According to a spokesperson at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Riga, the citizenship law of Latvia covers neither the registration of permanent resident in Latvia nor their rights (13 Oct. 1994).

The following laws pertain to the registration of permanent residents in Latvia: the Law of the Republic of Latvia on the Register of Inhabitants of 11 December 1991, the Law on the Entry and Residence of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Republic of Latvia of 1 July 1992, Resolution No. 253 of 19 May 1993 on the Procedures of Issuance of Temporary and Permanent Residence Permits, and Amendment No. 186 of 13 April 1993 of the Law on Propiska No. 76 of 12 February 1993 (ibid.).

Attached please find copies of the above mentioned laws, with the exception of the Amendment of the Law on Propiska, which was faxed to the DIRB in Russian. This document will be forwarded to you as soon as the translation becomes available. In addition, detailed information on the registration of permanent residents and related laws are contained in an October 1993 report from Helsinki Watch, Violations by the Latvian Department of Citizenship and Immigration, which is available at your Regional Documentation Centre.

For information on the rights of permanent residents, please refer to the attached April 1994 excerpt from Promoting Human Rights and Civil Society Newsletter, which is published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (pp. 13-17).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), Riga. 13 October 1994. Telephone interview with spokesperson.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1993. Human Rights Watch Report 1994. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 225-26.

Latvia. 19 May 1993. Council of Ministers Resolution No. 253 on Procedures of Issuance of Temporary and Permanent Residence Permits. (Copy faxed to the DIRB on 16 June 1994 by the International Organization for Migration in Helsinki)

. 9 June 1992. Law on the Entry of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Republic of Latvia. (Official translation faxed to the DIRB on 13 October 1994 by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Riga)

. 11 December 1991. The Law of the Republic Of Latvia on the Register of Inhabitants. (Copy faxed to the DIRB on 13 October 1993 by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Riga)

Promoting Human Rights and Civil Society Newsletter [Vienna]. April 1994. Boris Tsilevich and Alexander Ruchovsky. "Difference in Status and Rights Between Citizens and Permanent Residents (Non-Citizens) of Latvia," pp. 13-17.