Home care in Riga: the council service or a private helper

Home care in Riga is arranged through the Riga Social Service (Rīgas Sociālais dienests): any adult who finds it hard to look after themselves because of age or health can apply, and a decision is made within a month. In 2026 the service is free if income per household member is no more than €780 a month; for everyone else, the council covers part of the cost or none of it. The council funds up to 35 hours a week of personal care and housework, but conversation and walks are not on that list. That is why council care can be topped up with a private helper.

Demand is growing. In the first quarter of 2026, 7,114 people in Riga received home care, 4% more than a year earlier, and a growing share of them need intensive care, including people with dementia (riga.lv).

Who qualifies for municipal home care in Riga

The service is for adults “who have objective difficulty caring for themselves because of age or functional impairment” (Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 3, in Latvian: Rīgas domes saistošie noteikumi Nr. 3). The conditions are:

• your parent’s registered (declared) address and the place they actually live are both in Riga;
• they live alone, or the family members they live with cannot care for them because of age, health or work.

There is no minimum age, and your parent does not need an official disability status.

Income only affects how much you pay, not whether your parent is entitled to the service. They do not need official low-income (maznodrošināta persona) or poverty (trūcīga persona) status. So your mum may qualify for home care even if she lives with you, as long as you are out at work all day.

How to get home care in Riga: step by step

1. Contact the social service. The application goes to the local office (teritoriālais centrs) of the Riga Social Service for the area where your parent lives. Central contact details: phone 67105048 (from abroad, +371 67105048), soc@riga.lv, Baznīcas iela 19/23.
2. Gather the documents. The list is below; for the medical note your parent will need an appointment with their GP (ģimenes ārsts).
3. Wait for the assessment. A social worker assesses your parent’s needs, visiting them at home if necessary. They fill in an assessment form (novērtēšanas karte) and decide what kind of help is needed, how many hours, for how long and what the fee will be.
4. Receive the decision. The social service decides within a month of receiving the documents and sends the decision in writing (Cabinet Regulation No. 138, Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 138).
5. Choose a provider. Before the service starts, the client chooses a care provider and tells the social service in writing.

The regulations do not mention a separate online waiting list for home care (there is one for care homes), and the council does not publish figures on how long people actually wait for the first visit. If you can see that help will be needed soon, it is worth applying early.

Before the social worker’s visit, it helps to jot down what your mum or dad manages on their own and where they need support: washing, dressing, cooking, shopping, taking medication, getting out of the house. That way nothing important is left out of the conversation, and the assessment gives a truer picture of their everyday life. If you are organising things from abroad, a list like this is also useful to share with whoever will be there on the day.

Documents you will need

• an identity document;
• the application form (iesniegums);
• a note from the GP describing what your parent can and cannot do, any signs of acute infection, and recommendations for care;
• a psychiatrist’s report (only if your parent has a mental health condition);
• proof of income or a means declaration (iztikas līdzekļu deklarācija);
• proof of disability status, if your parent has one.

If you have recently noticed changes in memory or behaviour, mention them to the GP when you go for the note. Our article on the early signs of dementia explains what to look out for.

The four care levels: what they mean

The care level (aprūpes līmenis) depends on how well a person can manage daily life on their own. The basis for the levels is Article 20 of the Law on Social Services and Social Assistance (Sociālo pakalpojumu un sociālās palīdzības likums), and the Ministry of Welfare (Labklājības ministrija) publishes the assessment method. Home care is available at any level.

Level	Functional ability	Support needed	Functions retained
I	moderately limited	minimal staff support for a set number of hours a week	75–99%
II	moderately or severely limited	a little staff support every day	50–74%
III	severely limited	regular staff support every day	25–49%
IV	very severely limited	full care and supervision round the clock	0–24%

The key thing to know: Riga has no fixed table of how many hours come with each level. Neither the law nor the Cabinet regulations link levels to hours. The social service sets the hours individually after the assessment, and the council funds up to 35 hours a week.

