Procedures for Receiving and Examining Applications for Naturalisation

Issued pursuant to
Section 11, Paragraph three and Section 17, Paragraph one
of the Citizenship Law

1. This Regulation prescribes the procedures for receiving and examining applications for naturalisation (hereinafter - application), the authorities which shall assess the compliance of a person with the criteria laid down in Section 11, Paragraph one of the Citizenship Law, wishing to be naturalised, as well as the procedures by which it shall be recognised that a judgment of conviction has been rendered without complying with the principle of fair trial or of proportionality of the punishment.

2. An application shall be received and examined by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (hereinafter - the Office).

3. A person wishing to be naturalised, upon presenting a personal identification document, shall in person submit an application (Annex 1) and the following documents to the territorial division of the Office:

3.1. a certification regarding the existence of a legal source of income;

3.2. a photograph (3 x 4 cm);

3.3. one (if necessary, several) of the following documents certifying permanent place of residence of the person in Latvia:

3.3.1. a statement from the employer regarding employment;

3.3.2. a document regarding receipt of a benefit;

3.3.3. a statement from an educational institution;

3.3.4. a certification of an official of a local government that the person resides in the administrative territory of the relevant local government;

3.3.5. documents proving that the person has conducted economic or financial activities in the territory of Latvia during the specific time period;

3.4. if a person is a citizen of another country - a statement on the criminal record issued by the competent institution of the country of citizenship and issued not earlier than six months prior to submitting the application, or a documentary certification that it is not possible to acquire such document.

[19 November 2014; 5 September 2017]

4. If a person has the right to a reduced rate of the State fee or a person is released from paying the State fee, he or she shall submit a document certifying the right of the person to pay a reduced rate of the State fee or a document certifying the right of the person to be released from paying the State fee, in addition to the documents referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation.

5. If a person is a non-citizen or a stateless person, when completing an application he or she shall sign a declaration that he or she does not hold the citizenship of another country.

6. If a person who is going through naturalisation procedure or who has acquired Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure requests that his or her child up to 15 years of age is admitted to citizenship, he or she shall complete an application for naturalisation of the child (Annex 2) and:

6.1. present the birth certificate of the child, if the territorial division of the Office is unable to ascertain the representation rights of the child in any other way;

6.2. submit the document referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.3.3 or 3.3.4 of this Regulation or, if necessary, another document certifying the permanent place of residence of the child in Latvia;

6.3. submit the document referred to in Paragraph 18 of this Regulation, if it is necessary.

7. If the Office determines that the child of the person referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation might have developed a legal connection with another country (born, resided, one of the parents is a citizen of another country) which is not referred to in Section 12, Paragraph two of the Citizenship Law, the person shall submit a document certifying that his or her child is not a citizen of another country, or a documentary certification that it is not possible to acquire such document.

8. If a person has been convicted of committing such a criminal offence in any other country, which qualifies as a criminal offence also in Latvia during examination of the application, however, a competent international organisation or international court has recognised that such a judgment has been rendered without conforming to the principles of fair trial or of proportionality of the punishment, upon submitting an application to the Office the person shall present a respective adjudication of the international organisation or international court.

9. The Office after the receipt of the application and the documents referred to in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Regulation shall send the person for a test for fluency in the Latvian language and a test for the knowledge of 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, if the person is required to take the abovementioned tests in accordance with the Citizenship Law.

10. A person who is released from testing the fluency in the Latvian language and the knowledge of the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the text of the National Anthem, the basics of the history and culture of Latvia in accordance with Section 21, Paragraph one, Clause 1 of the Citizenship Law, in addition to the documents referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation shall:

10.1. present a certificate of disability or a decision of the State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability to determine disability (if such are at the disposal of the person);

10.2. submit a certification issued by the State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability, if the person has Group II disability that was determined due to a developing mental disease, or Group II and Group III disability that was determined due to deaf-mutism or bilateral deafness.

11. A person who has been determined facilitated procedures for testing in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding testing the fluency in the Latvian language and the knowledge of the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the text of the National Anthem, the basics of the history and culture of Latvia, in addition to the documents referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation shall present a certificate of disability or a decision of the State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability to determine disability (if such are at the disposal of the person) and submit an opinion issued by the State Medical Commission for Expert-Examination of Health and Working Ability, on the basis of which the respective person should be granted the right to reliefs in taking the test.

12. A person who in accordance with Section 21, Paragraph one, Clause 2 of the Citizenship Law should be released from testing the fluency in the Latvian language and the knowledge of the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the text of the National Anthem, the basics of the history and culture of Latvia, in addition to the documents referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation shall present a certificate of general basic education and a document certifying that he or she has acquired basic education in Latvia, acquiring more than half of the basic education programme in the relevant language.

