Non-citizens or Aliens ( lv, nepilsoņi) in
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n law are individuals who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country, but who, in accordance with the Latvian law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
who possess neither Latvian nor other citizenship", have the right to a non-citizen passport issued by the Latvian government as well as other specific rights. Approximately two thirds of them are
ethnic Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
, followed by Belarusians, Ukrainians,
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
, and Lithuanians.
[Population of Latvia by ethnicity and nationality; Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs](_blank)
2021
The non-citizens are "citizens of the former USSR (...) who reside in the Republic of Latvia as well as who are in temporary absence and their children who simultaneously comply with the following conditions: 1) on 1 July 1992 they were registered in the territory of Latvia regardless of the status of the living space indicated in the registration of residence, or up to 1 July 1992 their last registered place of residence was in the Republic of Latvia, or it has been determined by a court judgment that they have resided in the territory of Latvia for 10 consecutive years until the referred to date; 2) they are not citizens of Latvia; and 3) they are not and have not been citizens of another state." as well as "children of
he aforementionedif both of their parents were non-citizens at the time of the birth of the children or one of the parents is a non-citizen, but the other is a stateless person or is unknown, or in accordance with the mutual agreement of the parents, if one of the parents is a non-citizen, but the other – a citizen of another country".
![Pasaport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Latvian_non-citizens_passport.jpg)
Children born after Latvia reestablished independence (August 21, 1991) to parents who are both non-citizens are entitled to citizenship upon request of either parent.
While the issue of non-citizens is often equated to the problem of statelessness,
[see para. 16 of the Resolution on national minorities]
OSCE PA, 2004[Amnesty International 2009 Report]
[Report on mission to Latvia (2008)]
, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance — see Para. 30 and 88 other sources consider that the status of non-citizen in both Latvia and Estonia is unique and has not existed previously in international law.
The "non-citizens" of Latvia enjoy a benefit not afforded to its citizens of being able to travel to both the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
without a visa (see
Visa requirements for Latvian non-citizens). However, the "non-citizens" are allowed to stay in other Schengen Area countries for no more than 90 days within any 180-day period (whereas Latvian citizens can stay indefinitely in any Schengen or EU country). Moreover, the "non-citizens" cannot legally work in other EU countries without a work permit.
Demography
According to the population census, in March 2011, there were 290,660 non-citizens living in Latvia or 14.1% of Latvian residents, down from approximately 715,000 in 1991. According to the Population Register, in January 2011, 326,735 non-citizens resided in Latvia.
The data of the Population Register, as at January 2022, showed 195,159 non-citizens living in Latvia (9.56% of residents).
By far the largest ethnic group of all non-citizens are Russians, who make up 65.5% of all non-citizens, 13.7% are Belarusians, 9.9% are Ukrainians, 3,5% are Poles and 2,4% are Lithuanians. Among the largest ethnic groups in Latvia 0,04% of all ethnic Latvians are non-citizens, as are 26% of Russians, 45% of Belarusians, 41% of Ukrainians, 17% of Poles, 20% of Lithuanians, 22% of Jews, 4% of Roma and 17% of Germans.
Additionally, 4,397 non-citizens were registered as living outside Latvia.
In the age group below 18, non-citizens form 2.1% of residents; among adults - 14.2%; in the age group above 90, 25.0%, as at 2015. As at 2020, the majority of non-citizens, 62.3%, live in the three biggest cities of country: Riga,
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...
and
Liepāja
Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...
, which comprise 41.3% of Latvia's population. As at January 2016, 42.92% of the non-citizens were born in Latvia.
The referendum held in October 1998 eliminated the "windows" system, which limited the age groups allowed to naturalize each year. It also gave the right to children of non-citizens born in Latvia after August 21, 1991, to be registered as citizens without naturalisation barring imprisonment or other citizenship. Parents can request citizenship for their children until age 15, after which a child can make the request on their own behalf from age 15 to 17.
Since January 1, 2020, Latvian citizenship is granted automatically to all children born in Latvia no matter what status their parents have (citizens or non–citizens).
