• Deputy believes tax benefits for citizens could solve problem of non-citizenship
• Non-citizens hold an action remembering broken promises by the Popular Front in 1991

A deputy of the Riga City Council Janis Martins Skuja (Democratic Patriots) believes that mass-scale non-citizenship in Latvia could be solved by granting citizens tax benefits. Mr Skuja believes option would help non-citizens to choose to become citizens.  Vesti Segodnya

Yesterday, the Congress of Non-citizens laid flowers with a violet ribbon at the Monument of Freedom in Riga as an action remembering promises of the Popular Front to grant all Latvian residents citizenship made in 1991 at the barricades for Latvia’s independence. However, later, when Latvia became independent, these promises were not fulfilled splitting the society into citizens and non-citizens. Vesti Segodnya

• Growing Chinese interest for residence permits in Latvia
• U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Mark Pekala raises discussion on granting citizenship automatically at birth to children

Vesti Segodnya reports about the growing interest of the Chinese about the possibility to receive a residence permit in Latvia  by investing in real estate. According to a representative of a real estate company which has already sold some 40 real estate objects to the Chinese, their aim is a Schengen visa and closer exit to Russia’s and CIS countries’ market through opening companies and their branches in Latvia. In comparison with Russian citizens who buy expensive real estate mostly in Riga and Jurmala, the Chinese buy less expensive property in other Latvian regions.

Following the comment by the Council of Europe Commissioner for  Human Rights Nils Muiznieks about automatic granting of citizenship to children at birth, the U.S.. Ambassador to Latvia Mark Pekala in his Twitter account invited others to share their opinion about the issue. As reported earlier, Commissioner Muiznieks stated that states should grant citizenship automatically at birth to children born in their territory who would otherwise be stateless and not permit parents to choose an option that is clearly not in the child’s interest. Diena

• Free-of-charge Latvian language courses to be made available for third country nationals
• 2,213 persons received Latvian citizenship through naturalisation in 2012
• Latvijas Avize prints an interview with the head of the control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis

NGO “Shelter. Safe House” will start free-of-charge Latvian language courses for third country nationals in the framework of a project co-funded by the European Integration Fund. The courses will be of six month duration in Riga, Olaine and Liepaja. Vesti Segodnya

According to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, 2,213 persons received Latvian citizenship through naturalisation in 2012. It is 5% fewer compared with 2011. Diena

Latvijas Avize prints an interview with the head of the Control Department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis. According to Mr Kursitis, the number of complaints concerning the violation of the State Language Law increased almost twice during 2012 compared with previous years. Despite the fact, Mr Kursitis believes the situation with Latvian language has improved in many fields. The biggest problems Mr Kursitis sees in the fact that Russian speakers ignore using the Latvian language, especially in private companies and also in the fact that state officials and state institutions promote self-sufficiency of Russian language by using it in official communication.

• Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe Nils Muzinieks: governments should act in the best interest of stateless children

 The Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe Nils Muzinieks believes states should grant citizenship automatically at birth to children born in their territory who would otherwise be stateless and not permit parents to choose an option that is clearly not in the child’s interest. Among the European countries, the Commissioner highlights Latvia and Estonia as countries with significant population of stateless children - 1,500 stateless or „non-citizens” children under the age of 15 live in Estonia and approximately 9,000 live in Latvia. The Commissioner believes Estonian and Latvian governments have allowed this situation to persist, permitting parents to choose a status that is not in the best interests of the child. The Commissioner calls governments to stop foisting the blame on history, other states or on “irresponsible parents,” but rather take the initiative to address statelessness and prioritise the best interests of the child. Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Read more in the blog of the Commissioner of Human Rights: http://humanrightscomment.org/

 

• Saeima sub-committee on Citizenship Law Amendments turns down Foreign Minister’s proposal to remove requirements for non-citizen parents
• Neatkariga reports about a project promoting Latvian language learning by foreign students

The Saeima’s sub-committee on Citizenship Law Amendments turned down the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics calling to remove the requirement for parents non-citizens upon the registration of their children as Latvian citizens to sign a written pledge to teach their child the Latvian language and to instil a sense of respect and trust towards Latvia. The High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Knut Vollebaek earlier criticised the requirement that non-citizens  must see to that their children learn Latvian  or be loyal to Latvia as it is formal and that the same is not being required of citizens. Vesti Segodnya

Neatkariga reports about the language learning centre’s Skrivanek Baltic project “Language Institute.” The aim of the project is to promote Latvian language learning by foreign students. According to one of the medical students who attends the courses, Latvian for him is important for communication with patients and in order to get better acquainted with local residents.