Latvian passport
Latvian passports are issued to citizens of Latvia for identity and international travel purposes. Receiving a valid passport is mandatory from the age of 15, but passports can be requested for younger children if needed for travel and other purposes. A passport is valid for 10 years if the citizen is 20 or older, for 5 years if 5–20 and for 2 years if 0–5 years old. Non-citizen passports, and refugee travel documents (in a passport-like format), are also issued. Every Latvian citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card, allows Latvian citizens to travel and to have rights of free movement and rights to reside in any states of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
| Latvian passport | |
|---|---|
 Front cover of a contemporary Latvian biometric passport | |
 Information page of a current design Latvian biometric passport | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Latvia |
| First issued | November 20, 2007 (biometric passports) January 28, 2015 (current version)[1] |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Latvian citizenship |
| Expiration | 2 years or the time of travel for children (ages 0–5); 5 years for citizens aged 5–20; 10 years for citizens above 20[2] |
| Cost | €28.46/€14.23 (adults/pensioners and young people)[3] |
Physical appearance
Latvian passports are burgundy red, with the Coat of arms of Latvia emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The words EIROPAS SAVIENĪBA (Latvian for "European Union") and LATVIJAS REPUBLIKA (Latvian for "Republic of Latvia") are inscribed above the coat of arms, and the word PASE (Latvian for "Passport") below. The Latvian passport has the standard biometric symbol emblazoned below the coat of arms and uses the standard European Union design.
Identity information page
The Latvian passport includes the following data:
- Photo of passport holder
- Type (P)
- Code of issuing state (LVA)
- Passport no.
- 1. Surname
- 2. Given names
- 3. Nationality
- 4. Height
- 5. Sex
- 6. Date of birth
- 7. Personal no.
- 8. Authority (place of issue)
- 9. Place of birth
- 10. Date of issue
- 11. Holder's signature
- 12. Date of expiry
The information page ends with the transparent line and the Machine Readable Zone.
Optionally, the passport may also include information about the passport holder's ethnicity, underage children and their name in different orography (historical form or original form in a different language).
Visa requirements
In 2020, Latvian citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 180 countries and territories, ranking the Latvian passport 10th in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.[4]
Current passport
Fourth version (current): since 28 January 2015. Burgundy cover.
Third version: from 20 November 2007 until 27 January 2015. Burgundy cover. First Latvian biometric passport (also called ePassport) to comply with the EU passport standards in all respects: format, security features. Passport also compliant with the US Visa Waiver Program.
Second version: from 1 July 2002 until 19 November 2007. Blue cover with scanned autograph and photo.
First version: from 1992 until 30 June 2002. Blue cover with glued photo.
Current Latvian passports:
Diplomatic passport cover
Non-citizen passport cover
1939 Latvian diplomatic passport used for serving in Berlin
1948 government-in-exile issued passport – London consular issue
See also
References
- "Song and Dance about new style passports". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. January 28, 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- Citizen’s passport
- STATE FEES FOR ISSUANCE OF PASSPORT
- "Global Ranking – Visa Restriction Index 2020" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
External links
- Information on Latvian citizen's passport (in Latvian)
- Photo gallery of Latvian electronic passport (Apollo.lv)
- Citizen passport (in Latvian)
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