Status
According to the Constitutional Court of Latvia,
: 15. After the passing of the Non-Citizen Law a new, up to that time unknown category of persons appeared – Latvian non-citizens. Latvian non-citizens cannot be compared with any other status of a physical entity, which has been determined in international legal acts, as the rate of rights, established for non-citizens, which does not comply with any other status. Latvian non-citizens can be regarded neither as citizens, nor aliens or
stateless persons but as persons with "a specific legal status" (..) 17. (..) the rights and international liabilities, determined for the non-citizens testify that the legal ties of non-citizens with Latvia are to a certain extent recognized and mutual obligations and rights have been created on the basis of the above
The Latvian parliament created the category of non-citizen in 1991 when it affirmed legal continuity with Latvia's original citizenship laws. Individuals who were citizens of Latvia as of June 17, 1940, prior to Soviet occupation, were once again recognized as citizens, along with their descendants. The law also grants citizenship to all permanent residents of Latvia, who do not hold another citizenship and are either Latvians or Livonians, or individuals (along with their children up to age 15), who have completed universal primary or secondary education with Latvian as the language of instruction. That effectively limited non-citizen status to largely Russophones arriving during the Soviet era.
Notably this included some of those that had elected the parliament in question.
To deal with the issue of former Soviet citizens without Latvian citizenship, the law ''On the Status of those Former USSR Citizens who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or that of any Other State'' was adopted in 1995 as a temporary measure pending the resolution of changing citizenship regimes in the now independent former Soviet republics.
The issue of non-citizens has been equated to the problem of
statelessness
In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are st ...
. Non-citizens have been described as stateless by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
and by Amnesty International. Non-citizens are named as an example of problems of statelessness by Commissioner for Human Rights,
although conceding that non-citizens may not prefer citizenship for their children,
and the
UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
and related intolerance recommends Latvia "revisit the existing requirements for naturalization with the objective of facilitating the granting of citizenship to non-citizens, implementing the commitments established by the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness."
Latvian Ombudsman
Romāns Apsītis has considered the "specific legal status" of non-citizens to be questionable from the viewpoint of international law.
By definition in Latvian law, non-citizens are not stateless. While they have rights akin to citizens, for example, the right to reside in Latvia without visas or temporary residence permits, rights in other areas are curtailed. Non-citizens cannot vote, although they can participate to a lesser degree in public policy through NGOs. Pension rights are limited, and non-citizens cannot hold certain positions in local and national government, the civil service, and other governmental entities. Non-citizens are exempt from military service, which was compulsory for male Latvian citizens until 2006. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination described non-citizens' position as discriminatory in 1999.
With regard to international law, non-citizens are not considered stateless by the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, which notes (emphasis added):
:... in Latvia, non-citizens under the 1995 ''Law on Status of citizens of the former USSR who are not citizens of Latvia or any other country'' are neither citizens, nor foreigners, nor stateless persons. A great proportion of the large Russian-speaking population of the country falls within this category, unknown in public international law. The same applies to
non-citizens in Estonia.
The rights of Latvian non-citizens outside of Latvia are governed strictly by treaty. For example, non-citizens now travel visa-free in the
EU under
Schengen
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
just as Latvian citizens do; both have access to Latvian consular services abroad. (Citizens of foreign countries residing in Latvia do not enjoy this privilege.) Outside the EU, numerous countries allow visa-free travel for Latvian citizens but not for non-citizens.
Peter Van Elsuwege, a scholar in European law at
Ghent University
Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
, states that the Latvian law is grounded upon the established legal principle that persons who settle under the rule of an occupying power gain no automatic right to nationality. A number of historic precedents support this, according to Van Elsuwege, most notably the case of
Alsace-Lorraine when the French on recovering the territory in 1918 did not grant citizenship to German settlers despite Germany having annexed the territory 47 years earlier in 1871.
Naturalisation
Non-citizens may
naturalize
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
provided that they have been permanent residents of Latvia for at least 5 years, demonstrate Latvian language competency, correctly answer questions regarding Latvia's Constitution and history—including that it was
occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...
by the Soviet Union (a question debated in
Latvian Russian
In Latvia, Russians have been the largest ethnic minority in the country for the last two centuries. The number of Russians in Latvia more than quadrupled during the Soviet occupation of Latvia when the size of the community grew from 8.8% o ...
press) and know the words to the
Latvian national anthem. Former members of
foreign military, people convicted of propagating
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
or
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
ideas or inciting ethnic hatred, and individuals considered hostile to the Republic of Latvia cannot be granted citizenship. The government can refuse naturalisation to individuals who have fulfilled requirements if they are found to be disloyal. This was challenged by ''Petropavlovskis v. Latvia'' at the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
, but in 2015 the court unanimously decided that such refusals are legal.
As of June 30, 2010, 134,039 people have been naturalized, mostly former non-citizens. The naturalization rate reached its height over 2004–2006, peaking in 2005 (19 169 naturalized), and has fallen off substantially since then across all ethnic categories (2080 naturalized in 2009).
