves invitation letters for Schengen short-stays and decides residence permits for D visas. Invitations must be dated ≤6 months before the visa application date.
VFS application centres
Quiz not yet available for this visa type
We're actively building per-visa quizzes. For now, the best way to assess your eligibility for Seafarer Visa (Schengen Type C) is a 1-on-1 consultation with our team.
Every case here is different
Tell us your situation and we will tell you what can be done.
There is no honest standard answer for Latvia seafarer visa (schengen type c) — the route depends on who is sponsoring you, what the employer has already started, and which region is processing it. So rather than publish generic answers that may not fit your case, we would rather read your actual situation. Send us what you have: an offer letter, an email from the employer, or just the facts as they stand. A licensed consultant will tell you straight what is possible, what is not, and what it would take.
Reviewed by Sherbir Singh Grewal, SureshotVisa — a government-licensed consultancy (Licence 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024). Verify us.
Other Latvia Visa Types
Tourist Visa (Schengen Short-Stay, Type C)
Apply for a Latvia Tourist Visa (Schengen Type C) from India through VFS. Hello Verify is mandatory before VFS appointment. Riga, the Baltic coast, Sigulda forests, and Jūrmala beach.
View guideBusiness Visa (Schengen Short-Stay, Type C)
Latvia Business Visa (Schengen Type C) for Indian professionals — meetings, scientific / educational / professional events, agreements, estate negotiation in Latvia. OCMA invitation required.
View guideCultural, Sports & Religious Events Visa (Schengen Short-Stay, Type C)
Latvia Cultural Visa (Schengen Type C) for journeys undertaken for cultural, sports or religious events and for film crews. OCMA invitation required. Riga Song Festival, EuroBasket, Latvia film locations.
View guideFamily and Friends Visit Visa (Schengen Short-Stay, Type C)
Latvia Family and Friends Visit Visa (Schengen Type C) for Indian travellers visiting Latvian-resident family or friends. OCMA invitation required. Travel period less than 90 days.
View guideMedical Treatment Visa (Schengen Short-Stay, Type C)
Latvia Medical Treatment Visa (Schengen Type C) for Indian patients seeking treatment at Latvian hospitals — Riga's Stradins University Hospital, dental clinics, rehabilitation centres.
View guideAirport Transit Visa (Schengen Type A)
Latvia Airport Transit Visa (Schengen Type A) for nationals required to obtain it (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, others) when transiting through Riga Airport. Indian citizens generally do NOT need this.
View guideStudent Visa (Long-Stay D Type)
Latvia Student Visa (Long-Stay D Type) for Indian students enrolled at OCMA-accredited Latvian education institutions. ₹9,709 fee + ₹3,776 Video Conferencing fee. €42,600 insurance. All applicants interviewed via VC.
View guideEmployment Visa (Long-Stay D Type)
Latvia Employment Visa (Long-Stay D Type) for Indian workers with confirmed Latvian employment + OCMA-approved labour clearance. Informational only — Latvian employer initiates with OCMA / State Employment Agency.
View guideSource & Disclaimer
Data on this page is sourced from the official VFS Global Latvia website and Embassy of Latvia. Last verified 2026-05-01. Always verify with the official embassy before applying — fees and requirements change without notice.
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