Foreign students in Riga can apply for a crisis benefit grant during the Covid-19 crisis
- Covid-19, News
- covid-19, crisissupport, foreign students
- April 18, 2020
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Riga City Council will give grant benefits also to foreign students who have remained in Latvia, who study remotely and who do not have the means to provide basic needs as stated in the amendments to the Law “On Activities of State Institutions during the Emergency situation due to the spread of Covid-19” and the Law on Social Services and Social Assistance.
Only those foreign students who, due to an emergency situation, are unable to provide for their basic needs and whose declared place of residence is in the territory of Riga City Municipality can remotely turn to the Riga Social Service for assistance. The amount of crisis benefit is EUR 128.00 per person.
Paragraph 1 of the Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 103 of 12 March 2020 “On Declaring the State of Emergency” stipulates that a crisis situation in a state of emergency is a situation where a family (person) due to circumstances beyond their control has no means to provide basic needs, such as food, rent, basic necessities; family (person) is or has been quarantined and has no means of subsistence, and family (person) needs psychosocial or material assistance.
In order to be eligible for the crisis benefit, a foreign student, like other residents of the municipality, prepares a written application in the official state language (Latvian) describing the situation related to the declared emergency situation during the spread of Covid-19 and attaching documents, such as a notice of dismissal or unpaid remuneration (if the student has been employed) and other documents, which confirm the occurrence of a crisis situation, as well as gives the evidence that it is not possible to solve financial difficulties with other resources.
The application must be addressed to the Riga Social Service; it must indicate:
(1) the name,
(2) surname,
(3) personal identification code,
(4) the address of the declared place of residence in Riga municipality,
(5) phone number,
(6) describe the problem that needs to be solved as detailed as possible,
(7) as well as sign the application.
In addition, the application must include:
(1) the bank account number to which the benefit should be transferred in case it is granted.
(2) a bank account statement for the last 3 months,
(3) a copy of the decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs on the issuance of a temporary residence permit,
(4) a statement from a higher education institution, or to indicate in the application the educational institution where the student is studying.
We encourage foreign students before submitting the applications to consult with the Make Room Foundation by sending questions to the e-mail address: help@makeroomeu.com.
We invite foreign students to submit the application with its attached documents to the Riga Social Service remotely using the e-mail soc@riga.lv, the portal Latvija.lv e-service “Application to the institution” or by placing it in the Riga Social Service territorial centers in a specially indicated document box (the addresses of the centers: http://www.ld.riga.lv/lv/Rajona_nodalas.html).
We invite higher education institutions to provide support to foreign students, considering the possibility of reducing the applicable fees for dormitories, late fees in libraries, etc., as well as to support students in processing applications and documents, as well as help solve various life situations.
Also, at the moment we, at Make Room, in collaboration with NGO “Shelter “Safe House”” and the initiative Integration.lv are exploring other means of support. For more information, please do follow updated information on http://www.integration.lv/en
The Make Room Foundation is an international organization that works with foreigners on a daily basis to promote their effective integration into Latvian society; the Foundation’s staff is ready to help students solve their problems during the emergency, including communication with the Riga Social Service.
Information in Latvian – Click here to read!
For queries and assistance, please reach out to – help@makeroomeu.com
