How to tackle the problem of Latvia's unwilling dual Russian citizens?

He is approaching the deadline by which he must choose which citizenship to retain. Andris wants to remain a Latvian citizen, but renouncing his Russian citizenship is complicated by the fact that his Russian passport has long expired and in order to renounce Russian citizenship, he must first get a new Russian passport, which he does not want to do. 

Under Latvian law, you can hold dual citizenship – but only with countries that are EU or NATO members, plus a few other countries with significant Latvian diaspora populations such as Australia and Brazil. Holding dual citizenship with Russia is not allowed – though thousands of such cases exist de facto.

Andris is a law-abiding citizen who works in a car repair shop and also likes to work with cars in his free time. However, his everyday life is overshadowed by the fear of losing his Latvian citizenship. He grew up in Latvia and has lived here all his life, except for the first year of his life. He was born in Russia, but at the age of one he moved to live in Latvia with his mother. Since Andris was born in Russia, he was automatically granted citizenship of that country. However, his mother, as a Latvian citizen, also arranged for her son to obtain Latvian citizenship. 

His mother passed away when the boy was still young, and Andris claims he has had no relationship with his father, who lives in Russia, since childhood. That's why he didn't even suspect that he had dual citizenship until he received a notification from the Citizenship and Migration Board (PLMP) last year. 

"A letter came from the PMLP that I had to make a choice whether to leave Latvian citizenship or leave Russian citizenship. And I didn't even know at that moment that I had such a thing as Russian citizenship. I was young, and I didn't even know that I had it," Andris admitted. "It was despair. I didn't know what to do in such a situation. There was no one to ask either. I didn't tell my boss for about six months. Then I thought about what to do. I also asked my aunts what to do? They haven't encountered this, there are no lawyers either, and they won't be able to help me." 

The young man said that he has nothing to do with Russia and that he considers himself only a Latvian citizen and patriot. But the choice must be made by the age of 25. Andris will soon turn 24. 

Wants to renounce Russian citizenship 

With the help of his boss, he submitted an application to the Russian embassy to renounce his citizenship. He received a response that the procedure for renouncing his citizenship was more complex than stating you no longer wanted to be a citizen – ​​along with other documents, a valid Russian passport must be submitted. Andris's infant passport had expired, which meant that he had to apply for a new passport and then submit it back in order to renounce his Russian citizenship.

"This means that I have to go to the Russian embassy. I have to pay money for a Russian passport, which I personally don't need, that I have to pay for some certificates that are almost impossible to get from Russia itself. And now I don't know what to do," the young man said.

Andris consulted a lawyer, who advised him not to take a new, valid Russian passport. Therefore, Andris turned to the PMLP with a question about what other options he had to take in order not to lose his Latvian citizenship, since he did quite reasonably did not want to apply for a new passport and did not want to pay the aggressor state a cent for obtaining its documents.  

"First of all, the administration states that it does not have the competence and legal basis to resolve or clarify issues related to the legal relations between a person and another state, including the person's renunciation of citizenship of another state. It should also be noted that the administration also does not have the competence to influence the procedures of another state that are related to the mutual relations between this state and its citizens," the PMLP's response said. In effect – what's between you and Russia is nothing to do with us.  

PMLP: We cannot intervene 

"They said they don't have the ability to help. They can't help with issues of citizenship of another country. They can't give me an answer on what to do in a specific situation, like, for example, if I went to that Russian embassy, ​​they gave me a summons - what should I do? They couldn't give me an answer to this question or, let's say, I have theoretically submitted all possible documents. They are not denying me citizenship. What should I do? They couldn't give me any answer," Andris said. 

In an interview with Latvian Television, the head of the PMLP explained that the institution cannot influence the requirements of another state, which is necessary to renounce citizenship. 

Andris' case is not unique - others have also had to apply for a new passport in order to then renounce Russian citizenship. Last year, 15 people succeeded in this. The PMLP can stop the process of revoking Latvian citizenship the moment it receives confirmation that all the necessary documents for renouncing the other citizenship have been submitted.

"We need to see that the person has submitted documents to renounce their other citizenship and has received a statement that the documents have been accepted. This is very important so that, for example, if the process of revocation has been initiated, we can stop this process. The main point that we assess is whether the person does not become stateless. And if the process has really been initiated, this means that at any time the person can be deprived of their other citizenship, and we must not allow the person to remain stateless, which is why we also stop the process," explained PMLP head Maira Roze. 

