Because not enough professionals are available locally, Latvian employers increasingly face the need to hire skilled workers from countries outside the EU/EEA (e.g. Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and India). However, both the employer and the foreign worker should meet a number of time-consuming statutory requirements before the foreign national receives permission to enter Latvia and lawfully begin employment. It takes 2–3 months from the date the employer identifies the need to hire a suitable foreign national to the date the worker actually arrives in Latvia. This article explores statutory requirements and steps the employer and the foreign national should take in order to organise lawful entry and employment in Latvia.