From 1 July 2026, the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), when determining a person’s eligibility for the parental benefit, will assess the country of the child’s habitual residence.
The parental benefit will be granted in Latvia to a socially insured person for a child:
- who permanently resides in the territory of Latvia;
- who has been assigned a personal identity number;
- who has an active status in the Register of Natural Persons.
This is stipulated by amendments to the Law “On Maternity and Sickness Insurance”.
The changes do not apply to a person socially insured in Latvia whose child resides in another Member State of the European Union, a Member State of the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation. In such cases, as before, the parental benefit will be granted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems.
Thus, from 1 July, the parental benefit will not be granted if the child does not permanently reside in Latvia and the child’s place of residence is not in a Member State of the European Union, a Member State of the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, but, for example, the child resides in Uzbekistan, India, Canada, or the United States of America. These conditions apply regardless of the citizenship of the child or the parent.
From 1 July 2026, the SSIA will discontinue payment of an already granted parental benefit if the Agency has information that the child does not permanently reside in the territory of Latvia, has a passive status in the Register of Natural Persons, or has not been assigned a personal identity number in Latvia.
The condition regarding the discontinuation of benefit payments does not apply in cases where Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 is applicable.