We continue to talk about the field of naturalization. Today we talk about how the granting of citizenship to non-citizen children has changed over time.
- On 1 January 2021, 3,440 non-citizens under the age of 18 lived in Latvia.
- In 2020, 142 Latvian citizens were born to non-citizens in Latvia, only 3 abroad.
- Since 1999, 12,519 non-citizen children born after 21 August 1999 have become citizens of Latvia.
A big step forward
Since the 2013 amendments to the Citizenship Law until 1 January 2020, Latvian citizenship was registered for newborn children whose both parents are non-citizens or stateless persons immediately upon registration of the fact of birth, if at least one of the parents so wished.
If the parents did not do so with the birth registration, then it can be done by one parent by submitting an application to the OCMA, if at the same time the following conditions must be met:
- the child has previously been stateless or a non-citizen;
- the child's permanent residence is in Latvia;
- the parent of the child is a stateless person or a non-citizen;
- the parent's permanent residence is in Latvia, at least for the last five years.
In 2018 and 2019, the Office addressed non-citizens and stateless persons of Latvia who at that time had children under the age of 15, inviting them to write an application for recognition of a child as a Latvian citizen. However, within three years, only 19% of those addressed have submitted an application for recognition of a child as a Latvian citizen.
Newborns are no longer granted non-citizen status
After 1 January 2020, newborns will no longer be granted the status of a non-citizen of Latvia. Regardless of the place of birth, a child of Latvian non-citizen is recognized as a citizen of Latvia, unless he or she is and has not been a citizen of another country.
This means that a child can acquire Latvian citizenship if at the time of his or her birth both parents are non-citizens, or one of the parents is a non-citizen and the other a stateless person, or by mutual agreement of the parents if one parent is a non-citizen but the other - a citizen of another country.