The Samaritans’ own description shows how much the hours can vary: “from home care twice a week for a few hours, up to… 7 days a week, 1–2 times a day”. If more than 35 hours a week is needed, the social service may offer supported housing (aprūpētā dzīvesvieta), short-term social care or long-term social care in a care home. Since 2025, people can qualify for a council co-funded place in a care home once they need at least 25 hours of care a week and have had a registered address in Riga for at least 12 months. We compare the costs in our article on how much a care home costs in Latvia.

What the service covers

According to the Riga regulations and the Riga Welfare Department (Rīgas Labklājības departaments), a carer can help with:

• personal hygiene, using the toilet, getting dressed and changing position in bed;
• eating, preparing meals and taking medication;
• buying and delivering groceries, cleaning, fetching water, washing clothes and lighting the stove;
• dealing with things on their behalf: paying utility bills, arranging social and medical services.

How much home care costs in 2026

The fee depends on income. The threshold is the minimum wage, which has been €780 a month since 1 January 2026.

Income per household member	Who pays
up to €780 a month	the service is free
more than €780, but not enough to cover the full fee	the council pays part
enough to cover the full fee	the council does not pay

After paying the fee, the household must still have at least the minimum wage per member left (point 128 of the Riga regulations). If the client cannot pay, the council covers the difference, and the social service can also agree a more manageable payment arrangement. Rules can change, so ask the social service for the exact fee.

Allowance when a relative provides the care

If your mum is cared for by someone she has chosen herself, such as a daughter or a neighbour, the council can pay an allowance (materiālais atbalsts). It is only available if income per household member is no more than €780 a month.

Hours of care per week	Allowance per month
up to 4 hours	€14.23
4–6 hours	€28.46
6–12 hours	€42.69
more than 12 hours	€56.91

Vouchers, or personalised care

With a voucher (vaučers, officially individualizētā aprūpe) the client chooses a registered provider themselves. The council’s contribution is calculated as hours per week × the lowest hourly rate in the council tender × 4.3 (the average number of weeks in a month), minus the client’s fee. The Welfare Department’s 2026 leaflet gives an upper limit of €1,030 a month, but the council is reviewing the level of co-funding, so ask the social service for the current figure.

Samaritans, Red Cross and others: choosing a provider

There are three ways to receive council home care:

• an allowance: care from someone your parent chooses, often a relative;
• a provider from the council tender: an organisation the council has a contract with;
• personalised care, or a voucher: a registered provider of the client’s choice.

The providers selected in the tender are the Latvian Samaritan Association (Latvijas Samariešu apvienība), St John’s Aid (Svētā Jāņa palīdzība), the Latvian Red Cross (Latvijas Sarkanais Krusts), SIA “Pirmais Patronāžas Serviss”, SIA “Aprūpes birojs”, SIA “Senior Latvia” and SIA “Mājas aprūpe”. In September 2026 the voucher list included the same providers plus SIA “Hospiss Māja” and SIA “Mentamed”.

Paid care without the social service

The Samaritans and the Red Cross also offer paid home care. This is an option if your parent’s income means they do not qualify for free care, or if you do not want to wait for a decision:

• Latvian Samaritan Association (private contract): “Basic services – personal care and everyday household tasks EUR 10/hour”; a personal alarm button costs €26–33 a month.
• Latvian Red Cross offers a paid service ordered by the client or their family, but does not publish its prices online.
• Senior Group in 2026: one visit (1 hour) a day costs €18, two visits €12 each, three visits €10 each (seniorgroup.eu).

After hospital: short-term care and integrated home care

If your parent needs more than 35 hours of care a week after leaving hospital, including while they recover, the social service can arrange short-term social care in an institution (īslaicīgā sociālā aprūpe). The council contributes for up to 30 days a year, and the social service can extend this. People with a Group I disability (the most severe category) or a mental health condition can also have respite care (atelpas brīdis) of up to 30 days a year.

From 3 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, the National Health Service (Nacionālais veselības dienests) and Riga are running a pilot scheme called “Integrated home care” (Integrēta aprūpe mājās). It is for Riga residents discharged from Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital or Riga East Clinical University Hospital who need both medical and social care. Referrals come from the treating doctor and the hospital social worker, so ask about it while your parent is still in hospital.

