From what age can a child obtain a passport or personal certificate?
A child can obtain a passport or personal certificate as of the moment when information about him is registered in the Population Register within 3 days after the child’s registration at the General Registry Office.
The necessary documentation
A person can submit documents for issuance of a passport or eID as of the age of 15 by itself. Under the age of 15, documents regarding a child’s travelling document issuance are submitted by one of the child’s parents or the child’s legal guardian by presenting a passport, with the presence of the child.
In order for a child to obtain a passport or eID, one of the parents must submit:
- the child’s previous passport or eID, if there has been a passport or eID;
- the child’s birth certificate, if there was not any passport or eID;
- photographs are taken at the divisions on the spot, if it is possible to take a photo of the child (the child sits on his own and allows to be photographed at the particular moment). If it is impossible to take a photo of the child or the person does not want that, he or she must submit a photograph made in a photo-salon for addition to the document.
If the child is under the age of 10, he can only be once at the division – when submitting the documents, or receiving a personal identification document (receiving, if a photograph has been submitted).
Dates of expiry for children's passports and personal certificates
Children under the age of 5 both passport and personal certificate are issued:
- for 2 years;
- for duration of a trip, if it is for a longer period than 2 years, but not more than 5 years.
Persons from 5 to 20 years both passport and personal certificate are issued for 5 years.
Conditions and fee of children's passport or eID issuance
Terms of children's passport or personal certificate issuance are within 10 working days or 2 working days.
State fee on issuance of a passport or personal certificate can be found here.
If the passport or eID is processed by a person who is not the child's legal guardian or is a foreigner:
If a person who is not the concrete person's legal guardian wants to obtain a personal identification document to a person who has not reached the age of 15 or is under the age of 14, he or she must present a notary's certified letter of attorney for submission of documents or for receiving a personal identification document, issued by the person's legal guardian, who is a citizen or alien of Latvia, or a citizen of the European Union, or a stateless person who is granted a stateless person's status in the Republic of Latvia, a Member State of the European Union, European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation.
If a legal guardian, who is a foreigner, but not a citizen of the European Union, or a stateless person, wants to obtain a personal identification document for a citizen or alien of Latvia who has not reached the age of 15 or under the age of 14, he or she must present the respective minor legal guardian's (a citizen or alien of Latvia, or a citizen of the European Union, or a stateless person) letter of attorney certified by a notary for submission of documents or for receiving a personal identification document.
The mentioned authorisation can also be processed at the territorial division of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs or at the diplomatic or consular service of the Republic of Latvia.
The letter of attorney is not necessary if:
- none of the child's, a citizen or alien of Latvia, legal guardians are citizens or aliens of Latvia, citizens of the European Union, or stateless persons;
- a Latvian citizen or alien's legal guardian is not entitled to give such authorisation, for example, his custody rights are incapacitated, or he is out of the reach, or he refuses to give his consent, and the Orphan's Court has agreed to the child's departure from the country.
A personal identification document to a child under the age of 14 is not issued if:
- there has been obtained a legal guardian's application with a request not to issue a personal identification document ‑ for one month as of the day of receiving the application;
- there has been obtained a document confirming that a request has been submitted to the court in order to make a decision, due to which the child is forbidden to be taken out from the country ‑ until the day when the court's ruling on prohibition to take the child out of the country or on refusal to determine such prohibition has entered into force;
- there has been made a court decision regarding a prohibition of a particular person to leave the country or leave it until the legal procedure has been finished with the final decision in the case.
The necessary period of time and costs in order to obtain a personal certificate
A personal certificate for both children and adults is issued within 10 working days according to the standard procedure, or within 2 working days according to the accelerated procedure upon a person's wish (excluding the day when the documents were submitted).
