Non-citizens (Latvia)

"Non-citizens" (Latvian: nepilsoņi) in Latvian 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 who possess neither Latvian nor another 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, followed by Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Lithuanians. Latvian government has stated that “Latvian non-citizens are not stateless persons as they are regarded as Latvian nationals and are under full protection of the state in Latvia and abroad". This is further backed by the Latvian Constitutional Court and the Latvian Immigration Law that stress that Latvian "non-citizens" are not to be considered as aliens or foreigners, and that people who hold the status have a permanent legal and national bond.

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."

Thousands of Latvian children have been born into the Latvian "non-citizen" status under the circumstance of "if 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."

Children born after Latvia reestablished independence (August 21, 1991) to parents who are both non-citizens were entitled to citizenship upon request of either parent until 2020 (under specific conditions). Since January 1, 2020, Latvian citizenship is allowed to all children born in Latvia, even if their parents are non–citizens. Children born in Latvia receive either Latvian citizenship or the citizenship of another country if both parents agree on that other citizenship. If the child is born outside Latvia or one of the parents is a citizen of another country, the parents have to submit an application and documents certifying that the child is not and has not been a citizen of any other country in order to be recognized as a Latvian citizen.

Sources such as Amnesty International have described this non-citizen status as tantamount to statelessness. The European Commission "regrets that the situation of non-citizens has not been resolved during the entry negotiations between Latvia and Estonia and the EU." While referring to non-citizens in Latvia and Estonia as stateless, the European Commission admits that the status of non-citizen in both countries may be unique and without previous precedent in international law. Although the status of Baltic "non-citizens" is often described as unique, it is comparable to many other statuses of second-class citizenship or sub-citizenship. For example, American Samoans who are non-citizens of the United States.

Latvia contends that there are few differences in rights between Latvian non-citizens and Latvian citizens, but the country passed eighty domestic laws that severely curtail the rights of people with non-citizen status. Non-citizen minorities are denied minority and political rights, barred from working in over thirty professions, restricted in their freedom of movement, excluded from EU citizenship rights, and subjected to numerous other restrictions. Latvian citizens can travel visa-free to 157 countries outside the EU, while Latvian non-citizens have access to only 19 and sometimes face arbitrary problems in travel.

The "non-citizens" of Latvia are permitted to travel to Russia without a visa, a right not afforded to Latvian citizens (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.