Latvia, Legislation, Society

The disputed provision stipulates that persons who are not ethnic Latvians, have lived in Latvia for at least fifteen years, speak the state language, feel that they belong to Latvian culture, and wish to affirm their belonging to the Latvian nation may change their nationality record to "Latvian".

Following a proposal by the Union of Greens and Farmers and lengthy debates, Saeima decided to remove the provision from the law.

The other part of the amendments to the law that Saeima endorsed in the second reading stipulate that foreign citizens who are ethnic Latvians can change their nationality record to "Latvian" or "Liv" if the person has a valid residence permit and can prove his or her ethnic origin. Before amended, the law provided that only citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, and persons who have been issued the status of a stateless person in Latvia could change their nationality record.