The entry into and
residence of alien minors in the Republic of Latvia shall be documented and
controlled by the State Border Guard, the Office of Citizenship and Migration
Affairs and the State Police in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Orphan's courts (Parish courts) and local governments.
In order to enter into the Republic of Latvia, an alien minor needs: 1) a travel document, that shall be valid for
entry into the Republic of Latvia; 2) a valid visa, residence permit, a
European Community long-term resident residence permit in the Republic of
Latvia, a residence permit of a family member of the European Union citizen or
for a third-country national, who has received a new travel document in a
foreign state – the previous travel document with a valid residence permit in
the Republic of Latvia; 3) a valid health insurance, which guarantees the covering
of expenses related to health care in the Republic of Latvia, including the
conveying of the third-country national back to the country of residence in the
case of his or her serious illness. The Cabinet of Ministers shall determine
the cases when a third-country national may enter and reside in the Republic of
Latvia without a health insurance policy; 4) absence of any other obstacles
prescribed by the law or other regulatory enactments for entry into the
Republic of Latvia; 5) necessary financial means in order to reside in the
Republic of Latvia and return to the country of residence or to depart to a
third country to which he or she has the right to enter. The Cabinet of
Ministers shall determine the amount of necessary financial means and how to
determine the existence of financial means.
If an
unaccompanied minor who does not have
one of the above mentioned documents wishes to cross the Latvian
border but his identity is known to the
officials of the State Border Guard, in order to send this person to the corresponding country the officials immediately get in touch with
the competent institution in the country of citizenship, country of residence
or in the country where the relatives of the unaccompanied minor reside, or in
the country that is ready to accept the unaccompanied minor and that is able to
provide corresponding reception and care (hereinafter – host country). Up to
now the State Border Guard has not faced the above mentioned cases.
If an
unaccompanied minor whose identity is
unknown wishes to cross the Latvian border the official of the State Border Guard immediately begins to identify the
identity of the unaccompanied minor.
In 2008 in the
territory of the Airport “Riga”
4 unaccompanied minors without any identification documents were
detained. Identification of persons was complicated as they provided
contradictory and false information about themselves and their parents as well
as about the conditions of entry. While the identity of the unaccompanied minor
is being clarified, the State Border Guard places the unaccompanied minor in
the nearest structural unit of the State Police that is meant for minors.
There is a specially
trained official of the State Boarder Guard who is appointed for the work with
unaccompanied minors (for example, to clarify the identity).
If a minor is a
third-country national who has not reached the age of 14 years and is not
accompanied by parents or his legal representative illegally crosses the State
border of the Republic of Latvia or has in other ways violated the procedures
for the entry and residence of third-country nationals in the Republic of Latvia
specified in regulatory enactments, a State Border Guard official shall act so as to ensure the rights and
interests of the child in accordance with regulatory enactments regulating the
protection of children’s rights. An unaccompanied minor who arrives in Latvia in order to receive asylum or alternative
status shall submit an application to a border guard at the border control
point before entry into the Republic
of Latvia. If the
unaccompanied minor is already located within Latvia application shall be
submitted to the territorial unit of the State Border Guard.
After receiving the
application the official of the State Border Guard immediately informs the custody court who appoints a representative to the unaccompanied minor for the
process of asylum granting. Specially trained officials of the State Border
Guard and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs perform the
negotiations with the unaccompanied minor in presence of the appointed
representative. The State Border Guard sends the information obtained during
the negotiations to the Department of the Refugee Affairs of the Office of
Citizenship and Migration Affairs that makes a decision about granting or
refusal to grant refugee or alternative status in the terms indicated in the
law. From 2002 to 2008 7 unaccompanied minors have applied for asylum in
Latvia.
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