Latvia Passports

''Europe Latvia

Internal passport applications
Research use: Source of complete genealogical information on an individual and the beginning point for tracing back to earlier generations. They supplement metical books and provide additional detail. The photograph is of significant personal value to descendants.

Record type: A police record.

General: Passports were issued to serve as an identification card.

Time period: 1919-1940.

Contents: Names, birth date, birth place, parents, religion, occupation, and a photograph of the applicant.

Location: State Historical Archive in Riga.

Population coverage: 60% (pertains to adults only)

Reliability: High.

Preservation of records/vulnerability: Only a limited number are preserved. Those that have survived are well preserved in a good facility. They were little used during the communist period, 1940-1990.