Nationality/Citizenship question

[eumumto2]

Hello,
in the application for the passport there is a question about Nationality/Citizenship of parent of the applicant (child).
Usually people have the same nationality and citizenship. I am from ex USSR country - Latvia. My first language is Russian, but I have Latvian passport.
Does it mean that I should write Nationality - Russian and Citizenship - Latvian?

[CR001]

Your nationality is what your passport says.

[eumumto2]

Sorry, I don't understand.
Latvian passport has a section with nationality - where you can write in Russian, Latvian, Jewish etc...
I could leave it blank. But I wrote Russian (as my first language).
Why I am asking this question - as I am confused. I met already some forms with question 'your nationality', where the meaning was your Citizenship. But in British Passport application form the question is clearly stated - your Nationality AND Citizenship.
So, I am still confused....

[LilyLalilu]

Do you have a Latvian alien's passport? The ones that are issued to non-citizens?

[eumumto2]

No, it's normal passport - Latvian Citizenship.
I am confused about Nationality.
Strange question - your Nationality AND Citizenship!! Why the question looks like that?

[noajthan]

Hello,
in the application for the passport there is a question about Nationality/Citizenship of parent of the applicant (child).
Usually people have the same nationality and citizenship. I am from ex USSR country - Latvia. My first language is Russian, but I have Latvian passport.
Does it mean that I should write Nationality - Russian and Citizenship - Latvian?

The question exists to help HMPO determine whether the applicant has gained citizenship by some sort of British ancestry.

As that is clearly not the case for your child it doesn't really matter how you put it: Latvian/Russian or Russian/Latvian.

The point is your child is a citizen by virtue of registration not by heritage and ancestry.
So the answer does not affect the outcome of your application.

[eumumto2]

Thank you.
However I still don't understand...also I don't understand why they are asking details of grandparents if both parents was born abroad?
strange, strange...

I think I should write just LATVIAN in question about Nationality and Citizenship. With no mention Russian. Is it right?

[noajthan]

Thank you.
However I still don't understand...also I don't understand why they are asking details of grandparents if both parents was born abroad?
strange, strange...

I think I should write just LATVIAN in question about Nationality and Citizenship. With no mention Russian. Is it right?

The grandparents could still be British (in some cases).

It's a poorly-designed and generic form that has to cater for all sorts of applicants in different circumstances.

It's sounds like Latvian is the appropriate answer here.
Good luck.

[eumumto2]

Thank you for your time!

[secret.simon]

Wikipedia is a great source of (preliminary and basic) information.

Generally, nationality is external facing relationship between a person and a state. Which state can you seek consular assistance from when abroad? Which state's documentation do you carry? These are not determinate questions, but give you an idea of the relationship hinted at by the word "nationality".

Citizenship is the right of a person to participate in the public life of a country, generally associated with the right to vote.

In the vast majority of cases, the two coincide.

The cases that I know of where they don't are British nationals who are not British citizens, US Nationals who are not US citizens (practically none at the moment) and the Baltic states with their non-alien passports. In all these cases, the countries have recognised nationality, but the person can not participate in the political life of the country.

This is a broad stroke explanation and there are obvious exceptions (Commonwealth citizens in the UK and refugees with Convention documentation are the most obvious).

Returning to the OP's case, s/he should fill in "Latvian" in both fields if s/he is a full Latvian citizen.

Ignore the field for grandparents and state in the additional information field "Citizenship by registration, hence no grandparents details required" or words to that effect.

[eumumto2]

secret.simon
Thank you for the smart answer!!!
I was really confused, but now not!!!!
Thanks one more time.