Descendents of Latvian citizens are:

1) Persons whose one of the parents is a citizen of Latvia at the moment of their birth.

Their descendants under the age of 15 may concurrently acquire citizenship of Latvia.

2) Persons who had the right to register as citizens of Latvia until 1 October 2013, pursuant to Clause 1, Article 2 of the Citizenship Law, namely persons who were citizens of Latvia on 17 June 1940 or their descendents and who are not citizens of another country.

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Citizenship Law, a procedure under which the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs accepts and examines applications and registers a person as a citizen of Latvia is established by Cabinet Regulation of 24 September 2013 Procedure for Registering a Person as a Citizen of Latvia.

Necessary documents:

  1.   Application:

providing: applicant’s name and surname in the Latvian language and date of birth or identity number (if any); ethnicity; place of residence (preferably in capital letters); contact information (e-mail, telephone number, if any).

In case of uncertainty as to the spelling of a persons’ name in the Latvian language, please contact the Latvian Language Agency www.valoda.lv by telephone +371 67225879 or e mail: konsultacija@valoda.lv

2. A personal identification document (passport, identification card) (sending documents by post, it is necessary to send ONLY THE COPY of a personal identification document);

3. A document confirming birth (a birth certificate or an extract from the Birth Register);

4. A document confirming marital status (a marriage certificate, a document regarding dissolution of marriage);

5. A document confirming the birth of a child;

6. Documents confirming the right to acquire citizenship of Latvia:

A person whose one of the parents is a citizen of Latvia at the moment of his or her birth should submit the following:

6.1. A personal identification document of a parent (s);

6.2. If an applicant is an adult and a citizen of such country with which dual citizenship may not be formed, a document issued by a competent institution of the relevant country confirming loss of the relevant citizenship or permission from the Cabinet to retain citizenship of this other country (permitted countries);

6.3. If an applicant is an adult and has legal ties with a country with which dual citizenship may not be formed (permitted countries), documentary certification that the person is not a citizen of the relevant country or documentary certification that it is not possible to obtain such a document (specifying a competent foreign institution the following will be taken into account: the country in which the applicant was born, where he or she is residing now, citizenship of his or her relatives, country the citizen of which the applicant could be).

A person who was a citizen of Latvia on 17 June 1940 or a descendant of such citizen and who is not a citizen of another country should submit the following:

6.1. Person or descendants belonging of the person to the aggregate of Latvian citizens on 17 June 1940, one of the following documents must be submitted:

  • civil status registration documents - birth certificate or an extract from the Birth Register, marriage certificate or an extract from the marriage registry issued by the Civil Registry Department, address: A.Čaka iela 38, Riga, LV-1011, e-mail: dzimts.dep@tm.gov.lv or phone +371 67226222, or the registry Office of registration of civil status register;
  • documents relating to the 1935 census, the tax administration matters, military service matters, issued by the State Historical Archives, address: Slokas Street 16, Riga, LV-1048, phone +371 20017505.

https://www.arhivi.gov.lv/content.aspx?id=343&mainId=342

  •  the pre-war Latvian citizen's passport.

6.2. A document confirming certification that the person is not a citizen of the relevant country (specifying a competent foreign institution the following will be taken into account: the country in which the applicant was born, where he or she is residing now, citizenship of his or her relatives, country the citizen of which the applicant could be).

Where can I submit documents?

At present, documents can be submitted to OCMA remotely by sending them by post to OCMA of Citizenship and Migration Affairs to the address: Čiekurkalna 1.līnija 1, k-3, Rīga, LV-1026.

When sending documents by post, copies of documents must be notarized and legalized, except for a copy of an identity document.

If the original documents are sent by post, they will be returned to the address indicated together with the decision taken.

Documents can also be submitted to the nearest Latvian diplomatic or consular mission abroad. For possible ways to submit documents, please contact the representative office or see the website.

 

At the same time, if it is necessary to verify the legal strength of the original document or the accuracy of the derivative of the document, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs may at any time request that the original document be produced.

A document confirming the birth of the child should be translated into the Latvian language (except for the case when the document is in English, German, French or Russian and submitted to an embassy or sent by post from abroad) and legalised under a procedure established by law.

Important!

Application must be signed by the person (from the age of 15) who wishes to obtain Latvian citizenship.

An application for a child (up to 15 years of age) must be signed by the child’s lawful representative.

Legalisation is not required for public documents issued by the countries of the European Union, European Economic Area, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (except for its overseas territories) or issued by the Swiss Confederation that  are provided for use in Latvia.

Information about the legalisation of documents may be found at:

https://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/legalisation-documents

When sending documents by post, copies of the documents should be certified by a notary and legalised, except for a copy of the personal identification document.

How long does the examination of submitted documents take?

A decision on granting citizenship, updating data in the Population Register and assigning an identity number or refusal to grant citizenship is taken within one month from the day the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs receives all the necessary documents.

Where to receive additional information?

In case of any questions or concerns please write an e-mail: pskn@pmlp.gov.lv or call the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs on +371 67209400.