13. If a person in addition to the documents referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation presents one of the documents referred to in Section 21, Paragraph two of the Citizenship Law and giving the right not to take the test of the fluency in the Latvian language, the Office shall send the person to testing the knowledge of the basic principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the text of the National Anthem, the basics of the history and culture of Latvia only.

14. It shall be deemed that a person has submitted all the necessary documents in accordance with Section 17, Paragraph one of the Citizenship Law if he or she has:

14.1. passed the test for fluency in the Latvian language or has presented the documents referred to in Paragraph 10, 12 or 13 of this Regulation;

14.2. passed the test for the knowledge of 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 or has presented the documents referred to in Paragraph 10 or 12 of this Regulation;

14.3. submitted the documents referred to in Paragraph 18 of this Regulation, if it is necessary.

15. In order to verify the conformity of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11 and Section 17, Paragraph two of the Citizenship Law, the Office shall request information in writing from the following institutions:

15.1. the State Border Guard (if the declared place of residence of the person is in the borderland), the Constitution Protection Bureau, the Security Police, the State Police, the Financial Police and Customs Criminal Office of the State Revenue Service, the Prison Administration, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau, and the Military Police - regarding compliance of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 1 of the Citizenship Law;

15.2. the Military Intelligence and Security Service - on the compliance of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Citizenship Law;

15.3. the Centre for Documentation of the Consequences of Totalitarianism - on the compliance of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 4 of the Citizenship Law;

15.4. the Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior - on the compliance of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 5 and Section 17, Paragraph two of the Citizenship Law;

15.5. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in relation to granting of financial assistance to a person who finds himself or herself in an emergency situation in a foreign country), the State Revenue Service, the Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Administration of the Maintenance Guarantee Fund of the Ministry of Justice - on the compliance of the person with the requirements referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 7 of the Citizenship Law;

15.6. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - on the compliance of the person with the exception provided for in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 5 of the Citizenship Law, if the person has presented the document referred to in Paragraph 8 of this Regulation.

[19 November 2014]

15.¹ The Office shall not request:

15.¹ 1. the information referred to in Sub-paragraph 15.3 of this Regulation if the person was born after 4 May 1990 or was a minor on 4 May 1990;

15.¹ 2. the information referred to in Sub-paragraph 15.5 of this Regulation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in relation to granting of financial assistance to a person who has found himself or herself in an emergency situation in a foreign country) if a person is a citizen of another country, and from the Maintenance Guarantee Fund of the Ministry of Justice if the information regarding the child of the person is not included in the Population Register.

[19 November 2014]

16. The Office is entitled to request information in writing from other State administration institutions, if it is necessary to ascertain the conformity of the person with the conditions of the Citizenship Law.

17. The institution referred to in Paragraph 15 of this Regulation shall provide a reply to the request of the Office within 15 days, but if additional examination is necessary for provision of an opinion - within six months.

18. If a person is not entitled to acquire Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure due to the condition referred to in Section 9, Paragraph four of the Citizenship Law, the Office shall invite the person to submit a notice regarding renunciation of his or her former citizenship and an expatriation permit, or a document certifying the loss of the citizenship.

19. The Office shall invite the person to pledge loyalty to the Republic of Latvia within a month after it is established that there are no obstacles for admittance of the person to the Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure.

20. The Office shall take a decision to refuse to include information regarding the person in a draft Cabinet order regarding admittance to the Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure in the following cases:

20.1. if the documents referred to in Paragraph 3, 4 or 6 of this Regulation have not been presented or submitted or the information provided in the application or appended documents does not conform to the requirements laid down in the Citizenship Law, or the person has not fulfilled the conditions referred to in Paragraph 5 or 6 of this Regulation;

20.2. upon request of the person;

20.3. the person has acquired Latvian citizenship through registration procedure or for meritorious service for the benefit of Latvia during examination of an application;

20.4. if a year has passed since informing the person regarding the necessity to submit the document referred to in Paragraph 18 of this Regulation and the person has not done it without justifiable reasons;

20.5. six months have passed since informing the person regarding the necessity to pledge loyalty to the Republic of Latvia and the person has not done it without justifiable reasons;

20.6. the person does not attend the test for fluency in the Latvian language or the knowledge of 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 and does not submit documents certifying that he or she did not attend the test due to justifiable reasons within two months;

20.7. the person does not pass the test for fluency in the Latvian language or the test for the knowledge of 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, three times or refuses to take it;

20.8. a child who becomes naturalised in accordance with Section 15 of the Citizenship Law has reached 15 years of age before the Cabinet has issued an order regarding his or her admittance to the Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure.

