On Thursday, 16 January, the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Diplomatic and Consular Service Law drafted by the Foreign Affairs Committee, setting forth that only persons with no other citizenship than Latvian can be diplomats.

However, in exceptional cases the government, on the recommendation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, will be able to allow a diplomatic rank to be conferred on a Latvian citizen who also holds citizenship of another state.

On 1 October 2013, amendments to the Citizenship Law came into force. They recognise dual citizenship, enable granting of citizenship to children born to non-citizens in Latvia and to children born to Latvian citizens abroad, as well as introduce changes in the naturalisation procedure. In order to prevent a situation where a diplomat representing the Republic of Latvia is also a citizen of another state, the amendments to the Diplomatic and Consular Service Law state that diplomats can hold only Latvian citizenship.

According to the authors of the draft law, a diplomat who holds dual citizenship cannot be concurrently loyal to two states when the interests or opinions of Latvia and the other country differ. Such situations will be prevented by the amendments to the Diplomatic and Consular Service Law.

The goal of the amendments is to ensure that the diplomatic and consular service is fully loyal to Latvia, complies with international law, operates effectively and is dedicated to safeguarding Latvia’s democratic system of governance.

Saeima Press Service