On Thursday, 21 March, a new Law was adopted in the final reading to ensure judicial cooperation and protection of personal rights during the transition period after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU).

According to the Law, the UK citizens who have lawfully resided in Latvia before the forthcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU will receive favourable treatment in regard to their rights and obligations in the area of social security.

“In this Draft Law, we have included solutions for all the foreseeable risks and complications that we have currently identified and that can be introduced in our regulatory framework. As it is still unclear how the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, the Draft Law also contains two potential scenarios: one where the withdrawal takes place according to Article 50 or the no deal scenario, and the other where an agreement is reached and enters into force as the UK leaves the EU,” said Rihards Kols, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, responsible for the Draft Law..

“Whichever scenario comes to pass, we expect the United Kingdom to respect the principle of parity ensuring the rights of Latvian nationals residing in the UK to the same extent as will be ensured for the citizens of the UK via this Draft Law,” added Kols.

The Law stipulates the procedure for acquiring new residence permit documents applicable to the citizens of the UK and their family members who are currently lawfully residing in the Republic of Latvia.

The Law also determines the future provision of Latvian state social insurance pensions, insurance benefits in case of accidents at work or occupational diseases, state social allowances, as well as the procedure for paying state social insurance mandatory contributions applicable to persons who have resided or who have been covered by social insurance in Latvia or the UK before its withdrawal from the EU and continue residing in Latvia or the UK after the withdrawal.

The Law also includes provisions related to, among others, the procedure for granting and disbursing Latvian state pensions, the right to higher education, as well as the recognition of professional qualification acquired in the United Kingdom. The Law also provides a framework for future judicial cooperation between Latvia and the UK.

The Law aims to relieve the administrative burden on the citizens of the UK and their family members who have lawfully resided in the Republic of Latvia before the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, as well as on the citizens and non-citizens of Latvia residing in the UK.

In the final reading, the Saeima has also adopted amendments to the Document Legalisation Law intended to clarify the regulatory framework concerning legalisation requirements for public documents issued in the UK so that the existing arrangements remain in force after the UK leaves the EU. According to the annotation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not identified significant risks due to which the requirement of legalisation for documents issued in the UK should be renewed.

The amendments will, inter alia, simplify the process of addressing Latvian diaspora-related issues, for instance, registering a child as a Latvian citizen thus exempting persons from the requirement of legalisation for public documents issued in the UK, as stated in the annotation.

The Saeima in the final reading has also adopted amendments to the Enterprise Income Tax Law, as well as changes to the Law on the Circulation of Goods of Strategic Significance to simplify transit of dual-use items to and from the United Kingdom.

Saeima Press Service