About 500 Russian citizens have been illegally residing in Latvia since yesterday — October 13 — as they did not submit documents for EU permanent resident status or another type of residence permit. Whether these people will receive another opportunity to regularize their status or if forced deportation will follow this time is reported by the TV3 News program.
The amendments to the Immigration Law adopted last year stipulated that by June 30, Russian citizens must pass a state language exam and submit documents to obtain EU permanent resident status. Of the 4,650 people, the majority met the requirements, but over 800 did not.
"It is not about the fact that 841 people must leave Latvia — it will be much fewer. It should be noted that more than 300 people have already submitted documents, because, as I have already said, when people receive a letter, they then understand: yes, I have not heard something, I did not know something, and that this is really true — they will have to leave. Then relatives get involved, because mostly these people are elderly," explained the head of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office, Maira Roze.
The Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office indicates that for those who did not meet the requirements, as of yesterday, their residence permits are no longer valid, and access to social services is closed.
It is now possible to obtain a temporary residence permit only in the case of family reunification — if there is a spouse or children in Latvia, for example, Latvian citizens or non-citizens. But if there are no such family ties, there is also no possibility to stay. Even if a person has lived in Latvia their whole life and is of retirement age, the law does not provide for exceptions — they will have to leave. Since about 300 people have already submitted documents, the Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office will now check the situation of the remaining approximately 500 people.
"For about two months, we will be assessing each individual case: what is happening with the person, whether we need to issue a departure order, or if they have already voluntarily left the country during this period," added Maira Roze.
If people do not regularize their documents and do not leave voluntarily, the Office may decide on forced deportation, which will then be carried out by the Border Guard.
In recent years, amendments to the Immigration Law have affected about 30,000 Russian citizens in Latvia. Most have already met the requirements and received residence permits, but some will need to do so this year or next. Overall, in the last three years, about 10,000 Russian citizens have left Latvia.
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