Unemployment benefit in the EU

1. Aggregation of insurance periods between Member States. This entitles a person who has come from another Member State, started working and lost his or her employment after some time to receive benefits in Latvia, taking into account the periods of insurance of the person in another Member State. Insurance periods shall be aggregated in order to fulfil the conditions of Latvia for granting the benefit.

2. Export of unemployment benefit while seeking employment in another Member State. This allows an unemployed person who receives unemployment benefit in Latvia to go to another Member State for job search and continue to receive unemployment benefit granted by Latvia for a period of up to three months. The three-month period may be extended to six months if the unemployed person has not found a job within these three months and he or she will still have the right to Latvian unemployment benefit.

3. Entitlement to unemployment benefit in the State of residence if the person has worked and been insured socially in one Member State but has resided permanently in another, such as frontier workers.

Where the acquisition of entitlement to unemployment benefit is subject to the completion of periods of insurance, periods of insurance completed in any other EU Member State shall be taken into account as if they had been completed under the legislation of the Member State responsible for granting unemployment benefit. Those aggregation rules shall apply where unemployment benefit is claimed in the country of last employment, except where the person was resident in the Member State in which unemployment benefit is claimed while working in another EU Member State.

This means that insurance periods of another EU Member State may also be taken into account when determining the right to Latvian unemployment benefit, provided that the last country of employment of the person before becoming unemployed is Latvia. The exception is border workers and other workers who, while working in another EU Member State, were permanently resident in Latvia. (see information - right to unemployment benefit in Latvia if the last employment was in another EU Member State).

Required documents for aggregation of periods - U1 document

U1 the document “periods to be taken into account for the payment of unemployment benefits” is intended for an unemployed person who has worked and been insured in one Member State but will claim unemployment benefit in another Member State, such as the Member State of residence. This document shall be issued by the competent authority of the country in which the person has worked and was insured. It indicates periods of employment and insurance, reason for termination of employment relationship, etc. The U1 document must be submitted to the competent authority of the Member State in which unemployment benefit is claimed and that authority will take into account, as appropriate, the periods of employment and insurance referred to in the U1 document, as well as other information specified in the document.

If a person has been employed in another Member State, but claims unemployment benefit in Latvia, then the person shall also submit a U1 document to the SSIA together with an application for the granting of unemployment benefit in order that the conditions for aggregation may be applied in determining the right to receive unemployment benefit in Latvia. If a person does not submit a U1 document together with an application for benefit, the SSIA will request it from the competent authority of the Member State concerned.

An unemployed person who is already receiving unemployment benefit in Latvia or who has a certain right to receive such benefit may decide to go for work to one of the EU Member States and continue to receive unemployment benefit in Latvia for a period of up to 3 months from the day of departure, as well as this period may be extended for a period of up to six months.

In order for a person to continue to receive Latvian unemployment benefit when seeking employment in another EU Member State, it is necessary to request from the SSIA U2 document “maintenance of the right to unemployment benefit” in a timely manner. U2 document confirms the unemployed person's right to Latvian unemployment benefit when seeking employment in another Member State (see information - obligations in the Member State where the job is sought).

Conditions for receiving a U2 document

• a person must be registered with the State Employment Agency (hereinafter - sea) as an unemployed person at least four weeks before leaving Latvia. In some cases, this period may be shortened (for example, if a person who fulfils all other conditions goes with a spouse who has started working in another Member State);

• the person must have certain rights to Latvian unemployment benefit until the moment of departure;

• a person should only travel to another EU Member State for job search purposes. A person who goes abroad under other motives does not fulfil this condition and cannot claim the export of unemployment benefit.

In order to receive the U2 document, a person must submit an application to the SSIA “request for the receipt of the U2 document “retention of the right to unemployment benefit”” (See information - How to submit an application for the granting of unemployment benefit, for the receipt of documents U2 and U1). According to this submission, the U2 document is issued for a period of up to three months.

Conditions for extending the U2 document for up to 6 months

If within three months a person has not found employment in the relevant Member State and he or she will have retained the right to Latvian unemployment benefit, then the export period of unemployment benefit may be extended for a period of up to six months if the person:

• has registered with the employment service of the Member State in which the job is sought (within 7 days from the date of departure),

• has fulfilled the job seeker's duties under the law of the country where the job is sought.