21. The Office shall take a decision to refuse naturalisation if:

21.1. the person has provided false information during naturalisation process;

21.2. it is established that there is no lawful basis for naturalisation or it has ceased to exist;

21.3. it has been established that the restriction referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 4 of the Citizenship Law applies to the person and he or she has not submitted an application to the Office of the Prosecutor within three months from the day of the notification of the Office for initiating a verification procedure regarding the established fact in relation to co-operation with the State Security Committee of the former L.S.S.R.;

21.4. when taking the test for the knowledge of 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 or the test for fluency in the Latvian language, the person has violated the rules of taking the test;

21.5. the institution referred to in Paragraph 15 of this Regulation has established that the restriction referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one, Clause 1, 2, 5 or 7 of the Citizenship Law applies to the person.

[5 September 2017]

22. If the person complies with all the conditions referred to in Section 12 of the Citizenship Law, the Office shall prepare a draft Cabinet order regarding the admittance of the person to the Latvian citizenship through naturalisation and inform the person accordingly.

23. Cabinet Regulation No. 521 of 5 July 2011, Procedures for the Receipt and Examination of Applications for Naturalisation (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2011, No. 105), is repealed.

24. This Regulation shall come into force on 1 October 2013.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis

Minister for the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis

Annex 1
Cabinet Regulation No. 1001
24 September 2013

Application for Naturalisation

(The application shall be completed in legible form. Corrections or deletions are not permissible)

To the __________________ Division of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs

1. Identification data:

1.9. e-mail (if the person wishes to receive the information that a draft Cabinet order has been prepared regarding the admittance of the person to the Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure only to the indicated e-mail, without using a secure electronic signature)

2. Addresses of the place of residence in the previous five years

3. I wish to acquire Latvian citizenship in accordance with Section 12 of the Citizenship Law

4. Education:

4.1. basic secondary higher

4.2. if education has been acquired in Latvian as the study language, indicate the name and the date of graduation from the educational institution

5. I hereby acknowledge that:

5.1. I have not, by my behaviour or actions, caused threats to the independence of the State of Latvia and public order, the democratic parliamentary structure of the State, State independence and territorial inviolability;

5.2. I have not turned against the independence of the Republic of Latvia, democratic parliamentary political system or the existing State authority in Latvia;

5.3. I have not propagated fascist, chauvinist, national-socialist, communist or other totalitarian ideas or incited ethnic or racial hatred or discord after 4 May 1990;

5.4. I have no relation to terrorism and I am not involved in any anti-State or criminal organisation;

5.5. I am not related to laundering of the proceeds from crime;

5.6. I do not serve in the armed forces or military organisation of another state (declaration does not apply to a person serving in the armed forces or military organisation of a European Union Member State, member state of the European Free Trade Association, member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the state of New Zealand or in the armed forces or military organisation of such state, with which the Republic of Latvia has entered into an agreement regarding the recognition of dual citizenship);

5.7. I have not chosen the Republic of Latvia as my 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) after 17 June 1940 (declaration does not apply to a person who, on the day of their conscription into service or enlistment, permanently resided in Latvia, to a person who until the day of submitting an application for naturalisation has been married to a citizen of Latvia for not less than 10 years, or to a person who was the citizen of Lithuania on 15 June 1940 or the citizen of Estonia on 17 June 1940);

5.8. I have not been in a staff position in the State security service, intelligence or counter-intelligence service of the U.S.S.R. or the Latvian S.S.R. (declaration does not apply to a person who was an employee of the planning and financial or administrative economic unit of the State Security Committee of the U.S.S.R. or the Latvian S.S.R.);

5.9. I have not been punished in Latvia or any other state for committing a criminal offence which is also a criminal offence in Latvia at the time of examining the application for naturalisation;

5.10. I have not worked against the Republic of Latvia in the C.P.S.U. (L.C.P.), 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 their regional committees or the Union of Communists of Latvia after 13 January 1991;

5.11. I have fulfilled duties towards the State in the form of tax or any other payments;

5.12. I have not been revoked of Latvian citizenship during the preceding five years;

5.13. All the information provided by me is true.

6. Indicate other information (if any) which is an obstacle for the acquisition of Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure

7. Note regarding payment of a State fee:  standard rate reduced released

8. I append the following documents:

9. Certification

(Only to be completed by non-citizens of Latvia or stateless persons)

certify that I am not a citizen (national) of another country.

Minister for the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis

Annex 2
Cabinet Regulation No. 1001
24 September 2013

Application for Naturalisation of a Child

Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs __________________ Division

Submitted on ____.__________________ 20____

Registration No. _____________

I request to admit my child who has not reached 15 years of age to Latvian citizenship through naturalisation procedure in accordance with Section 15 of the Citizenship Law.

Identification data of the child:

Minister for the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis

Translation © 2018 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)