[Please refer to How to Read a Country Entry for help interpreting this material. It was produced prior to March 2001 as part of a US government report entitled Citizenship Laws of the World. The accuracy and depth of these country listings varies significantly, and some information may be incorrect. At best, this page presents only part of the story for a particular country. Additional information for this country may be available in Country Information]

LATVIA

CITIZENSHIP: The citizenship regulations are set in the Citizenship Law of the Republic of Latvia.

BY BIRTH: Data not provided.

BY DESCENT: A child whose parents were citizens of Latvia on the day of birth, regardless of the child's place of birth. If, at the time of birth, one of the parents is a citizen of Latvia and the other parent is an alien, if the child was born in Latvia.. A child born outside of Latvia, but both parents otherwise permanently reside in Latvia. A child born outside of Latvia, but the parent with whom the child lives otherwise permanently resides in Latvia.

If, at the time of birth, one parent is a citizen of Latvia and the other parent is an alien and the permanent place of residence of both parents is outside Latvia, then the child's citizenship shall be decided upon by mutual agreement of the parents.

If, at the time of birth, one parent is a Latvian citizen and the other parent is stateless or is unknown, then the child shall be a Latvian citizen regardless of the child's place of birth.

BY MARRIAGE: The marriage of a Latvian citizen to an alien or a stateless person, and the dissolution of such marriage, shall not cause a change in citizenship of Latvian citizens. The acquisition or loss of the citizenship of Latvia by one spouse does not affect the citizenship of the other spouse.

BY NATURALIZATION: A person can be granted the citizenship of Latvia through naturalization, upon their request.

The citizenship of Latvia shall be granted through naturalization only to those who are registered in the Residents' Registry and who comply with other (unspecified) conditions established by the Citizenship Law.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP: Not recognized. If a citizen of Latvia simultaneously can be considered a citizen or subject of a foreign country in accordance with the laws of that country, the citizen shall be considered solely a citizen of Latvia in relations with the Republic of Latvia.

LOSS OF CITZENSHIP:

VOLUNTARY: Any person, who is a citizen of another state or has been guaranteed the citizenship of another state, shall be entitled to renounce Latvian citizenship.

An application to renounce citizenship can be denied if the person has not fulfilled obligations to the state or if the person has not fulfilled military service obligations. A decision to deny an application for the renunciation of citizenship can be appealed to the courts.

INVOLUNTARY: Latvian citizenship may be revoked by a decision of a Regional Court, if: Person has acquired the citizenship of another state without submitting an application for renunciation of citizenship of Latvia.

Person is serving in the armed forces, military forces, security service, police (militia), or is employed in a juridical institution of a foreign state, without permission from the Cabinet of Ministers;

Person has intentionally provided false information when verifying their right to hold Latvian citizenship or has illegally obtained the citizenship of Latvia.

The revocation of Latvian citizenship shall not affect the citizenship of the person's spouse, children, or other family members.

QUESTIONS concerning citizenship, should be directed to the address below:

The Embassy of Latvia Consular Section 4325 17th St., NW Washington, DC 20011

Embassy/Consular Telephone: 202-726-8213 Fax: 202-726-6785

www.latvia-usa.org

www.csb.lv

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