On Thursday, 15 April, the Saeima adopted in the final reading changes to the law extending the period of entry and residence in Latvia for the citizens of the United Kingdom following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) or Brexit.

The registration or permanent residence certificates, as well as the EU citizen’s family member residence certificates issued to citizens of the United Kingdom and their family members before Brexit will remain valid until the expiry date, but not longer than by 30 June this year.

It is also stipulated that citizens of the United Kingdom or their family members, who have resided in Latvia before the end of last year and wish to remain in Latvia, must submit an application to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs for a new residence document by June 30. The application may be submitted electronically or by post as a free-form application supplemented with a copy of a valid travel document.

A condition excluded from the law provided that if a citizen of the United Kingdom has not received a residence document issued in Latvia by 30 December of last year, he/she may continue to reside in Latvia by exercising the rights of EU citizens, provided he/she has stayed here for at least six months as an employed or self-employed person or a student.

A representative of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs previously informed members of the Foreign Affairs Committee responsible for the progress of the draft law at a meeting that, just as before, the residence documents will be valid for five or ten years. According to the authors of the draft law, last year, 1059 British citizens stayed in Latvia with valid registration certificates of an EU citizen and 156 with permanent residence permits.

Saeima Press Service