- How to get Latvian citizenship without any problems?
- Obtaining the rights of a Latvian citizen by naturalization
- Obtaining dual citizenship
World practice shows that a foreigner can become a citizen of any country in the world if there are a number of prerequisites and certain conditions are met. It is clear that there are categories that automatically become citizens, people with ethnic or family ties enjoy special preferences. The Republic of Latvia, for example, provides an opportunity to return to their homeland and receive all due rights to those deported from the country during the Soviet era, as well as their descendants. In this article, we will consider the question of how to obtain Latvian citizenship in various ways, including by naturalization.
This way of becoming a full-fledged member of the Latvian society is quite accessible, but it has limitations for a number of reasons. Below we will tell you which mechanisms need to be put into operation and which categories of foreigners have been ordered to travel to Latvia.
How to get Latvian citizenship without any problems?
In the Republic of Latvia, all issues of this kind are regulated by a number of regulatory legal acts, the main one being the Citizenship Law, which was last amended in October 2013. According to this document, the following categories have the right to become a citizen of Latvia without big bureaucratic delays:
- people who were citizens of the country on June 17, 1940, their descendants;
- a newborn whose both parents are Latvian citizens;
- Latvians and Livs, subject to a number of conditions;
- children found on the territory of the country, orphans brought up in special institutions.
For certain categories from this list, certain important conditions must be met, for example, those who were considered citizens on June 17, 1940 and their heirs had to go through the registration procedure before October 1, 2013.
For the indigenous population, Latvians and Livs, it was enough to provide documents that their ancestors had lived in the country since 1881, to present evidence, to demonstrate knowledge of the Latvian language. Another important remark, if the child is under 15 years old, the parents must express their will to acquire citizenship. In the period from 15 to 18 years old, he himself can submit an application for granting the rights of a Latvian citizen.
Obtaining the rights of a Latvian citizen by naturalization
According to Latvian legislation, starting from the age of 15, you can try to solve the problem of obtaining citizenship of this country through naturalization. For persons under this age, documents are submitted by parents and guardians. As in many other states, there are requirements regarding the period of residence in the country, knowledge of the language, integration into the local culture and society, material security.
One of the important conditions is residence in the territory of Latvia for at least 5 years, a break is allowed, but not more than a year and not in the last year before submitting an application. Foreign citizens begin to count down a five-year period from the date of obtaining a permanent residence permit.
The state language is Latvian, knowledge of it is mandatory for every future citizen of the country. Also, when passing the naturalization procedure, a test is carried out for knowledge of Latvian history and culture. The law stipulates a requirement - knowledge of the text of the national anthem of Latvia. Material support of a potential Latvian citizen is no less important than knowledge of the language. When submitting documents, you will be required to provide information about the source of income, and these same sources must be legal.
The naturalization process requires the renunciation of the previous citizenship, despite the fact that the law prescribes the categories of citizens entitled to dual citizenship. Either a notification must be presented that the person has renounced the rights of a citizen of another state, or confirmation of his lack of citizenship at all.
Certain categories of people may completely abandon the idea of obtaining the rights of a citizen of Latvia. In this list, those who endangered the security of the Latvian nation and country, opposed democracy, participates in Nazi, fascist organizations.
Obtaining dual citizenship
The Latvian law specifies the grounds on which you can have dual citizenship. This list includes those who have received citizenship of the countries of the European Union, countries that are part of the North Atlantic bloc (NATO). It is interesting that the list of countries includes New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, states that have concluded an agreement with the Republic of Latvia on the recognition of the institution of dual citizenship.
The most important note is that a person who has undergone the naturalization procedure and received the rights of a citizen of Latvia must renounce the citizenship of the previous country of residence. His old passport becomes invalid, the right to cross the border using this document is lost.