In order to extend the period of receipt of unemployment benefit up to 6 months, a person must submit an application to the SSIA “request for receipt of the document U2 “retention of the right to unemployment benefit” - extension of the right to unemployment benefit” (See information - How to submit an application for the granting of unemployment benefit, for the receipt of documents U2 and U1).

Important!

The U2 document does not in itself create the right to seek employment in another EU Member State. Consequently, it is advisable for an unemployed person to contact the competent authority of that country before travelling for work to another EU Member State and to ascertain the requirements for obtaining job seeker status in that country, the rights and obligations of the job seeker and the general requirements for the qualification of the worker. The addresses of the competent authorities are available in the www.vsaa.gov.lv section “services” > “services in the European Union” > “Coordination of services in the European Union” > “institutions of the EU Member States” on the SSIA website. As well as information on the rules applied by Member States can be found on the EURES portal.

Obligations in the Member State where the job is sought

In order to continue to receive Latvian unemployment benefit when seeking employment in another Member State, the unemployed person shall:

• within 7 days after leaving Latvia, register with the employment service of the Member State where the job is sought. Registration with the employment service of a Member State shall be subject to the presentation of a U2 document issued by the SSIA. The U2 document States: the date of departure of the unemployed person; the time limit within which the unemployed person must register as a jobseeker in the Member State in which the job is sought; the period during which the person remains entitled to unemployment benefit, as well as circumstances which may affect the right to benefit;

• perform the necessary job seeker duties in accordance with the procedures specified by the Member State in which the job is sought.

Payment of unemployment benefit when seeking employment in another EU Member State

In the case of export of unemployment benefit, the benefit shall continue to be paid to the SSIA after receipt of information from the competent authority of the Member State concerned regarding the registration of the unemployed person with the employment service of that State and fulfilment of all duties related to seeking employment.

Return to Latvia

If a person has not found employment in another EU Member State within three or six months after leaving Latvia, but he or she is entitled to unemployment benefit for a longer period in accordance with Latvian legislation, then the person may continue to receive unemployment benefit in Latvia, provided that he or she has returned to Latvia before the specified period of three or six months (according to the document U2).

When an unemployed person re-exits to another Member State in search of work, he or she does not have the right to receive Latvian unemployment benefit. In order to re-leave in search of work to another Member State and receive Latvian unemployment benefit, a person must, in accordance with national legislation, work the specified period, which is necessary for the person to have the right to receive the benefit and to acquire the status of a newly unemployed person.

Under Regulation No 883/2004, unemployment benefit must be claimed in the Member State in which the person was employed and insured before he lost his job, that is to say, in the State of last employment.

If a person was employed in another EU Member State (last employment in another EU Member State), he or she will be entitled to unemployment benefit in Latvia only in certain cases if during his or her last employment in another Member State he or she has resided permanently in Latvia. The decisive factor for the receipt of unemployment benefit in the Member State of residence is that the person concerned resided, during his last employment, not in the Member State whose legislation is applicable to him, but in the Member State in which the unemployment benefit is claimed.

Frontier workers

Frontier worker means any person who pursues an activity as an employed or self-employed person in a Member State but resides in another Member State in which he normally returns daily or at least once a week.

Frontier workers whose permanent place of residence when working in another EU Member State is Latvia shall receive unemployment benefit from Latvia in case of unemployment.

Important!

Frontier workers must claim unemployment benefit in their country of residence.

This does not apply to persons who have been self-employed. As there is no insurance for self-employed persons at risk of unemployment in Latvia, self-employed frontier workers must claim unemployment benefit in the Member State where the last self-employed activity was carried out and where the person was insured for the risk of unemployment. For more information, see provision of unemployment benefit for self-employed frontier workers.

Other categories of employees who were habitually resident in Latvia while working in another EU Member State

An employee whose place of residence is maintained in Latvia while working in another Member State may receive unemployment benefit from Latvia in case of unemployment, if he or she complies with all EU regulations regarding the maintenance of the place of residence. EU law provides that factors such as:

• duration and continuity of stay in the territory of the Member States concerned;

• nature, stability and duration of any employment contract;

• marital status and family ties;

• carrying out unpaid activities;

• housing situation, in particular how permanent it is;

• the Member State in which the person is deemed to be resident for tax purposes.

