Document #1219604
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
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.