Next week about 3.6 thousand Russians living in Latvia will receive a notice to leave the country within three months. This was announced by the representative of the Citizenship and Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Maira Roze.
Some 3,600 Russian citizens living in Latvia will this week be ordered to leave the country after failing to pass a Latvian language test or apply for one.
“Those who have not passed the exam or applied [for it] will be sent a notice that they – there are about 3,600 of them – will have to leave Latvia,” Maira Roze said. Her words are quoted by the Delfi portal.
According to Roze, Russians who have not applied for the test will be obliged to leave the country within 90 days.
Latvian Saeima in September 2022 adopted amendments to the law on migration, which obliged Russian citizens – owners of permanent residence in the Baltic republic until 1 September 2023 to obtain a certificate of proficiency in the Latvian language at A2 level. Otherwise, their documents were to be cancelled. Later, the Latvian parliament approved in the final reading of amendments to the law on immigration, extending for two years the deadline for passing the exam in the state language to obtain the right to permanent residence in the country. Russian citizens living in Latvia will now be able to obtain a temporary residence permit for two years, during which time they will have to pass the state language exam. The application for a residence permit must be submitted by 31 December 2023. The postponement will affect only those who have signed up to take the exam before the beginning of September 2023, those who have not passed the test will be given the opportunity to retake it. Only persons over 75 years of age will be exempted from taking the test.