Latvia

Dual Citizenship Latvia

Restricted

Citizenship law is regulated by the Latvian Citizenship Act of 1994, as amended in 2013. This law is mainly based on the ius sanguinis principle. Article 2 of the Act provides for a number of special cases under which Latvian citizenship can be acquired or re-acquired. Article 13 of this Act also provides for the acquisition of Latvian citizenship for special service to the country which must be approved by Parliament. Dual citizenship can be acquired under this article, but the restrictions of dual citizenship found in Article 11 still apply.

The Laws on dual citizenship under Latvian law have been broadened by the 2013 amendments

to allow dual citizenship if:

• Citizenship of another EU Member State or another EFTA Member State is acquired;
• Citizenship of another NATO Member State is acquired;
• Citizenship of Australia, Brazil or New Zealand is acquired;
• Citizenship of such a country with which Latvia has concluded an agreement on the recognition of dual citizenship (no such agreement is currently concluded) is acquired;
• Citizenship of a country that has been acquired through marriage or as a result of adoption.

Technically, Latvian law allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship of any country. However, if the country does not fall under any of the categories above, a choice between the two citizenships needs to be made upon reaching the age of 25. Latvian law also stipulates that for the purposes of the Republic of Latvia, a Latvian citizen holding dual citizenship will be considered solely a citizen of Latvia.