A survey conducted and published in 2003 by the Naturalization Board indicated that categories of non-citizen most likely to naturalize were: socially active, aged 25 to 50, female, completed higher education, employees in local or national government, and anyone living in Riga and its environs. The factors cited as to why people have not pursued citizenship were:
#34.2% — people deserve citizenship automatically
#26.2% — hoping naturalization will be simplified
#26.2% — travel to the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
is easier for non-citizens
#23.5% — concerns about passing the Latvian competency test
#21.6% — no particular need
#20.5% — concerns about passing the Latvian history test
#20.2% — cost of fees
#18.1% — not enough time
#17.9% — naturalization is demeaning
#Less than 9% — preference for citizenship other than Latvian
Politics of citizenship
The
Popular Front of Latvia
The Popular Front of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Tautas fronte) was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the ...
supported the notion that long-term residents of Latvia who declare their will to obtain citizenship of Latvia and clearly connect their destiny with the state should become citizens.
According to SKDS research, in 2005 45.9% of inhabitants (but only 38.4% of citizens) supported granting voting rights for non-citizens at municipal elections, against such amendments were 35.6% of inhabitants (and 42.8% of citizens). 74.6% of Russian-speaking respondents and 24.8% of ethnic Latvian respondents expressed support for this idea, a negative attitude to it was shown by 7.8% of Russian-speaking respondents and 55.9% of ethnic Latvian respondents.
Nowadays, the
Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
Party supports making naturalization and citizenship for some categories of non-citizens easier to obtain. The
Latvian Russian Union
The Latvian Russian Union (LRU, lv, Latvijas Krievu savienība, russian: Русский союз Латвии, Russkiy soyuz Latvii) (LKS) is a political party in Latvia supported mainly by ethnic Russians and other Russian-speaking minorities. ...
, supportive of these steps, also supports the idea of a "zero option", or giving citizenship for all "non-citizens" unconditionally. On the other side, the
National Alliance calls for a halt to naturalization. Most of the ruling parties support the ''status quo''.
LPP and LC claimed in 2007, that they support voting rights for non-citizens in local elections, but offered a referendum on the issue in 2009, to be held at the same time as local elections, and do not support the respective proposals in Parliament now.
The international community expresses slightly different views on the question. The OSCE mission monitoring the
2006 parliamentary elections mentioned that
A resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in November 2006 found:
International recommendations to Latvia, which concern non-citizenship, include:
*granting voting rights for non-citizens in local elections;
*facilitating naturalization;
*reducing differences in rights between citizens and non-citizens;
*avoiding asking those applying for naturalization to express convictions that are contrary to their reading of the history of their cultural community or nation.
The
Russian Foreign Ministry
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
regularly charges Latvia with serious violations of the rights of its Russophone population, describing non-citizens as "stateless";. In responding to charges of discrimination, Latvian authorities contend there is little practical difference between citizens and non-citizens,
the primary ones being that non-citizens cannot vote and that non-citizens are exempt from military service.
The Russian Foreign Office has published a collection of international recommendations to Latvia concerning the minority rights, including those on the non-citizenship issue. Russia itself has allowed most Latvian non-citizens short trips without visas since June 2008. This step was criticized by Latvian MFA, but welcomed by the Secretary-General of CoE T. Davis. Earlier, Latvian citizens were charged more for a Russian single-entry visa than non-citizens (more than five times the fee as of December 2007) seen by T. Malmlof as rewarding if not encouraging statelessness.
The Russian Population in Latvia - Puppets of Moscow?
, Tomas Malmlof, retrieved December 23, 2007
Council of Europe
As reported by the European Commissioner for Human Rights 2007 report on Latvia, in 2006 there were 411,054 non-citizens, 66.5% of them belonging to the Russian minority (per §30). While applications of children born after August 21, 1991, are reviewed under a simplified procedure, "over 13 000 children are still non-citizens, and, children are still being born as non-citizens" (per §37,38). Commissioner has noted that "the exclusion of non-citizens from political life does nothing to encourage their integration" (§43). As reported, "the continued existence of the status of non-citizen" mostly held by representatives of national minorities is "deeply problematic in terms of real or perceived equality and social cohesion" (§29).[Memorandum to the Latvian Government]
, Strasbourg, May 16, 2007, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
.