What is not on the council’s list of services

Council home care exists so that a person is fed, clean and safe in their own home, and that is essential. But some things that are just as important to an older person are not on the list:

• Conversation, walks, leisure. They are not explicitly ruled out, but the hours granted are meant for the tasks on the list. For people who are lonely, Riga runs a separate remote service of video calls (videovizītes).
• Going with them to the doctor’s. This is a separate service, “companion-assistant” (pavadonis-asistents). The Samaritans mention accompanying clients to medical appointments in their description, but how much is possible depends on the provider and the hours granted.
• The same person at a set time. Official information does not say whether the same carer will come each time or whether visits are possible in the evenings or at weekends. This varies from provider to provider, so ask them directly.
• Extra hours and one-off big jobs. The council funds up to 35 hours a week, and a one-off deep clean is only done where living conditions are unsanitary.

Where a private helper and companion fits in

Good elderly home care in Latvia, as anywhere, is about more than hygiene and meals. If the hours granted are taken up by personal care and housework, your parent may spend most of the day alone. That is exactly the gap a companion fills.

Your Native Care visits last at least two hours, and our helpers do the things there is usually no time for in the council schedule:

• chatting, having tea, going for walks, playing board games, reading aloud, going to a concert, to church or to the cemetery;
• going with your parent to the doctor’s and for tests, waiting, helping them understand what the doctor said, and taking them home;
• shopping, going to the pharmacy, the post office or the bank, helping with paperwork and booking appointments by phone;
• cooking and eating together, helping with the phone, bills and letters.

After every visit the family receives a short report, and one coordinator handles everything. We match helpers on personality, interests and language: Latvian or Russian, whichever suits your parent.

We interview every helper and check their references, and each has a certificate from the Punishment Register (Sodu reģistrs), Latvia’s criminal records register. There is no long-term contract; you can start with a single visit. It usually takes about a week from the first conversation to the first visit; see how it works for details.

Prices in 2026 (full pricing): 8 hours a month for €360, 15 hours for €675, 24 hours for €1,080 (€45 an hour); a one-off visit is €70 an hour, for at least 2 hours. That costs more than a carer paid by the hour (€10–18 an hour) because it is a different service: a person chosen to suit your parent, a coordinator, reports, cover when a helper is away, and a written agreement. If you are weighing the two options, our article on choosing a carer or a companion in Riga goes into more detail.

To be clear about our limits: we are not a medical service. We do not give injections, change dressings, administer medication, adjust doses or make diagnoses. We do not lift or move bedridden people where a qualified carer is needed, we do not work round the clock and we do not live in the client’s home. We do remind your parent about medication prescribed by their doctor, and we let the family know if we notice any change in their wellbeing.

That is why the two services work well together: the council carer looks after hygiene and the household, and the helper provides company and help with things outside the home. For example, the 8-hour monthly package covers four two-hour visits: a walk and a cup of tea once a week, and one of the visits can be a trip to the doctor.

If you live abroad, you can pay for the helper and receive the reports directly. You can see exactly what a helper can do on our services page.

Comparison: council care, a paid carer and a companion

	Council home care	Paid care (Samaritans, Senior Group)	Helper and companion (Your Native Care)
How to start	application to the social service, decision within a month	contract with the organisation	free online meeting
Price in 2026	free if income is no more than €780 per household member; above that, partial or full payment	Samaritans €10 an hour, Senior Group €10–18 per visit	€45 an hour in a package; one-off visit €70 an hour (at least 2 hours)
Amount	up to 35 hours a week	Samaritans by the hour, Senior Group 1–3 visits a day	visits of at least 2 hours, packages of 8–24 hours a month
Hygiene, dressing, moving	yes	Samaritans’ price list: personal care	no
Meals, shopping, cleaning	yes	Samaritans’ price list: household tasks	yes: cooking and eating together, shopping, tidying the kitchen and their room
Conversation, walks, leisure	not on the list	not listed separately in the Samaritans’ price list	the main focus
Going to the doctor	separate service	the Samaritans mention accompanying clients	yes, the helper waits and helps explain what the doctor said
Report to the family	no information, ask the provider	no information, ask the provider	after every visit