Republic of Latvia Cabinet Regulation No. 630 Adopted 9 October 2018

Procedures for Granting and Repaying the Material Assistance

Issued pursuant to
Section 12, Paragraph three and Section 13, Paragraph three
of the Law on Consular Assistance and Consular Services

I. General Provisions

1. The Regulation prescribes:

1.1. the conditions and procedures for granting the material assistance, and its amount;

1.2. the procedures for repaying the monetary funds granted within the framework of material assistance into the State budget, as well as the persons who have the obligation to repay the relevant monetary funds;

1.3. the procedures for submitting requests to other European Union Member States for the monetary funds granted to citizens of these countries and their family members within the framework of material assistance, as well as the procedures for repaying the funds;

1.4. the procedures by which Latvia shall reimburse to a European Union Member State the monetary funds granted within the framework of material assistance, including the procedures by which a citizen or non-citizen of Latvia, stateless person, third-country national or family member thereof shall be informed of the obligation to repay the monetary funds granted within the framework of material assistance, and also of the amount of the monetary funds to be repaid and the procedures for their repayment;

1.5. the procedures for the reimbursement of expenditure resulting from the provision of consular assistance when a citizen and non-citizen of Latvia, stateless person, or third country national has been detained or arrested to a European Union Member State;

1.6. the procedures for taking the decision to request a European Union Member State the reimbursement of expenditure for the consular assistance provided to citizens of the Member State in case of detention or arrest, and also the procedures for ensuring the submission of requests and receipt of remuneration.

2. Terms used in the Regulation:

2.1. person under protection of Latvia - a citizen, non-citizen of Latvia, or a person who has obtained the status of a stateless person or refugee, or alternative status in Latvia;

2.2. unrepresented citizen of a Member State - a citizen of another European Union Member State who needs consular assistance in an emergency situation in a non-EU country, if their country of citizenship does not have a diplomatic or consular representation or an honorary consulate in the relevant foreign country or the aforementioned institutions are not able to provide consular assistance;

2.3. material assistance - the repayable material assistance to be provided within the framework of consular assistance for a person under protection of Latvia or an unrepresented citizen of a Member State who has found themselves in an emergency situation in a foreign country in order to ensure the return of the person and their family members who are travelling with them to their country of citizenship or residence (hereinafter - the country of destination), if the person does not have access to another option for the receipt of assistance;

2.4. recipient of material assistance - a person under protection of Latvia or an unrepresented citizen of a Member State to whom material assistance is granted;

2.5. repayer of material assistance - a recipient of material assistance or a person who has undertaken to repay the expenditure related to the material assistance provided, if the recipient of material assistance has not undertaken to do it;

2.6. family members - third-country nationals who are travelling with the recipient of material assistance or who are their:

2.6.1. spouse;

2.6.2. or spouse's direct descendants up to 21 years of age who are dependent on the recipient of material assistance;

2.6.3. or spouse's dependent direct ascending relatives.

3. The State budget funds for the provision of material assistance are planned in the law on the State budget for the current year under a separate budget programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they consist of:

3.1. a State budget grant from general revenue;

3.2. the monetary funds repaid by repayers of material assistance;

3.3. the monetary funds repaid by European Union Member States for the material assistance provided to the citizens of such countries and their family members.

II. Granting and Use of Material Assistance

4. State funds for the provision of material assistance shall be granted to cover:

4.1. travel expenditure from the location of the person to the country of destination;

4.2. expenditure related with the exit formalities;

4.3. expenditure necessary to prevent threats to the life or health of a person.

5. In order to receive material assistance, a person under protection in Latvia or an unrepresented citizen of a Member State shall submit an application (hereinafter - the application) (Annex 1) to the diplomatic and consular representation of the Republic of Latvia in a foreign country (hereinafter - the representation) or to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter - the Consular Department).

6. The person shall indicate the following in the application:

6.1. their personal data which are necessary for their identification;

6.2. the personal data of family members which are necessary for their identification;

6.3. the request to grant material assistance;

6.4. information regarding the current circumstances of the person and the exit possibilities of the person;

6.5. the starting and final point of the return route;

6.6. information regarding the existence of a valid travel document and the exit formalities that are binding to the person;

6.7. information regarding their consent to the fact that the consular official may contact family members of the person, their employer or other persons who might cover the expenditure referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation, and transfer the information referred to in the application to them, and if they agree - indicate the contact details of such persons, if it is at the disposal of the person;

6.8. their contact details in the country of permanent place of residence;

6.9. a certification that the monetary funds will be repaid within the specified time period, if such will be granted.

