Tourists who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand or Australia upon arrival in the Republic of Latvia are provided with the opportunity to create a short-term vaccination certificate for use in the territory of the Republic of Latvia - to receive various services, visit catering establishments, and in other cases, informs the National Health Service (NHS).
The short-term certificate confirms that the person has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and contains a QR code that can be read with the QR code scanning mobile application “Covid19Verify” used in Latvia or on the covid19sertifikats.lv portal. The certificate is valid for 30 days from the date of issue and is canceled after that date.
The issuance of short-term certificates is ensured by the tourism information centers of the largest cities in Latvia, which have concluded a cooperation agreement with the NHS on the use of the system for issuing certificates. Currently, the connection of some centers to the system is continuing, so before going to the tourist information center, it is recommended to get acquainted with the current list of centers. This can be found out in the “Digital COVID Certificate” - “Short-Term Vaccination Certificate” section of the NHS website www.vmnvd.gov.lv and by calling 8989.
At the same time, the NHS draws attention to the fact that short-term certificates will not be issued if vaccination has been carried out in a Member State of the European Union or in a country that has joined the single digital gateway to the European Union. In these cases, a person must receive a digital COVID vaccination certificate in the country where the vaccination was performed, and it will also be used in the Republic of Latvia. Exception - if the vaccination was performed in Great Britain, but the person does not have a travel certificate.
The short-term certificate is not intended for persons with dual citizenship, who will be able to present only the passport of the Republic of Latvia at the Tourism Information Center. In these cases, the person must apply to the National Health Service for recognition of the fact of vaccination performed abroad. In case of a positive decision, the person will be able to obtain an interoperable Covid-19 vaccination certificate on the website www.covid19sertifikats.lv.
Update! Starting from 11.12.2021, the short-term certificate will no longer be issued to tourists who have been vaccinated in the UK, as the vaccination certificates ("travel certificate") received in the UK can be used in the Republic of Latvia.
* The procedure for the issuance and use of short-term certificates is determined by the amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers (CM) Regulations No. 662 of 28 September 2021 "Epidemiological safety measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 infection". According to the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the examination of documents and the issuance of a short-term certificate, they are entitled to charge a fee, the amount of which does not exceed 10 euros.