Krāslava residents struggle to access essential document services
Friday 21st August 2026 on 07:01 in
Latvia
Residents of Krāslava Municipality can apply for passports and electronic identity cards only twice a month, as the municipality has lost both its sole bank branch and its local Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs branch in recent years, LSM reported.
The nearest city offering these services is Daugavpils. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs has provided appointments twice a month at the Krāslava Culture House for the past four years, with staff travelling from its Daugavpils branch.
Residents must first register by phone before attending in person at an assigned time to submit an application for a passport or electronic identity card. More than 30 people had registered for one of the monthly appointment days.
Many residents travelled from outlying parishes, but not everyone is satisfied with the current arrangement in the municipality, which has about 19,000 residents.
Mihails travelled from Skaista Parish, about 21.5 kilometres away. He had hoped to complete everything in one day but said he would have to return. Public transport connections to Krāslava are also inconvenient for many residents of surrounding parishes.
“I came from Skaista. Thank God, there is a bus that goes to Dagda, but transport is poor here. From Šķaune, it runs only once a day. You travel for half an hour and then wait until the evening. There is nothing here. It is very difficult to travel from the countryside to the city,” Mihails said.
Krāslava resident Elīna said that without the option to apply for documents in Krāslava, she would have to travel to Daugavpils or Preiļi.
“But it is more expensive and also takes more time for me, since I have a small child,” she said.
Residents of remote rural areas are gradually becoming accustomed to the inconvenience and trying to adapt, including to increasingly infrequent bus services.
Pēteris travelled from Ūdrīši Parish to arrange his documents. Although Krāslava is closer to him than Daugavpils, he said the service had nevertheless become inconvenient.