7. In addition the person shall certify in the application that he or she has been informed that for the provision of the service the consular official will survey the assistance possibilities provided free of charge by the State or local government that are available to the person, including such possibilities for the receipt of which transfer of personal data might be necessary.

8. In addition unrepresented citizens of a Member State shall certify in the application that they have been informed that the information included in the application will be transferred to their citizenship Member State so that it could decide on the provision of consular assistance.

9. Upon receipt of the application, the consular official shall:

9.1. check the identity of the person and their conformity to the status of a recipient of material assistance;

9.2. if the application has been submitted by an unrepresented citizen of a Member State, inform through the Consular Department their country of citizenship of the receipt of application, and also ascertain that the country of citizenship does not take over the consular assistance case.

10. If the submitter of the application conforms to the status of a recipient of material assistance and if the country of citizenship of an unrepresented citizen of a Member State does not take over the consular assistance case, the consular official shall:

10.1. check whether other possibilities for the receipt of assistance are available to the person by surveying the possibilities for the receipt of free services and contacting the persons and institutions referred to in Sub-paragraph 6.7 and Paragraph 7 of this Regulation;

10.2. ascertain the costs of the route to the country of destination which is the most corresponding to the circumstances of the particular consular assistance case. The costs of the route shall be calculated by planning the fastest arrival of the person in the destination, using primarily the available free services or choosing services with lower price;

10.3. ascertain whether formalities related to exit are binding to the person and their costs. If the foreign institutions provide such information only to the submitter of the application in person, the consular official shall inform them of the procedures for the receipt of information and the necessity to provide it to the consular official;

10.4. ascertain whether other expenditures are needed to prevent threats to the life or health of the person;

10.5. calculate the total amount of material assistance;

10.6. inform the submitter of the application of the amount of material assistance to be granted and the procedures for its repayment.

11. The decision to grant material assistance (hereinafter - the decision) shall be taken within the shortest possible time, but not later than within three working days after receipt of the application and all the information related to exit of the person.

12. The decision shall be taken:

12.1. by the consular official in foreign countries - on the material assistance the amount of which does not exceed EUR 300, stipulating the time period for repayment up to three months;

12.2. by the Director of the Consular Department - on the material assistance the amount of which exceeds EUR 300, stipulating the time period for repayment up to six months.

13. The funds of material assistance shall be repaid into the State budget:

13.1. by the repayer of material assistance;

13.2. by another Member State upon a request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if material assistance has been provided to its citizen and their family members.

14. The following shall be indicated in the decision:

14.1. the recipient of material assistance and their family members;

14.2. the circumstances due to which it can be regarded that the submitter of the application is in an emergency situation in a foreign country;

14.3. the free services available to the submitter of the application;

14.4. the information provided by the persons and institutions referred to in Sub-paragraph 6.7 of this Regulation regarding the coverage of expenditure;

14.5. the repayer of material assistance, if they are not the recipient of material assistance;

14.6. the amount and planned use of material assistance;

14.7. the time period and procedures for the repayment of material assistance;

14.8. if material assistance is granted to an unrepresented citizen of a Member State - their obligation to repay the granted funds to their country of citizenship in accordance with the time periods and procedures for repayment stipulated thereby.

15. If material assistance is granted to an unrepresented citizen of a Member State, he or she shall complete a form, certifying that he or she will reimburse the costs of consular assistance to their country of citizenship (Annex 2). The citizen of a Member State has the right to complete the form (Annex 2) in any official language of the European Union.

16. The consular official shall act with the granted funds of material assistance, paying for the services indicated in the decision. If it is not possible to receive the services referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation with the intermediation of the consular official, in an exceptional case financial resources may be issued to the person in cash in the national currency of the relevant consular district, in conformity with the currency rate to be used in accounting on the day of issuing the monetary funds.

