Of the 69 applicants for citizenship, 63% are ethnic Russians, 9% Belarusians, 8% Poles, as well as Turkish, Armenian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Azerbaijani, German, English and other persons who chose not to state their ethnicity.
The majority of the applicants (51%) have completed higher education.
In total now 149,993 persons have received Latvian citizenship through naturalization since 1995 when the necessary rules were introduced – making it a near-certainty that next month the 150,000 mark will be passed. For context, that number is easily larger than the current population of Latvia's second largest city, Daugavpils (around 111,500).
In order to become a Latvian citizen by naturalization, a person must confirm their basic proficiency in the Latvian language, as well as successfully pass an examination of the basic provisions of the constitution, the text of the national anthem and knowledge of Latvian history.
Citizenship can also be bestowed by special ruling of the Saeima, which sidesteps the requirements for the language and other tests. However, this is a fairly rare occurrence.
You can find more information about naturalization at the PMLP website here.
Apsveicu to all 69 of our new fellow-citizens!
