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EXAMINATIONS AS PRESCRIBED BY THE LAW ON CITIZENSHIP

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The Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Latvia prescribes that to acquire the citizenship of Latvia through naturalization applicants have to pass the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language and the examination of the knowledge of the basic principles of the Satversme (the Constitution), the text of the national anthem and the history of Latvia. The children, who were born in Latvia after August 21, 1991 and whose parents are non-citizens or stateless persons and who wish to acquire the citizenship of Latvia trough the naturalization after reaching the age of fifteen, also have to prove their proficiency in the Latvian language.

NORMATIVE ACTS THAT REGULATE THE PROCEDURE OF THE EXAMINATIONS PRESCRIBED BY THE LAW ON CITIZENSHIP

• Citizenship Law (eng)
• The Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 522(lat)

THE EXAMINATION LEVELS AND THEIR COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

The content, format and procedure of the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language and the assessment of the skills have been worked out in co-operation with the experts of the Council of Europe in compliance with the Council of Europe level B1 (ALTE level 2). When the model for testing the proficiency in the Latvian language was developed in cooperation with the experts of the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe supported the accession of the Naturalization Board to the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) in 1998 as an associated member, but since 2004 the Naturalization Board has been a full-fledged member of the ALTE.

The first model of the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language (1995) and the second model (1996) were worked out in close co-operation with the experts of the Council of Europe from the National Institute for Educational Measurement (CITO) of the Netherlands. The development of the content and criteria of the assessment of the third model was carried out in close co-operation with the experts from the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. The third model was implemented in examinations in October 1999.

The aim of the examination is to ascertain citizenship applicant’s language proficiency and his/her ability to use the Latvian language.

The content of the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language corresponds to the ALTE level 2.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW BEFORE THE EXAMINATIONS

While preparing for the examinations prescribed by the Citizenship Law the OCMA recommends the applicants to use:

• informative and methodological material “The Examination of the Proficiency in the Latvian Language” (LVL 1.82);
• textbook “Basic Issues of the History of Latvia. Constitutional Principles of the State” by J. Taurens (LVL 3.39);
• Methodological Recommendations for the Applicants of the Citizenship of Latvia while Reading for an Examination of the Knowledge of the Basic Principles of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, the Text of the National Anthem and the History of Latvia” (LVL 1.45).

The study and methodological materials can be purchased in all regional branches of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

An applicant should note that

• there are cases when he/she has the right for a facilitated procedure for the examinations due to education, age, disability;
• the examination should be taken within the period of two months after submitting the documents for the naturalization;
• when arriving at the examination an applicant should have an identity document and the order form for taking the examination.

Facilitations:

EXAMINATION OF THE PROFICIENCY IN THE LATVIAN LANGUAGE

The examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language consists of two parts: a written part and an oral part in which 4 skills are tested:

Listening – in this part of the examination applicant’s comprehension skill of the language as a listener is assessed. An applicant listens to the everyday life texts, for example, a short dialogue between two people, information on the radio (a monologue), for example, a whether forecast, changes in the train schedule, etc.

Reading – an applicant reads different texts based on everyday situations and simple official announcements, for example, different messages, informal letters/notes, advertisements, etc., understands the idea of the text and finds out the necessary information.

Writing – an applicant fills in a form, writes a short letter on everyday topic proving that he/she can give information about himself/herself and communicate in writing on everyday situations.

Speaking – an applicant answers 10 questions of the interview about himself/herself, talks on an everyday situation, describes a picture and expresses his/her opinion about it.

Sample of reading and writing tasks of the examination

An applicant should note that

• if an applicant cannot pass the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language he/she can retake it no sooner than in three months;
• an applicant has to retake only that part of the examination that he/she had not passed but not the whole examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language;
• an applicant can take the examination of the knowledge of the basic principles of the Satversme (the Constitution), the text of the national anthem and the history of Latvia only after he/she has passed the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language.

THE EXAMINATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE SATVERSME (THE CONSTITUTION), THE TEXT OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND THE HISTORY OF LATVIA

An applicant can take this examination in oral or in written form. In the examination in oral form an applicant answers one question about the Satversme (the Constitution) of the Republic of Latvia and another question about the culture and history of Latvia. In the examination in written form an applicant fills in a test that consists of 18 questions (10 questions about the history of Latvia, 8 questions about the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia). An applicant has to write or recite the text of the national anthem in both forms of the examination.

Sample of the examination test

An applicant should note that

• each part of the examination (the Satversme, the national anthem and the history) is assessed separately. The examination is passed if all parts of the examination have been passed;
• if an applicant cannot pass the examination of the knowledge with the first attempt he/she can retake it no sooner than in one month;
• an applicant has to retake only that part of the examination that he/she had not passed but not the whole examination of the knowledge.

THE PROCEDURE OF APPEALING

If an applicant does not agree with the decision of the examination commission he/she has the right to appeal against it to the Head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs within 30 days.

A person has the right to appeal against the decision of the Head of the OCMA to the Ministry of Interior within a month from the date of receiving the decision and to appeal against the decision of the Ministry of Interior to the Administrative District Court within a month from the date of its coming into force.

An applicant should note that

the examination of the proficiency in the Latvian language and the examination of the knowledge of the basic principles of the Satversme (the Constitution), the text of the national anthem and the history of Latvia as prescribed by the Law on Citizenship can be taken not more than three times. If one of the examinations has not been passed with the third attempt, the review of a naturalization application is stopped (if the review of a naturalization application is stopped a person has the right to submit a new naturalization application without any restrictions concerning the time of submission of the application and start the naturalization process anew);

if an applicant does not arrive to the examination and does not submit a document proving his/her absence due to a valid reason within two months, the review of his/her naturalization application is stopped. If an applicant submits a document proving his/her absence due to a valid reason, another date and time for the examination is appointed.