Legal Counsel
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Tuesday, 19.03.2024, 04:07
Issues of dual citizenship in Latvia
In
the 90ies after Latvia gained independence, the country was going through a
rather difficult period, both socially and economically. The issue of language
and citizenship split many mixed families. Families, where one parent had the
right to a citizenship, and the other did not have such right. Between 1992 and
1996, a lot of divorced women left Latvia, having no right to obtain Latvian
citizenship. They left to their native country - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus -
and took their children with them. Those children who were eligible for
citizenship through their father. They not only had such a right, but also were
registered in the Population Register of Latvia especially as citizens of
Latvia. At their native country, these women got the citizenship of their
country for themselves and their minor children. Therefore, these children had
a dual citizenship.
A
person who received a second citizenship with "unauthorized" country in
childhood due to his or her parents’ will, after reaching the age of majority
and before the age of 25, must decide which citizenship he or she wants to
leave. In reality, this period was even greater. According to the Transitional
provisions of the Law on Citizenship, persons who became 25 years old before
October 1, 2013 had to decide on the choice of citizenship before October 1,
2016. And somewhere in 2014 the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs
(OCMA) has started sending "chain letters" to all persons, about whom
there was information regarding their dual citizenship with an unauthorized
country. In letters, such persons were notified that a verification case was initiated
against them as to the violation of the Law on Citizenship, and if, before
October 1, 2016, they would not provide the documents for renunciation of
citizenship with an unauthorized country, they will be deprived of the
citizenship of Latvia.
Our
law office INLAT PLUS is often introduced with sad stories of people who have
recently enjoyed the possession of two passports - Latvian and Russian, Latvian
and Ukrainian, etc. At best, the Latvian passport was needed for a free travel
in the Schengen area on business purposes, and then the loss of the citizenship
of Latvia is only a nuisance. Well, they will now go to Europe on visas. Moreover,
there are truly tragic situations. Someday, a woman with a dual citizenship of
Latvia and Ukraine turned to our law office. She and her husband, a citizen of
Ukraine, moved to Europe. They lived in a European Union country; worked there;
had children who also had received the citizenship of Latvia. She knew about the
fact that it is necessary to renounce from the citizenship of Ukraine. However,
the constant care, chores, the birth of the first child, then almost
immediately the birth of the second child, difficulties in pregnancy,
intolerance of flights - all this hampered to make a choice... OCMA tried to
warn her, like all the others, but, of course, she did not inform OCMA about
her current address. Therefore, a warning from OCMA reached her in Europe, and no
possible terms were valid anymore, the process of denationalization had been
already started, and she was not able to give up from the Ukrainian citizenship
in terms. So the whole family was forced to leave Europe and return to Ukraine,
where they did not have a place to live and a job. All the stable life was turned
upside down.
Of
course, we can moralize a lot about the importance to know and abide by the
laws of your country. However, let us leave this to those who have never
violated something: has never exceeded the speed limit, always crossed the road
in the right place, and paid all taxes up to the every cent. We want to tell
you what to do if you have dual
citizenship with an unauthorized country, when you still have not resolved this
issue.
First
and foremost, you cannot wait for the start of the process of deprivation of
citizenship. You must make a choice, the citizenship of which country is prior
for you. There are situations when it is necessary to maintain the citizenship of
a third country, but not to lose the status of a resident of Latvia (for work
or to care for sick relatives, you may have any reason!). In this case, you
need to take the initiative and submit to OCMA or the Embassy of Latvia an application
for renunciation of citizenship of Latvia and at the same to time ask for a
permanent residence permit, as a former citizen.
If
you did not manage, and the process of deprivation of citizenship has already begun,
then after its termination it is theoretically possible for persons of Latvian
nationality to obtain the status of repatriate. This status implies relocation
to Latvia for permanent residence and re-registration every 5 years.
As
it was mentioned above, if it was not possible to appeal the decision to
withdraw the citizenship of Latvia, then again to obtain the Latvian
citizenship is possible only through naturalization: first residence permit,
permanent residence for 5 years, an examination on the history and language knowledge
and so on in order.
Many
people who have dual citizenship with an unauthorized country believe that they
are very lucky: they can travel without visas back and forth, work everywhere without
restrictions and have other benefits without consequences. One must understand
that in modern society the data exchange system is established better than one
can even realize. Do not risk with your stable life, consult with a lawyer and
reconcile the issue of dual citizenship in accordance with the regulations of
normative acts.