Around 10% of Latvia's inhabitants (180,455 people) have neither Latvian nor any other citizenship. These are citizens born in the former Soviet Union and citizens registered in the current Latvian territory until 1 July 1992 without Latvian or other citizenship. However, they have a Latvian passport document, a so-called ‘Nichtbürgerpass’ (‘Aliens passport’ / ‘Nepilsoņa Pase’).

Under aliens law, non-citizens are treated in the same way as third-country nationals with a permanent residence permit for Latvia. However, they are not automatically ‘long-term residents’ within the meaning of the Residence Act, but only if they have the legal status of a long-term resident-EG within the meaning of Article 4 et seq. Residence Directive [Directive 2003/109/EC].

This means that non-citizens are not automatically in possession of a ‘Permanent Residence Permit - EC’ in accordance with Directive 2003/109/EC (‘Pastāvīgais iedzīvotājs - ES’). You can obtain this legal status after completing a procedure and, in addition to the non-citizen passport, be issued a residence card of the permanent resident-EG.

The procedure is explained here .

Non-citizens in possession of a residence card ‘Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EG’ in accordance with Directive 2003/109/EC (‘Pastāvīgais iedzīvotājs - ES’) do not require a visa before entering Germany for a longer stay of more than 90 days per six-month period and/or for taking up gainful employment. You can apply for a residence permit at the relevant immigration authority in Germany immediately after entering the country.

In other cases, non-citizens can travel visa-free throughout the Schengen area for up to 90 days every six months, but only for business trips and visits (no taking up gainful employment or intention of a longer stay). If non-citizens wish to take up gainful employment in Germany or stay there for longer periods for other reasons, they must apply for a visa and, if necessary, a work permit before leaving Latvia.