The following categories of workers shall be entitled to unemployment benefit in their country of residence: seafarers; persons normally operating in two or more Member States; persons to whom the agreement referred to in Article 16 of Regulation No 883/2004 applies if they have resided in a Member State other than the competent State during their last employment. As well as in the case of seasonal work, persons may receive unemployment benefit in their Member State of residence. On the other hand, entitlement to unemployment benefit for other categories of workers will only be subject to a thorough assessment of all the circumstances.

An unemployed person who has resided in Latvia (including a frontier worker) during his or her last employment in another Member State shall register as an unemployed person in the NVA. In addition, an unemployed person may register as a job seeker also in the country of last employment. In this case, the unemployed person must comply with both the obligations and obligations laid down in the laws of Latvia and the laws of another Member State (the last State of employment). The unemployed person must also inform the SSIA and the sea about registration in the last Member State of employment.

Persons who have their last employment in another Member State but claim unemployment benefit in their country of residence, including frontier workers, must complete the Anketa “on determining habitual residence during employment in another EU/EEA country” in addition to an application for unemployment benefit.

If the person had the last employment in Latvia, the unemployment benefit shall be calculated only from the income obtained in Latvia, in accordance with the provisions of Latvian legislation. This also applies to the situation where the last employment of a person was in Latvia, but before that he or she had worked in another Member State and insurance periods of another Member State have been taken into account for the determination of the rights to the unemployment benefit of Latvia and have been credited to the length of insurance (aggregation of periods). That is, only periods of insurance are summed up, not income.

When calculating unemployment benefit for frontier workers and other workers who were resident in Latvia at the time of employment in another Member State, the income received in the Member State of last employment shall also be taken into account.

A self-employed frontier worker residing in Latvia must register as an unemployed person and claim unemployment benefit in the EU Member State where he pursued his last activity as a self-employed person and was insured for unemployment. In addition, an unemployed person may also register with the Latvian Employment Service - sea and seek employment in Latvia, informing the institution of the Member State providing unemployment benefit thereof.

If such an unemployed person does not wish to remain available to the employment services of the Member State in which he or she carried out his or her last activity, but wishes to seek employment in his or her State of residence, namely Latvia, he or she may use the conditions for the export of unemployment benefit. In such a case, the unemployed person must apply to the competent authority of the Member State which granted the unemployment benefit and apply for a U2 document. Such unemployed persons shall not be subject to the condition that the unemployed person must be registered with the employment service of the competent Member State as a jobseeker for at least four weeks from being unemployed, and that the period of export of unemployment benefit may be extended to the whole period during which the unemployed person is entitled to unemployment benefit granted by the competent Member State. In case of export of unemployment benefit, the unemployed person shall, within 7 days from the day of departure, register with the NVA and fulfil all duties of the person seeking employment in accordance with the requirements laid down in Latvian legislation. The payment of unemployment benefit will be provided by the competent authority of the Member State which granted the unemployment benefit.

1) Unemployment benefit should be claimed in the EU Member State where you were last employed (exception for frontier workers and persons who were permanently resident in Latvia during employment in another EU Member State. See information - right to unemployment benefit in Latvia if the last employment was in another EU Member State).

2) If, after the granting of unemployment benefit in another EU Member State, you wish to return and seek employment in Latvia, the competent institution which granted the unemployment benefit should be required to issue a U2 document in order to continue to receive the benefit granted by that State for up to 3 or 6 months, subject to all the above conditions (see information - export of unemployment benefit).

(3) upon termination of employment in another EU Member State, the competent authority of that Member State should request a U1 document indicating periods of employment and insurance in that State.

4) If the last employment was in another EU Member State, the following must be submitted when applying for unemployment benefit in Latvia:

• application for the granting of unemployment benefit, indicating the country of employment and the name and address of the employer, the date of commencement and end of employment, the insurance number in the country of employment.

For the attention!

