If you are a U.S. citizen, you may continue to receive payments while in Latvia as long as you are eligible for benefits. It does not matter whether you receive benefits based on your own work or as a dependent or survivor of a person who worked in the U.S.

There are different rules for payments to people who receive benefits based on their own earnings and to those who receive benefits based on the earnings of another person (dependents and survivors).

• If you are receiving Social Security payments (disability or retirement) based on your own earnings, your Social Security payments will keep coming no matter how long you stay in Latvia as long as you are eligible for benefits.
• If you are receiving Social Security payments based on the earnings of another person such as a spouse or parent, you must meet certain conditions to continue receiving Social Security benefits while in Latvia:

We will continue to pay your benefits if you were eligible for monthly Social Security benefits for December 1956; or the worker on whose record your benefits are based died while in the U.S. military service or as a result of a service-connected disability, and was not dishonorably discharged.

You may also be eligible for continued Social Security payments if you meet one of the conditions below:

1. The worker on whose record your benefits are based had railroad work that the Social Security program treated as covered employment; or
2. You are in the active military or naval service of the United States; or
3. You meet U.S. residency requirements. Please see below for more information.

You may also use online Payments Abroad Screening Tool to determine whether you meet the conditions for payments while you are outside the United States.

Additional residency requirements for dependents and survivors who are not U.S. citizens

If you are awarded SSA benefits as a dependent or survivor of the worker and you are a Latvian citizen residing in Latvia , we will continue to pay your benefits if you prove that that you lived in the United States for at least five years. During those five years, you must have been in the family relationship on which we based your benefits.

There are several exceptions to this general rule and the U.S. residency requirement does not apply if you meet any of the following conditions:

1. You were initially eligible for monthly benefits before January 1, 1985; or
2. Your entitlement is based on the record of a worker who died during U.S. military service or as a result of a service-connected disease or injury; or
3. You a citizen of a country listed here.

A child who has not lived in the United States for five years can meet the five-year residency requirement if the parent who is the worker, and the other parent, have both lived in the United States for five years. However, we will not pay children adopted outside the United States while they reside outside the United States, even if the child meets the residency requirement.

If you do not meet any of the above conditions, we will stop your payments after you have been outside the United States for six full calendar months. Once this happens, we cannot start your payments again until you come back and stay in the United States for a full calendar month and submit evidence to prove it. You must be in the United States on the first minute of the first day of any month and stay through the last minute of the last day of that month. In addition, we may ask you to prove you have been lawfully present in the United States for the full calendar month.

If you are a citizen of a country other than U.S. or Latvia and reside in Latvia, you must meet certain conditions to continue receiving Social Security benefits:

We will continue to pay your benefits if you were eligible for monthly Social Security benefits for December 1956; or the worker on whose record your benefits are based died while in the U.S. military service or as a result of a service-connected disability, and was not dishonorably discharged.

You may also be eligible for continued Social Security payments if you meet one of the conditions below:

1. The worker on whose record your benefits are based had railroad work that the Social Security program treated as covered employment; or
2. You are in the active military or naval service of the United States; or
3. You are a citizen of one of the countries listed here; or
4. You are a citizen of any of the countries listed here. However, if you are receiving benefits as a dependent or survivor, there are additional requirements you have to meet. Please see this publication for more information; or
5. You are a citizen of any of the countries listed here and the worker on whose record your benefits are based lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years or earned at least 40 credits under the U.S. Social Security system. However, if you are receiving benefits as a dependent or survivor, there are additional requirements you have to meet. Please see this publication for more information.

You may also use online Payments Abroad Screening Tool to determine whether you meet the conditions for payments while you are outside the United States.

If you do not meet any of the above conditions, we will stop your payments after you have been outside the United States for six full calendar months. Once this happens, we cannot start your payments again until you come back and stay in the United States for a full calendar month and submit evidence to prove it. You must be in the United States on the first minute of the first day of any month and stay through the last minute of the last day of that month. In addition, we may ask you to prove you have been lawfully present in the United States for the full calendar month.

Before you travel, please make sure to read additional information on how to prove your stay.