The Commissioner noted that not all non-citizens may wish to gain citizenship status but did not explore this possibility further. His report also contained clarifications provided by the Latvian government in response, including:
* re §30. As of "2007 there are 386 632 non-citizens in Latvia, less than 17% of the population of Latvia." The report inappropriately conflates Russophones into one minority. Only 28.2% of the population is ethnic Russian and more than half (56.6%) are citizens. Latvia is devoted to strengthening all minorities including ones which suffered under Russification, e.g., Ukrainians and Belarusians.
* re §43. NGOs and all members of society can participate in policy-making. "Consultative support for national minority NGOs has been ensured.... The Latvian authorities do not consider that granting voting rights at local level to non-citizens in Latvia would strengthen the incentive to naturalise; the contrary is much more likely. In fact, an extensive research project entitled ''The effect of regional aspects on tackling citizenship issues'' carried out by the Naturalisation Board revealed that one of the major obstacles for applying for Latvian citizenship is the lack of motivation, including the negligible differences between the rights of citizens and non-citizens. Latvia prefers having many citizens with full rights to having many non-citizens with many rights, at the same time acknowledging that any restrictions must have strong justification and shall be in accordance with international standards. Furthermore, there are no international standards on voting rights to non-citizens and at present it is not a widely accepted practice among the CoE Member States. In Latvia, it is a constitutional matter."[
The Commissioner attributed that there are still large numbers of non-citizens, particularly with regard to children, to "lack of commitment" on the part of Latvian authorities, whose response was that Latvia is materially committed to the rights of its minorities, and that from a practical standpoint there is little additional benefit and motivation to become a citizen versus remaining a non-citizen.][
]
See also
*Russians in Latvia
In Latvia, Russians have been the largest ethnic minority in the country for the last two centuries. The number of Russians in Latvia more than quadrupled during the Soviet occupation of Latvia when the size of the community grew from 8.8% of ...
*Poles in Latvia
The Polish minority in Latvia numbers about 51,548 and (according to the Latvian data from 2011) forms 2.3% of the population of Latvia. Poles are concentrated in the former Inflanty Voivodeship
The Inflanty Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo infla ...
* Visa requirements for Latvian non-citizens
*'' Andrejeva v. Latvia'', a court case concerning the calculation of retirement pensions for non-citizens of Latvia
*Estonian nationality law
Estonian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person is a citizen of Estonia. The primary law currently governing these requirements is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on 1 April 1995.
Estonia is a member state of the ...
* Non-citizen US Nationals - American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
ns, who are US nationals but not US citizens.
*British National (Overseas)
British National (Overseas), abbreviated BN(O), is a class of British nationality associated with the former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individuals with a connection to the territory who ha ...
* Izbrisani
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*From Latvian government
200px, Meeting room of the Government of Latvia in the Palace of Justice
The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia ( lv, Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic
...
websites:
**La
On the Status of those Former USSR Citizens who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or that of any Other State
as of 2010
Information on non-citizens from Latvian Office for Citizenship and Migration affairs
Judgement of Latvian Constitutional court on losing non-citizen's status
2005
Statistics of naturalization 1995-2010
2008 data on ethnicity and legal status of inhabitants of Latvia
*From Latvian Russian Union
The Latvian Russian Union (LRU, lv, Latvijas Krievu savienība, russian: Русский союз Латвии, Russkiy soyuz Latvii) (LKS) is a political party in Latvia supported mainly by ethnic Russians and other Russian-speaking minorities. ...
party website:
The Last Prisoners of the Cold War
book by Greens/EFA, 2006
Citizens of a Non-Existent State
Latvian Human Rights Committee, 2011 (second edition)
Citizens of a Non-Existent State
Latvian Human Rights Committee
Latvian Human Rights Committee ( lv, Latvijas Cilvēktiesību komiteja, russian: Латвийский комитет по правам человека) is a non-governmental human rights organization in Latvia. It is a member of international hu ...
, 2008
International Recommendations on Voting Rights for the Latvian Non-citizens
Latvian Human Rights Committee, 2010
Citizenship Law as amended in 2013 (no more amendments made as at April, 2020)
includes general rules for naturalization
*''Roxburgh A.'
Citizenship row divides Latvia
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, 2005
List of some bilateral and international Agreements, discriminating against non-citizens (until 2000)
*Jean-Claude Frécon
Jean-Claude Frécon (3 September 1944 – 10 December 2016) was a member of the Senate of France, representing the Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. Wit ...
br>Local democracy in Latvia: the participation of non-citizens in public and political life at local level
2008. CPL(15)7REP. Report for the
{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Citizens (Latvia)
Politics of Latvia
Human rights in Latvia
Latvian nationality law
Statelessness