Policy Document

Citizenship Law

Year

1994

Country

Latvia

Topic

Migration

Subtopic

Naturalisation & Citizenship

Main implications

After Latvia regained independence, it was necessary to establish legislation in this policy area. The main issue was to handle the high number of non-citizens.

Benefits & Requirements

Coverage: Requirements for its application

(1) The Naturalisation Board shall receive and examine applications for naturalisation.
(2) The procedures for receiving and examining applications shall be determined by regulations of the Cabinet. Applications shall be examined and an answer given to the applicant not later than one year after the day all documents specified in the regulations of the Cabinet are submitted. A decision regarding the granting of citizenship shall be made by the Cabinet.
(3) A decision of the Naturalisation Board regarding the refusal of naturalisation may be appealed in court.

Coverage: Eligible groups or beneficiaries

(1) Only those persons who are registered in the Population Register may obtain Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedures and:
1) whose permanent place of residence, as of the day of submission of the application for naturalisation, have been in Latvia for not less than five years, calculated from 4 May 1990 (for persons who arrived in Latvia after 1 July 1992, the five-year period shall be calculated from the moment a permanent residence permit is obtained);
2) who are fluent in the Latvian language;
3) who know the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and the
Constitutional Law “Rights and Obligations of a Citizen and a Person”;
4) who know the lyrics of the national anthem and the history of Latvia;
5) who have a legal source of income;
6) who have given a pledge of loyalty to the Republic of Latvia;
7) who have submitted a notice regarding the renunciation of their former citizenship
(nationality) and have received an expatriation permit from the state of their former citizenship (nationality), if such permit is provided for by the laws of that state, or who have received a document certifying the loss of citizenship (nationality), or, if they are citizens of the former U.S.S.R. whose permanent place of residence on 4 May 1990 was in Latvia, a certificate verifying that they have not acquired the citizenship (nationality) of another state; and
8) who are not subject to the naturalisation restrictions specified in Section 11 of this law.
(2) Only those persons who meet all of the requirements set out in Paragraph one of this Section may be admitted to Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedures.
(3) The notice regarding renunciation of their former citizenship, expatriation permit, or document certifying the loss of citizenship (nationality) shall be submitted after a person has been officially notified that there are no other impediments to their admission to Latvian citizenship.
(4) The procedure for testing knowledge of the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and the Constitutional Law Rights and Obligations of a Citizen and a Person, the lyrics of the national anthem, and the history of Latvia shall be determined by regulations of the Cabinet.
(5) Upon submitting an application for naturalisation, a person shall pay the state fee, in the amount specified by the Cabinet.
(6) Persons whose applications regarding matters of citizenship have been rejected may resubmit them a year after the previous decision was taken.

Criteria for coverage

1) Latvians and Livs who are repatriating to Latvia;
2) persons who, on 17 June 1940, were citizens of Lithuania or Estonia and the descendants of such persons, if these persons or their descendants have been permanently resident in Latvia for not less than five years as of the date of submission of the application for naturalisation;
3) persons who, on 1 September 1939, were citizens of Poland and the descendants of such persons, if these persons or their descendants have been permanently resident in Latvia for not less than five years as of the date of submission of the application for naturalisation; and
4) persons who have been married to a citizen of Latvia for not less than ten years and who have been permanently resident in Latvia for not less than five years as of the date of submission of the application for naturalisation.

Read the Law

Full Text Source in English

http://www.vvc.gov.lv/export/sites/default/docs/LRTA/Likumi/Citizenship_Law.doc

Original full text source in native language

http://likumi.lv/doc.php

Full text web source in English

http://www.vvc.gov.lv/export/sites/default/docs/LRTA/Likumi/Citizenship_Law.doc

Original full text web source in native language

http://likumi.lv/doc.php

Comments & Clarifications

The current law is based on the Law on Nationality of the Republic of Latvia, of 23 August 1919.

Author

Elīna Apsīte-Beriņa
University of Latvia

Data collected in the framework of the Population Europe Research Finder and Archive (PERFAR)

Cite as

SPLASH-db.eu (2015): Policy: "Citizenship Law" (Information provided by Elīna Apsīte-Beriņa). Available at: https://splash-db.eu [Date of access].