Latvia: Information on whether the present draft of the Latvian nationality law indicates that persons who had merely performed compulsory military service in Latvia are permanently barred from Latvian nationality, and on whether such a person, if married to a national of Latvia, is eligible for Latvian nationality
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LVA14881 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Latvia: Information on whether the present draft of the Latvian nationality law indicates that persons who had merely performed compulsory military service in Latvia are permanently barred from Latvian nationality, and on whether such a person, if married to a national of Latvia, is eligible for Latvian nationality, 1 July 1993, LVA14881, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aad138.html [accessed 16 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A spokesperson of the Consular Section of the Embassy of Latvia in Washington, D.C. stated that a copy of the present draft of the Latvian nationality law is not available to the consulate, and members of the consulate are not allowed to speak about the content of the law (26 July 1993). This restriction is because the present government's primary objective is to provide the Republic of Latvia with a coherent and consistent law on nationality (Ibid.). However, automatic citizenship is accorded to those individuals whose parents or grandparents were born in Latvia before 1940 (Ibid.). The spokesperson added that nationality for all other cases will only be decided once a draft law has been passed in parliament (Ibid.).
A spokesperson for the American-Latvian Association in Brockville, Maryland reported that the draft of the Latvian nationality law is still under debate in parliament, and all present versions of the law may be revoked, amended or called into question in the next few months (26 July 1993). A correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) corroborated the above information and added that since the guidelines for nationality legislation were issued in October 1991, the Latvian authorities have been working on other drafts (28 July 1993). The new parliament, elected in June 1993, is authorized to adopt a law on Latvian nationality (Ibid.).
For further information on the above topic, please refer to the attached documents and to the Question and Answer Series Paper entitled CIS, Baltic States and Georgia: Nationality Legislation of April 1992, which is available at your Regional Documentation Centre.
Additional and/or corroborative information on the above topic could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
References
Correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Munich. 28 July 1993. Telephone interview.
Embassy of Latvia, Consular Section, Washington, D.C. 26 July 1993. Telephone interview with a spokesperson.
American-Latvian Association, Brockville, Maryland. 26 July 1993. Telephone interview with a spokesperson.
Attachments
Consul General of Latvia, Toronto. 13 January 1992. Document faxed to the DIRB.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 18 December 1992. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 50. "Citizenship Legislation in the Baltic States."
. 18 December 1992. RFE/RL Research Report [Munich]. Vol. 1, No. 50. "Weekly Review Latvia: UN Finds No Violations of Human Rights."