III. Refusal to Grant the Repayable Material Assistance

17. Material assistance shall not be granted:

17.1. if, to reach the country of destination, the person can receive a free service, State or local government support or if the persons or institutions referred to in Sub-paragraph 6.7 of this Regulation undertake to cover such expenditure;

17.2. if a consent has been received from the country of citizenship of unrepresented citizens of a Member State to take over the relevant consular assistance case.

18. Granting of material assistance may be refused if:

18.1. the submitter of the application has intentionally provided false information or hidden facts and circumstances that are significant for taking the decision;

18.2. the recipient of material assistance has not repaid the expenditure related to the previously granted material assistance or the amount of material assistance granted by another Member State within the specified period of time;

18.3. the submitter of the application has not provided all the information referred to in Sub-paragraph 10.3 of this Regulation to the consular official within 30 days since the day of requesting the information.

19. A decision of the consular official in foreign countries or the Director of the Consular Department may be disputed and appealed in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Administrative Procedure Law.

IV. Repayment of Material Assistance

20. A person under protection of Latvia to whom material assistance has been granted or who is the repayer of material assistance may request, in writing, the Director of the Consular Department to extend the time period referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation by submitting a justified written request. If the Consular Department recognises the request as justified, the time period referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation shall be extended for a period of up to six months. The person may appeal a refusal to extend the time period for the repayment of material assistance in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Administrative Procedure Law.

21. If material assistance has been granted to an unrepresented citizen of a Member State, the Consular Department shall, using the form for the request of cost reimbursement (Annex 3), request their country of citizenship to repay the costs related to provision of material assistance. The Consular Department may turn to the country of citizenship of the unrepresented citizen with a request to reimburse the costs also if consular assistance in case of arrest or detention has been provided to the unrepresented citizen and it has caused necessary, justified, and unusually high costs to Latvia in relation to travel, residence, or translation.

22. Expenditures shall be reimbursed in the account "Other previously non-classified own revenue" (revenue code 21.4.9.9) of the State budget programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The monetary funds transferred into this account, including material assistance granted in previous economic years, may be used only for the provision of material assistance or for reimbursement to other European Union Member States of funds related to the provision of material assistance.

V. Reimbursement of the Financial Resources Granted to a Person under Protection of Latvia by Other European Union Member States

23. If material assistance to a person under protection of Latvia has been provided by another European Union Member State and it requests Latvia to reimburse it by presenting a certification signed by the person of the reimbursement of the aforementioned expenditure, the Consular Department shall provide it within 12 months from the day of receipt of the request. Expenditure are reimbursed from the State budget funds which are intended for the provision of material assistance.

24. After reimbursement of funds referred to in Paragraph 23 of this Regulation the Consular Department shall inform the recipient of material assistance by a decision:

24.1. that the Member State which provided assistance has addressed Latvia to receive reimbursement of the expenditure related to the provision of material assistance;

24.2. regarding the fact of reimbursement of costs to the Member State which provided assistance from the State budget funds;

24.3. regarding the obligation of the recipient of material assistance to repay the financial resources to the State, as well as the amount and the time period for the repayment of the relevant expenditure.

25. In the case referred to in Paragraph 24 of this Regulation, the time period for repayment is determined up to six months by a decision of the Director of the Consular Department.

26. A person may request the Director of the Consular Department in writing to extend the time period referred to in Paragraph 25 of this Regulation by submitting a justified written request. If the Consular Department recognises the request as justified, the relevant time period shall be extended for a time period of up to six months. The person may appeal a refusal to extend the time period for the repayment of material assistance in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Administrative Procedure Law.

27. If, upon previous co-ordination with the Consular Department, another Member State has provided consular assistance to a person under protection of Latvia in case of arrest or detention and it has caused necessary and justified costs to the institutions of such Member State in relation to travel, residence, or translation which they consider to be unusually high, the Consular Department shall, after receipt of the request for remuneration of the Member State, provide the reimbursement of the abovementioned expenditure within 12 months from the day of receipt of the request. Expenditure are reimbursed from the State budget funds which are intended for the provision of material assistance.

28. If another European Union Member State has provided material assistance to a person under protection of Latvia in a crisis situation and has requested Latvia to reimburse it, the Consular Department shall provide it to the country which provided assistance within 12 months from the day of receipt of the request. Expenditure are reimbursed from the State budget programme "Emergency Financial Resources".

