Part-Time Jobs in Riga for International Students: Rules and Pay

International students in Riga can work part time: non-EU bachelor's students with a Latvian residence permit can work up to 20 hours a week during studies and full time in the holidays, master's and doctoral students can work full time, and the 2026 minimum wage is €780 a month gross for full-time work. A part-time job changes the shape of a semester in Riga, more room in your budget, less mental math every time you check your bank balance. Here's the real picture: what you're legally allowed to do, where to actually look, and what to expect.

Are You Even Allowed to Work?

If you hold a valid Latvian residence permit for study purposes and you're a bachelor's student, you can work up to 20 hours a week during studies and full time (40 hours a week) in the holidays. Master's and doctoral students can work full time, and EU and EEA students can work without these limits. This is lower than some other European countries, worth factoring into your budget rather than assuming you can lean on work income as heavily as a friend studying elsewhere might. Always confirm your specific permit conditions, since individual circumstances can affect the exact limit.

What You'll Need Before You Start

• A valid residence permit for study purposes (covered in our visa and residence permit guide)
• A Latvian personal identity number, generally issued alongside your residence permit
• A bank account, most employers in Latvia pay by transfer rather than cash, so this is worth setting up in your first few weeks regardless of whether you're job hunting yet

Where Students Actually Find Work

A few specific places worth checking rather than generic advice: CV.lv and Prakse.lv are the two largest local job boards and both carry part-time and student listings. Indeed also has a solid presence in Latvia and is a reasonable starting point if you're filtering specifically for English-speaking roles. University career offices and notice boards are worth checking directly too, some roles never make it to the big platforms.

What Kind of Jobs Are Realistic

Hospitality and cafes are the most accessible starting point for students without Latvian or Russian, especially in central Riga where English is expected by both staff and customers. Customer support and call centre roles for international companies are notably common in Riga specifically, and generally don't require local language skills. English tutoring is in genuine demand given the number of international schools and language centres in the city. Retail is available but tends to lean more toward requiring at least basic Latvian for customer-facing roles outside the most touristy areas.

What It Actually Pays

As a rough guide, Latvia's minimum wage is €780 a month gross for full-time work in 2026, so 20 hours a week at the minimum comes to roughly €390 gross a month. Pay above that varies significantly by role, hours and how in-demand your skills are: customer support and tutoring tend to pay more, hospitality less. Check current listings for your specific role type rather than treating any fixed number as reliable for long, wages shift.

Balancing Work With Actually Studying

For non-EU bachelor's students, 20 hours a week during studies is the legal ceiling in Latvia, and it's a meaningfully tighter limit than some students expect coming from other countries. Most students find 10 to 12 hours a week realistic alongside a full course load, enough to help with groceries, transport and social spending without it becoming a second job that competes with the reason you're there.

One Less Thing to Juggle

If the appeal of part-time work is giving your budget some breathing room, starting from fixed, all-inclusive housing costs keeps the math simple, no winter heating bill showing up right when you need that extra income for something else.

Browse available rooms in Riga at Fuse's listings page.

Frequently Asked Questions