How to apply for state legal aid for appealing expulsion?
Immigration Law provides for the right to receive legal aid from the state for contesting a precept to leave or an entry ban, if you do not have sufficient funds to cover legal expenses.
Conditions for state legal aid
Legal aid in Latvia is regulated by the State Ensured Legal Aid Law. But also some specific information regarding migrants is provided by Immigration Law. You may receive legal aid as a foreigner if your funds are not sufficient, you reside in Latvia, a voluntary return decision or a removal order has been issued with regards to you and you have decided to appeal it to the Administrative court. You may also receive legal aid if you are detained. It will be considered that you do not have sufficient funds if your average income in the past three months does not exceed 50% of the minimum monthly salary in Latvia.
Application procedure
The form for applying for state legal aid will be accessible at the institution that made the decision (the State Border Guard or the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs). It is also accessible on the Court Administration’s website. It includes the personal details of the applicant, a description of the problem, the type of state legal aid sought, the reasons why state legal aid is needed to protect the rights of the applicant, and other information listed in the State Ensured Legal Aid Law. The application for state legal aid must be submitted in Latvian or another language widely used in Latvia. The application for state legal aid must be submitted to the institution that made the precept to leave, which will forward it to the Court Administration. The Administration then will evaluate the application and make a decision to allocate a lawyer. If the legal aid is requested by a detained person, then the State Border Guard will invite a lawyer.
Provision of state legal aid
State legal aid is provided by different legal professionals (lawyers, attorneys etc.). You cannot choose the state legal aid provider, but if you are not satisfied with the legal aid offered to you, you can make a complaint to the Court Administration.