If a person has worked in another EU Member State, an application for unemployment benefit cannot be submitted to the NVA vacancy portal (cvvp.nva.gov.lv) and to the portal Latvija.gov.lv because it is not possible to indicate information regarding employment in another EU Member State. For more information on the procedures for submitting an application, see - How to submit an application for the granting of unemployment benefit, for the receipt of documents U2 and U1.

• U1 document. If, in the country of last employment, a U1 document certifying the length of insurance in that country is not required, proof of employment (certificates, copies of employment contracts, copies of the last tax assessment notice, statements of income from the previous employer or any other documents certifying your employment in another EU Member State) must be provided in that Member State;

• questionnaire on determining habitual residence during employment in another EU/EEA country.

In another EU Member State, employment documents must also be submitted if the last employment has been in Latvia, but you have previously worked and have accumulated insurance seniority in another EU Member State (for aggregation of insurance periods).

In order to apply for unemployment benefit, SSIA must submit:

• Claim for granting/recalculating unemployment benefit

• Anquette on determining habitual residence during employment in another EU/EEA country (to be submitted if the last employment is in another EU Member State)

• U1 document or employment documents in another Member State (to be submitted if the last employment is in another EU Member State or the last employment is in Latvia but has previously been in another EU Member State)

A submission to the SSIA for granting unemployment benefit, a questionnaire and documents may be submitted:

• face-to-face at any SSIA customer service center;

• electronically (the application must be signed with a secure electronic signature containing the time stamp);

• by post.

Important!

In order to grant the unemployment benefit from the day when the status of an unemployed person has been acquired, the application for the granting of the status of an unemployed person to the NVA and the application for the granting of the unemployment benefit to the SSIA shall be submitted on the same day. If the application for granting of unemployment benefit is submitted later, the allowance will be granted from the day of submission of the application.

In order to receive the U2 document, the SSIA must submit:

• Request for U2 document “maintenance of the right to unemployment benefit”

• Application for the U2 document “maintenance of the right to unemployment benefit” - extension of the right to unemployment benefit

An application for the receipt of a U2 document may be submitted:

• When filling out an e-application in Latvija.gov.lv

• electronically (the application must be signed with a secure electronic signature containing the time stamp) by sending the spn@vsaa.gov.lv to e-mail

• by mail to the SSIA International services Unit

• face-to-face at any SSIA customer service center.

An application for the receipt of a U2 document (for a time period up to 3 months) shall be submitted not later than 14 working days prior to departure from Latvia.

An application for an extension of the entitlement to unemployment benefit to six months must be submitted/sent at least 21 days before the end of the three-month period.

The SSIA International services Division will issue the U2 document no sooner than 7 days before the departure date indicated by the person in his or her submission. However, the U2 document regarding the extension of the time period for receipt of unemployment benefit to 6 months will be sent to the address indicated in the application.

Application forms are available in the www.vsaa.gov.lv section “services” > “application forms” > “European Union and transnational contract services” > services in the European Union on the SSIA website

In order to receive the U1 document, a person must submit an application to the SSIA for the receipt of the U1 document “periods to be taken into account for the payment of unemployment benefits”

An application for the receipt of a U1 document may be submitted:

• by filling out an e-application in the Latvija.gov.lv portal;

• electronically (the application must be signed with a secure electronic signature containing the time stamp), sending the spn@vsaa.gov.lv to e-mail;

• by mail to the SSIA International services Division;

• face-to-face at any SSIA customer service center.

With effect from 1 January 2021, the provisions of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU) on the coordination of social security, namely Regulations Nos 883/2004 and 987/2009, shall no longer apply to the United Kingdom. However, those EU regulations continue to apply to persons covered by the withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom. Under the withdrawal Agreement, EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 continue to apply to citizens of EU Member States who arrived in the UK by 31 December 2020 and who continue to live and work in the UK in the field of social security.

For persons who have travelled to the United Kingdom as from 1 January 2021, the Protocol to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on Social Security Coordination between the EU and the United Kingdom (hereinafter referred to as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement Protocol), which also contains provisions on unemployment benefits, is coordinating the social security sector, but no longer provides for the same wide coordination conditions in the area of unemployment benefits as EU Regulations.

