The Honorary Consulate is not authorised to administer oaths or process visa and passport applications. Parties requiring these services are to consult the Embassies in the region.

The Honorary Consul is permitted to certify and authenticate documents used for trade and business. Legalisation (or certification of document authenticity) means verification of signature and seal of a document. Traditionally it is performed by a Consular Officer so that documents drawn up in one country would be legally valid in another one. For the authorities of the Republic of Latvia to accept public documents issued in foreign countries, those documents should be legalised at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a diplomatic or consular mission of the Republic of Latvia in the respective country, or their authenticity should be certified with an Apostille in a competent institution of the foreign country, unless other procedures are in place between Latvia and the respective country.

The authentication of document authenticity is regulated by several international conventions and intergovernmental agreements, and also by the Document Legalisation Law and the Regulations for Public Document Legislation of Latvia.

1. If a document is issued in a foreign country which has joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Documents of 5 October 1961, its authenticity must be certified with an Apostille by the competent institution of the relevant country, and the document is valid for submission to Latvia’s institutions without any other certification.

2. If a document is issued in a foreign country which has not joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Documents of 5 October 1961, it must be legalised by diplomatic/consular mission of Latvia in the relevant country or by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, after their authentications by the competent institutions of the relevant country (the foreign ministry or a diplomatic/consular mission of the relevant country).

3. If a document is issued in the member states of the European Economic Zone and the Swiss Confederation, it does not required any additional authentications (legalisation or Apostille) for their use in Latvia.

On Tuesday, October 6th, the Consular Corps in Finland celebrated 90th anniversary. The reception was held in the Aleksanderin teatteri, Helsinki.

The Consular Corps of both honorary consuls and career consuls representing foreign countries in Finland was established in Helsinki in 1925, being not only one of the eldest association in the region but also in the world. There are over 200 honorary consuls in Finland spread out from Lapland in the north to Aland Islands in the South. In Finland there are 18 honorary consuls general, 177 consuls and 11 vice-consuls. Honorary consuls represent 76 countries in the world.

The good co-operation of the consular organizations of the Nordic countries has taken place for decades. In the year 2011 on the initiative of the CC in Finland the first meeting including also the Baltic countries was arranged in Helsinki. This activity now continues with regular meetings alternating between the five Scandinavian and three Baltic states.

The Dean of the Consular Corps in Finland Consul General Dr. Gaius Gyllenbogel congratulated all the Excellencies and distinguished guests on the 90th anniversary of the association of Consular Corps.

The president of the Republic of the Finland Mr. Sauli Niinisto underlined the importance of the honorary consuls and expressed the necessity for even better collaboration of consuls in order to promote the trade relations between sending state and Finland.

Honorary Consul Margareta N. Eidensten, President, the Consular Corps Stockholm, Past Chairman, Corps Consulaire en Suede greeted guests on the anniversary, also pointing out that the Baltic states are following the tradition – there is Consular Corps in Estonia; Association on Consular Corps in Latvia was established this year.

Speaking the words of professor Matti Klinge – “history is always a change and always a continuity. Continuity has milestones, so let 1925 (when the Consular Corps in Finland was established) be one of them”.

Distinguished guests had an opportunity to listen to Jean Sibelius and Sergei Rahmaninov music, performed by Markus Suihkonen and Marita Viitasalo, and enjoy the ballet “Seitseman” (Seven), performed by Ballet Finland, choreography of Ville Valkonen.

Among guests was also the Association of Consular Corps in Latvia, represented by Ms. Ieva Urbanovica.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished guests!

I would like to express my deep gratitude for you being here on this important day. It is a historical moment as it is the first time in Latvia that we are celebrating the Malta Independence Day. The Republic of Malta, an island archipelago with a population of some 421,000 located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and the North African coast, has gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, on September 21.

Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State. Ten years later, on 13 December, 1974, Malta declared itself a republic with a President as head of state. Malta is remembered as the venue for a summit between the US President George Bush Sr and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989, their first face-to-face ever encounter, which signalled the end of the Cold War. Malta, like Latvia, joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and joined the Eurozone in 2008.

There is an honorary consulate in Riga since 2006. The mission of the consulate is the development of the economic and cultural relations between the two countries, enhancing business and investment opportunities. Air Baltic and tourism is an excellent example of such business contacts. The mission of consulate is to help Maltese citizens in the cases of emergency.

The global political climate is on torn between the undeniable economic benefits of migration and the political need to implement protectionist measures to appease the concerns of the general public. This has led to a number of countries implementing immigration and citizenship laws designed to meet these twin aims. The Republic of Malta has accumulated huge experience in this respect.

To quote the words of the President of the Republic of Malta H.E. Marie – Louise Coleiro Preca – We are facing a quite socially and economically unstable situation. Recent events prove that we lack tolerance towards each other. Peace shall be a way of life, creating a strong ground where we are not ignoring each other’s needs. There shall be a sense of a social commitment. We need to change, to prosper to the economic growth in order that we all can live in dignity. Both Malta and Latvia are parts of European Union, which implies being a multicultural society. To sum up both countries stand for the same three priorities: sense of social commitment, stability and competitiveness.

I am glad to welcome today our special guest from Malta, Mr. Karl Chetuci, who has come here to introduce for the first time the Maltese wine in Latvia. Meridiana’s wine estate is situated on a plain at the centre of Malta in close proximity to the ancient, walled-city of Mdina.  I want to thank you for sharing this historical moment, celebrating for the first time in Latvia the Maltese Independence Day.

Happy Independence Day!

On 22 April, the Under-Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Pēteris Vaivars  met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to Latvia, Prof. Charles L. Mifsud.

During the conversation Under-Secretary of State Vaivars noted the good bilateral relations between Latvia and Malta, discussed possibilities for strengthening economic cooperation between the countries, and informed about preparations for Latvia’s Presidency of the EU Council. The Ambassador expressed interest in sharing experience with Latvia, especially in view of the approaching Maltese Presidency in the first half of 2017 and the capital Valletta assuming the status of the European Capital of Culture in 2008. 

Ambassador Misfud noted that Latvia and Malta could learn much from each other. In conclusion, Under-Secretary Vaivars expressed satisfaction with the contribution of Maltese Honorary Consul in Latvia Jānis Zelmenis to strengthening the relations between the two states, in particular, promoting economic cooperation.

The accreditation of the Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to the Republic of Latvia, Prof. Charles L. Misfud with the President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš also took place on 22 April. Besides, the Ambassador will visit the Museum of the Occupation and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and meet the Speaker of the Saeima, Solvita Āboltiņa.  

The Ambassador of Malta resides in Valletta, Malta.

http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/latest-news/13717-under-secretary-of-state-peteris-vaivars-meets-new-ambassador-of-malta-to-latvia