Latvia, Law and Regulations, Legislation, Society

Nevertheless, she welcomed the idea about easing the naturalization requirements, saying that introducing the non-citizen status after restoration of Latvia's independence in the early 1990s had been a political mistake that had made non-citizens disloyal to Latvia. This problem should be addressed now with both parties meeting each other halfway, yet the Latvian state should make the first move, the activist said.

"As a representative and activist of non-citizens, I would make all effort on my part to make non-citizens believe in democracy in Latvia, in the Latvian state and its further development,” Krivcova said, noting that such efforts by the Latvian state would increase loyalty to Latvia among non-citizens.

But easing the naturalization requirements will not be enough, and a social campaign will be needed to explain to non-citizens that political engagement was good and exciting, the activist said. “For 20 years, nobody cared to inquire about the opinion of non-citizens. They would be deeply moved, if [the state] started asking their opinion now,” she said.

Latvijas Avize daily reported that during a meeting of the Centennial Council it had been suggested to take political decisions in the run-up to Latvia's Centennial in 2018 aimed at reconciliation with non-citizens. Different options had been discussed, including automatic Latvian citizenship for children of non-citizens born in Latvia, giving non-citizens the right to vote in local elections or even abolishing the non-citizen status and giving them all Latvian citizenship. But the representatives of the Centennial Council told the newspaper that no specific decisions had yet been made.