Depending on when a person has travelled to the United Kingdom, before or after 1 January 2021, account shall be taken of:

the  withdrawal Agreement, if a person has travelled to the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020, EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 shall apply accordingly;

Protocol to the  Trade and Cooperation Agreement, if the person has left for the United Kingdom as from 1 January 2021.

 If a person leaves for the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020 and has continued to reside and work in the United Kingdom (subject to the withdrawal Agreement), for example until September 2024, the conditions of Regulation 883/2004, according to which an unemployed person must claim unemployment benefit in the country of last employment in which the person has resided, worked and was insured socially immediately before losing his job, shall be taken into account.

This means that upon termination of employment in the UK, a person must register with the United Kingdom employment service and claim unemployment benefit in the UK.

At the same time, the provisions of Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 provide that after the granting of unemployment benefit a person has the right to go for work to Latvia, retaining the right to unemployment benefit granted in the United Kingdom (export of unemployment benefit) for a period of three to six months, fulfilling the following requirements:

1) the person must be registered with the employment service of the United Kingdom for at least four weeks (exceptions are possible);

(2) the person must apply to the competent authority of the United Kingdom for document U2 “maintenance of the right to unemployment benefit”, which confirms the right of the person to continue to receive unemployment benefit granted by the United Kingdom during the period indicated in the document in order to seek employment in Latvia.

3) after receipt of the U2 document, the person shall, within seven days from the day of departure, register with the Latvian State Employment Agency (NVA) and perform all duties of the unemployed person in Latvia.

In order to continue to receive unemployment benefit from the United Kingdom upon return to Latvia in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 883/2004 on the export of unemployment benefits, the person must become a jobseeker and beneficiary of the benefit in the United Kingdom and, before returning to Latvia, the competent institution of the United Kingdom must request a U2 document.

In accordance with the provisions of Regulation No 883/2004, if a person has his or her last employment in Latvia, periods of insurance in the United Kingdom may also be taken into account in determining the right to Latvian unemployment benefit.

Information on insurance periods in the United Kingdom will be requested by the national Social Insurance Agency to the competent authority of the United Kingdom in the electronic information exchange system EESSI.

 If a person is leaving for the United Kingdom after 1 January 2021, then again in this situation, the person must claim unemployment benefit in the United Kingdom, the country where the person was employed and insured.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not provide for the export of unemployment benefit, so that a person is not entitled to a U2 document in the United Kingdom. This means that unemployment benefit will be paid by the competent UK institution in accordance with national legislation. Consequently, if the national legislation of the United Kingdom does not provide for the provision of unemployment benefit to persons departing from the United Kingdom to another country, the person will be entitled to unemployment benefit only if he continues to reside and seek employment in the United Kingdom, and if he moves to Latvia, the payment of the benefit will be suspended.

Similar to Regulation 883/2004, the Protocol to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains provisions on aggregation of insurance periods where unemployment benefit is claimed in the country of last employment.

Consequently, if a person starts working in Latvia (the last employment will be in Latvia) and loses his or her job, and the person has not yet worked in Latvia for the 12 months specified in Latvian legislation, then insurance periods accumulated in the United Kingdom will also be taken into account.

In short, the most important:

 unemployment benefit must be claimed in the country of last employment, the United Kingdom;

in , if a person is due to leave the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020, a U2 document must be applied for in the United Kingdom before returning to Latvia in order to continue to receive unemployment benefit in the United Kingdom in order to seek employment in Latvia;

in , if the last employment is in Latvia, the periods of insurance of the United Kingdom shall also be taken into account when determining the right to Latvian unemployment benefit.

• Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (in force from 1.05.2010);

• Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems (in force from 1.05.2010);

• Regulation (EU) No 1231/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 extending Regulations (EC) No 883/2004 and (EC) No 987/2009 to third-country nationals who are not covered by those Regulations solely on the basis of their nationality (with effect from 1.01.2011);

• Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (in force from 01.02.2020);

• Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (in force from 1.01.2021);

• Unemployment Insurance Act

• Unemployment and job seeker support Act

• Regulations regarding unemployment benefit and funeral benefit