Citizenship

The Naturalisation procedure is regulated by Cabinet Regulation No. 1001 of 24^th September 2013 Procedure for Submission and Examination of Application for Naturalisation

 

Naturalisation in Latvia

 

The following persons may be admitted to citizenship of Latvia under a naturalisation procedure:

• Who have reached the age of 15;
• Whose permanent place of residence, as at the day of submitting an application for naturalisation, has been in Latvia for not less than the last five years, of which an interruption of one year in total is permitted, but which cannot be during the last year before the day of submitting the application for naturalisation (for a citizen of another country or a stateless person the five-year period is counted from the day of receipt of a permanent residence permit or a permanent residence certificate);
• Who are fluent in the Latvian language, know the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the text of the National Anthem, and the basics of the history and culture of Latvia;
• Who have a legal source of income;
• Who have submitted a notice regarding the renunciation of their former citizenship and received an expatriation permit from the country of their former citizenship, if such permit is provided for by the laws of that country, or have received a document certifying the loss of citizenship, but a non-citizen or a stateless person – a certification that person does not have citizenship of another country.

These requirements do not apply to persons who have received refugee status in Latvia.

Children under the age of 15 permanently residing in Latvia may also become naturalised together with their parents.

 

Not Eligible

The following persons may not be admitted to citizenship of Latvia under a naturalisation procedure:

• Who by their behaviour or activities cause threats to the security of the State of Latvia and society, the democratic constitutional order of the State, the independence and territorial immunity of the State;
• Who have acted against the independence of the Republic of Latvia, the democratic parliamentary structure of the State or the existing State power in Latvia;
• Who, after 4 May 1990, have propagated fascist, chauvinistic, national-socialist, communist or other totalitarian ideas or incited ethnic or racial hatred or discord;
• Who are related to terrorism or involved in an anti-state or criminal organisation;
• Who are related to money laundering;
• Who are serving in the armed forces or military organisation of another country without a permit of the Cabinet;
• Who, after 17 June 1940, have chosen the Republic of Latvia as their place of residence directly after demobilisation from the armed forces of the U.S.S.R. (Russia) or the internal military forces of the U.S.S.R. (Russia), and had not, on the day of conscription into service or enlistment, permanently resided in Latvia;
• Who have been staff employees of the security service, intelligence service or counter-intelligence service of the U.S.S.R. or Latvian S.S.R., except persons who have only been employees of the Planning and Finance or Administrative-Maintenance Division of the State Security Committee of the former U.S.S.R. or the Latvian S.S.R;
• Who have been convicted in Latvia or any other country of committing such a criminal offence that is also qualified as a criminal offence in Latvia during the examination of an application for naturalisation. This condition does not apply to persons who have been convicted of committing a criminal offence in a foreign country, if it has been recognised under a procedure established by the Cabinet that in respect of such persons, a judgment of conviction has been taken breaching the principle of fair trial or of proportionality of the punishment;
• Who, after 13 January 1991, have worked against the Republic of Latvia in the C.P.S.U. [Communist Party of the Soviet Union] (L.C.P. [Latvian Communist Party]), the Working People’s International Front of the Latvian S.S.R., the United Council of Labour Collectives, the Organisation of War and Labour Veterans, the All-Latvia Salvation of Society Committee or its regional committees, or the Union of Communists of Latvia;
• Who have not fulfilled tax obligations or obligations of other payments against the State of Latvia.

Statistics

 

Naturalization process began in Latvia on February 1, 1995.

• Since the beginning of naturalization process 146 286 naturalization applications have been received requesting 159 662 persons to be naturalized.

• 145 941 persons including 14 533 underage children have been granted the citizenship of Latvia by the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers.

 

	The number of received naturalization applications						The number of persons having acquired Latvian citizenship through naturalization
	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
January	193	104	97	92	100	103	0	0	0	0	0	63
February	217	128	105	88	103	114	183	103	0	102	98	0
March	222	129	119	93	96	103	269	0	59	93	62	90
April	169	130	112	82	59	86	135	103	0	142	75	86
May	120	97	85	91	99	93	0	0	145	138	76	78
June	117	71	87	76	74	90	173	169	61	0	88	106
July	172	73	94	69	89	92	119	43	239	90	0	88
August	149	89	114	82	98		157	0	0	64	187
September	190	75	132	60	103		243	183	72	107	0
October	139	101	105	88	111		0	0	106	0	64
November	125	87	125	99	81		193	161	95	64	114
December	126	63	82	81	72		260	177	194	187	151
TOTAL	1 939	1147	1 175	1001	1085	681	1 732	939	777	987	915	511