Starting with 2021, the transition period specified by law has begun, during which a person must receive an eID card together with his or her passport. At the end of the transition period, the eID card will become a mandatory identity document. LV portal explains when nationals living abroad must receive an eID card, what is the time schedule for the transition period and in which cases a passport will be issued in the future.
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Starting with 2023, the eID card will be a mandatory identity document for Latvian citizens and non-citizens who have reached the age of 15, but, starting with 2031, also for certain persons falling under special categories.
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Latvian citizens who live abroad and have provided information about their place of residence abroad will be obliged to receive an eID card by 31 December 2024. To this end, the State Administration and Local Government Commission of the Parliament (Saeima) has conceptually supported a new draft law.
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The draft law proposes to set a shorter deadline for diaspora representatives to receive an eID card, thus creating an opportunity to use this document more widely: to prove identity and receive an e-service using an e-signature.
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Starting with 2021 in Latvia, a person must receive an eID card together with a passport. The passport will continue to serve as a proof of one's identity in person, for example, in banks, public administration institutions, medical institutions, etc.
On January 1 of this year, Amendments to the Law on Identity Documents (hereinafter – the Amendments) entered into force, stipulating that from 2023, the eID card will be a mandatory identity document for Latvian citizens and non-citizens who have reached the age of 15. Ten years later, from 2031, the eID card will also be mandatory for persons falling under special categories specified in the amendments:
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persons who have provided information about their place of residence abroad in accordance with the procedures specified in the Population Register Law;
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persons who receive services in an institution of long-term social care and social rehabilitation, which is registered in the register of social service providers;
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persons who have left a long-term social care and social rehabilitation institution registered in the register of social service providers in order to receive social care and social rehabilitation services at the place of residence;
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persons who receive group home services registered in the register of social service providers;
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persons for whom disability group I is established;
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persons over the working age;
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persons who have been granted the status of a politically repressed person.
In the first part of the explanation, you can find out who is granted electronic identity and electronic signature certificates, what is the difference between eSignature eID from eParaksts mobile and what is an e-assistant.
It is planned to make the eID card mandatory for the diaspora from 2025
The amendments stipulate that Latvian citizens and non-citizens living abroad who have provided information about their place of residence abroad must receive an eID card by 31 December 2030.
At the same time, the State Administration and Local Government Commission of the Parliament (Saeima) has already conceptually supported a new draft law “Amendments to the Identity Documents Law” (hereinafter - the Draft Law), which envisages supplementing the transitional provisions of the law with Clause 5.1, stipulating that persons who have provided information about their place of residence abroad, shall be obliged to receive an eID card by 31 December 2024
As explained by the Press Service of the Parliament (Saeima), a shorter term is envisaged so that persons living abroad could use the opportunities provided by the eID card as soon as possible and already now, when receiving a passport, would be interested in receiving an identity card. The Annotation of the Draft Law argues that thus the diaspora would sooner be able to conveniently and safely receive the services provided by the Latvian public administration.
Extending e-signature access to the diaspora
According to the information provided by the Press Service of the Parliament (Saeima), various epidemiological security measures for restricting Covid-19 have now been introduced in most countries of the world, which also affects the possibility for persons to travel abroad, move within the country and receive public services. Latvia's diplomatic and consular missions also reduce the flow of visitors and, in some cases, stop providing consular services in person.
The Annotation of the Draft Law explains that currently the only available means of qualified high security electronic identification is a secure electronic signature; therefore, it is necessary to promote the receipt and use of eID cards among the diaspora. Namely, the Draft Law proposes to set a shorter deadline for Latvian citizens and non-citizens living abroad who have provided information about their place of residence abroad, so that they would already have the widest possible access to the means of electronic identification and electronic signature and they could use the e-services provided by public administration.
At the same time, the Annotation of the Draft Law acknowledges that the administrative burden for the aforementioned segment of the society will increase, as these individuals will be obliged to receive the eID card sooner than it was previously planned. However, the regulation included in the Draft Law is in the interests of the above-mentioned target groups, as the availability of electronic identification and electronic signature creation tools included in the eID card will expand access to state-provided e-services and use of e-signature.
Transition period schedule
Latvian citizens and non-citizens must receive an eID card within the following period:
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for persons who have reached the age of 15 - from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022;
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for persons falling under special categories - from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2030;
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for persons residing abroad - from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MEPRD) explains that the eID card will be mandatory in the future, as it will make it possible to securely prove one's identity not only in person, but also in the digital space. In addition, the MEPRD indicates that individuals:
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who have only been issued a passport are also required to obtain an identity card;
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who are receiving a passport are also obliged to receive an identity card.
Receiving only a passport is no longer an option
The transition period specified in the legislation has started in 2021, during which it is mandatory to receive an eID card together with the passport. As per the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA), "That is, if a person currently needs a new passport, because the existing passport will soon expire or has expired, it is lost or damaged, then when submitting an application for a new passport, the person must at the same time that he or she also needs an eID card."
According to the MEPRD, the above follows from the condition of the amendments that a passport can be obtained only if an identity card is also received at the same time. However, you are entitled to get an identity card only, for example in cases where a person does not need a passport as a travel document.
“The regulation of transitional provisions does not impose upon Latvian citizens and non-citizens an obligation to receive an eID card in a short period of time; instead, a person can do so when a new identity document will be required,” the Ministry explains.
The passport will continue to serve as a proof of identity
As per the MEPRD, the Law on Identity Documents will include and recognize both types of identity documents - identity card and passport. This means that a passport will continue to serve as a valid proof of identity in person, for example, in banks, public administration institutions, medical institutions, etc.
The amount of the State fee for the issuance of an identity card and passport is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 133 “Regulations on the State Fee for the Issuance of Identity Documents”.
Source: LV portal (https://lvportals.lv/)