President urges parliament to slow citizenship decisions

Latvia should grant citizenship by parliamentary decision only in exceptional cases and without rushing the process, President Edgars Rinkevics said, according to public broadcaster LSM. He said he hoped the next parliament would end the practice of treating such decisions as urgent.

Speaking on Latvian Television’s Rīta Panorāma programme, Rinkevics said recipients should meet at least some of the requirements applied to people seeking citizenship through naturalisation. These include knowing Latvian, having lived in Latvia for a specified number of years and having long-term goals that are important to the country.

He was discussing the case of Indian scientist Divya Kanana Vishwanath. Parliament recently voted to grant her Latvian citizenship, but later repealed the law after questions were raised publicly about her qualifications and the grounds for granting citizenship. Rinkevics had also called for doubts about the case to be resolved and said the law should be reconsidered if necessary.

Most people acquire Latvian citizenship through naturalisation by meeting legal requirements, including demonstrating knowledge of Latvian and the country’s history. Citizenship can also be granted by parliament for special merit or through a specific law recognising a person as a Latvian citizen.

On October 15, parliament backed granting citizenship to Vishwanath in an urgent procedure. She works with the Latvian Academy of Sciences to promote the use of artificial intelligence in pharmacy. After claims about her background appeared on social media, a parliamentary committee received a request to review the decision. Parliament subsequently repealed the law.