VI. Closing Provision

29. Cabinet Regulation No. 322 of 8 May 2012, Procedures for Provision of Material Assistance to Persons who have Found Themselves in an Emergency Situation (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2012, No. 72; 2013, No. 178), is repealed.

Informative Reference to European Union Directive

This Regulation contains legal norms arising from the Council Directive (EU) 2015/637 of 20 April 2015 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries and repealing Decision 95/553/EC.

Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Minister for Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs

 

Annex 1
Cabinet Regulation No. 630
9 October 2018

	(given name, surname)
	(date and place of birth)
	(country of nationality and legal status therein)
	(address of the place of residence)

Application for the Receipt of Material Assistance

I request to be granted with repayable material assistance by covering the expenditure related to my return to the country of residence/country of citizenship (underline).

The following persons (minors or my family members who are not citizens of a European Union Member State) are travelling with me:

1.
	(given name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, legal status, relationship)
2.
	(given name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, legal status, relationship)
3.
	(given name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, legal status, relationship)

My current situation and possibilities for leaving the country of location are as follows:

Starting point of exit
	(city, country)

Destination
	(city, country)

I have a valid travel document/do not have a valid travel document at my disposal (underline).

Additional information regarding the travel document:

Persons who are travelling with me have a valid travel document/do not have a valid travel document at their disposal (underline).

Additional information regarding travel documents:

Information regarding the exit formalities that are binding on me are known to me:

I certify that I am informed that for the provision of the service the consular official will survey the assistance possibilities provided for free by the State or a local government that are available to me, including such possibilities for the receipt of which transfer of personal data might be necessary.

I agree/do not agree (underline) that the consular official contacts my family members, employer, and other persons who might cover the return expenditure, and inform them of the information included in this submission.

If agreed to communication, contact details of the relevant persons:

To be completed by citizens of other European Union Member States

I am informed that the consular official will contact the foreign affairs service of my country of citizenship and hand over the information included in this application so that it could decide on the provision of the consular assistance.

(signature, date, place)

I undertake to repay the material assistance which has been granted to me and my family members who are travelling with me on the basis of this application in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations.

(signature, date, place)

Minister for Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs

 

Annex 2
Cabinet Regulation No. 630
9 October 2018

Certification of the Reimbursement of Consular Assistance Costs (Repatriation Expenditure)

I		,
	(full name and surname in block letters)

born		,		,		,
	(city)		(country)		(date)

passport No.		, which has been issued				,
			(place)		(date)

and holder of the personal identity card No. __________________,

social insurance number (if applicable)
	(competent authority)
		,

undertake upon		the request of the government and in accordance with the law of the aforementioned Member State
	(country)

to reimburse the sum which is equivalent to all costs which have been paid on by behalf or which have been disbursed to me by the consular official of the government

	for my repatriation and repatriation of my family members who are
travelling with me to

	or in relation thereto, and to pay all relevant consular fees in relation to repatriation.
(place)

1. The aforementioned costs*, deducting my payments, are as follows:

1.1. ticket prices;

1.2. subsistence costs;

1.3. other costs.

2. Fees related to consular assistance*

All expenditures which have been paid on my behalf for my repatriation and repatriation of my family members who are travelling with me and in relation thereto and which cannot be determined at the time when I am signing this certification of the cost reimbursement.

My address**
	(in block letters)

Date

Signature

Notes.
1. * Delete as appropriate. The consular employee and the submitter of the certification must certify each deletion on the edge with their signature.
2. ** If you do not have a permanent address, please, indicate the contact address, contact phone/e-mail.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs

 

Annex 3
Cabinet Regulation No. 630
9 October 2018

Form for the Request of Cost Reimbursement

1. Embassy or consulate of the requesting Member State

2. Competent embassy or consulate of the Member State of nationality or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of such citizen to whom assistance has been provided

3. Identification of the event
	(date, place)

4. Citizen(s) to whom assistance has been provided (to be added separately)

Full name and surname	Place and date of birth	Name and number of the travel document	Type of the provided assistance	Costs

5. Total costs

6. Bank account to which the expenditures related to the costs must be transferred

7. Appended: Certification of the reimbursement of consular assistance costs (if applicable)

Minister for Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs

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Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)