Descendants of Latvian citizens
Back to guide / Updated on January 17, 2025
You are eligible to apply for Latvian citizenship under the category "Descendants of Latvian citizens", if your ancestor was a Latvian citizen on the moment of 17 June 1940.
Applying under this category will enable you to keep dual (multiple) citizenship with a specific list of countries: EU, EFTA, NATO, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia.
No language fluency test required.
Standard list of the supporting documents
- Application (adult applicant) and Application (for children under 15);
- Confirmation form – considering that dual citizenship under the category of “Descendants of Latvian citizens” is allowed only with a specific list of countries, the applicant is required to confirm in writing that he/she does not hold citizenship of a country, which is not on the said list, or that he/she agrees to renounce the citizenship of a country, which is not on the list.
- A photocopy of your current passport or passports, if you hold citizenship of several countries;
- Birth certificate – make sure that the birth certificate indicates the names of your parents to show the lineage;
- A document confirming your current marital status, if you are married, divorced or widowed (e.g. marriage certificate, divorce decree, spouse death certificate);
- If you are applying through your ancestor – documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates to show your connection to the ancestor and the change of family name (e.g. if your ancestors’ family name changed upon marriage);
- Document confirming that you or your ancestor was a Latvian citizen on the moment of 17 June 1940, e.g. an old Latvian passport, a statement by the Latvian National Archive, other documents which confirm the fact of citizenship;
- Document confirming that you are not a citizen of the country, which is not on the list of permitted countries, but with which you have a legal connection, e.g. you were born there, or your parents were born there. It can be a statement by the competent institution of the country in question confirming that you are not a citizen of that country.
Additional documents, which may be required depending on the case circumstances:
- If the applicant remarried, the Citizenship Office may ask to present certificates of previous marriage and divorce;
- If the applicant’s or any of his/her family members’ names changed other than by marriage – a document confirming the name change (a court order, a naturalization certificate, deed poll, extract from the foreign population registry with information about name changes, etc.);
- If you still hold the old format birth/marriage certificates issued by the USSR, then a new format certificate issued by the respective country may be required (it won’t be required if birth and marriage took place in Latvia during USSR occupation).
- In certain cases, the Citizenship Office may require an official confirmation (issued by the authorities of the respective country with which your ancestor may have had a connection) that your ancestor did not obtain citizenship of that country before 17 June 1940.
All public documents such as birth or marriage certificates issued by any country other than EU/EEA Member states or UK or Switzerland will require certification for the use abroad by means of authentication/Apostille in the country of origin of the document. If the country of origin is a member to the Hague Apostille Convention, then the document will have to be authenticated with Apostille. If the country of origin is not a member state of the Hague Apostille Convention, then the document will have to legalized for the use abroad by the competent institution in the respective country.
The statutory processing term of the application and the supporting documents – 1 month. However, in complex cases the processing term can be extended up to 1 year or more.
If you require help with applying for Latvian citizenship, please feel free to contact Belyaev & Belyaev for advice and assistance.
Additional information
Citizenship law is one of the main areas of expertise of Belyaev & Belyaev (Riga, Latvia). Over the years the firm accumulated significant knowledge and deep understanding of the Citizenship law of Latvia. The firm’s experience in this field includes 10+ years of service, more than 600 successful citizenship applications, 10 won court cases and a notable win at the Supreme Court of Latvia involving interpretation of the Citizenship Law.
Our citizenship practice was noted in New York Times article.
If you require help with the process of applying for Latvian citizenship, please feel free to inquire about our services and fees by email or using the form below.
Get in touch
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Something went wrong while submitting the form. Please try again!
