The annual training for officials from Latvian diplomatic and consular missions abroad on visa issues took place in Dublin on October 8 and 9, 2025, to improve knowledge and skills in the visa field.
This year, special attention in the training was paid to topics related to current migration and security challenges – participants acquired skills in recognizing illegal migration schemes, became familiar with individual risk profiles, and learned about the latest trends in document forgery. The training also addressed the use of the digital European Union Entry/Exit System in the visa application processing, as the system started operating on October 12, 2025.
Training participants learned about amendments to legal acts in the field of migration and improved their skills in evaluating visa applications in accordance with the principles of administrative procedure.
This year, consular officials from 22 Latvian missions that issue visas participated in the training: Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Georgia, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States, and Uzbekistan.
The lecturers at the training included experts from various Latvian institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Constitutional Court, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, and the State Border Guard, as well as foreign lecturers.
The training was organized with financial support from the European Union’s Border Management and Visa Instrument, within the framework of the project "Provision of Regional Training for Consular Officials of the Republic of Latvia on the EU's Common Visa Issuance Policy in accordance with the requirements of the European Visa Code (Stage 1)" (Agreement No. ĀM/RPVP/2024/3)."