That means that although the PMLP cannot "intervene" itself, it is effectively reliant upon a decision of the Russian immigration authorities – to confirm that revocation of Russian citizenship is under way.  

Andris is currently in line to find out if he still has Russian citizenship at the Russian embassy. When he joined the line in October, he was number 200, now he is number 40. Considering how slowly everything at the Russian embassy moves, Andris is afraid that he will not have time to complete the remaining formalities by the deadline.

Even though Latvia does not allow dual citizenship with Russia, and there are currently 4,231 people like Andris, namely dual citizens of Latvia and Russia. The number of Latvian citizenships revoked has increased in recent years. In 2021, Latvian citizenship was revoked from 62 citizens of aggressor countries, while last year it was 176. 

However, the PMLP does not have statistics on the age of these people who have had their Latvian citizenship revoked. Considering that Andris' case is not unique and similar stories have been reported, LTV surveyed legislators about whether any changes are necessary so that Latvia does not lose its citizens in this way – particularly citizens who, like Andris, do not want to belong to Russia at all.

Rights ombudswoman Karina Palkova concludes that the problem is topical. Her office has also received at least five applications from young people in recent months about the threat of deprivation of Latvian citizenship. 

"I'm talking about young people who have actually acquired this second citizenship in childhood, and it wasn't their free choice. It just so happens that they have dual citizenship." 

"And I'm talking at least about young people who are in our sights, who actually don't speak Russian or speak Russian very poorly, who haven't been to either Russia or Belarus. Their passports have been invalid for the last 10, 15 years," Palkova explained. 

"Russia has no desire to lose its citizens, and this must be taken into account. We should not wait until the last moment for these young people and their parents and start addressing this difficult and complicated issue in a timely manner," said Normunds Mežviets, head of the State Security Service (VDD). 

How to square the circle?

How to prevent people from renouncing their other citizenship late, risking losing their Latvian citizenship? One solution could be to send out PMLP letters earlier about the approaching moment when one must choose one of the citizenships – at least two or three years before reaching the age of 25.  

"And the second - certainly for the Saeima, in my opinion, it would be one of the important tasks to review the regulation. Namely, if a young person can prove that he is doing absolutely everything possible to renounce Russian or Belarusian citizenship, and there is evidence for this, then perhaps the terms should be extended, then perhaps more time should be given, not the 25 years, but an extension of the term in accordance with the specific situation," said the ombudswoman. 

A more timely letter is also seen as a solution by Saeima members. Some also allowed for possible changes to the law if such problematic cases become more common, but doubts are also expressed as to whether it is possible to stipulate any exceptions in the law, rather – each case should be assessed individually. 

"The most important thing is whether a person can prove that they have started the renunciation process. So they have registered the application, so that it is signed in a registered letter or on site at the consular service that it has been accepted," said Gunārs Kūtris (Greens and Farmers' Union), Chairman of the Saeima Citizenship Committee.

"The Ministry of the Interior should also suggest to its subordinate institutions and perhaps have them look into which other cases like this could potentially appear in Latvia. And inform these individuals earlier," said Jurģis Klotiņš (National Alliance), a member of the Saeima Citizenship Committee.

"If this is some kind of exception, then we are trying to understand why it has arisen. But if there really are several such cases, then we need to think about whether some systemic changes in the legislation are needed," said Raimonds Bergmanis ("United List"), a member of the Saeima Citizenship Committee. 

"The most important thing would be to identify these people in time, to know who these people are, to whom this will apply. Especially when it comes to young people who are reaching the age of 25 and who, for objective reasons, might not know this," said Selma Teodora Levrence ("Progressives"), another member of the Saeima Citizenship Committee. 

The PMLP explained that the letters are sent out in a timely manner if it has information about a person's dual citizenship. However, there are cases when the administration is not aware of this fact, so the warning may also arrive late. This was the case with a letter to Ņikita Oboznijs, which was reported on by the program "De facto" - he received the letter after the age of 25, which means that the deadline was missed. After the "De facto" episode, the Minister of Internal Affairs promised to decide on the retention of Latvian citizenship for Nikita by a government decision. Two months have passed, but there is still no solution.