No Entry! Tomorrow the Saeima may adopt a new Immigration Law 0 10

Tomorrow, the parliament may put an end to a very long saga regarding the adoption of a new immigration law. The new bill, prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, was submitted to the Saeima of the previous convocation shortly after the hot phase of the war in Ukraine began, that is, in 2022. The outgoing parliament managed to approve the bill only conceptually, that is, in the first reading. And the current Saeima took it over for further consideration at the end of 2022. However, the deputies only got around to this bill last year! Even after that, it was not possible to quickly finalize the document - the process has clearly dragged on. The political importance and sensitivity of this bill is vividly illustrated by the fact that tomorrow, already at the third (final) reading stage, deputies will consider 158 amendments to this bill!

Initially, the new bill did not provide for the possibility of obtaining a residence permit in exchange for purchasing real estate - let us remind you that in the currently effective law, such an opportunity exists for citizens of third countries (with the exception of citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus). However, during the discussion of the bill in the second reading at the meeting of the Saeima's Defense and Internal Affairs Committee, there was a call to preserve such a "bonus" for potential investors. And the Ministry of Economics prepared the corresponding amendment. But then, at the committee, the majority of deputies rejected this amendment, apparently fearing radical voters before the elections. We dare to assume that tomorrow at the plenary session this proposal from Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis will also be rejected.

Interestingly, among those who proposed attracting wealthy foreigners to Latvia - in exchange for purchasing, for example, government bonds and investments in the Latvian economy, was then-opposition deputy, now Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs. In the committee, his "bold" proposals were rejected. But what about now? Will the majority of the parliament reject the initiatives of the now head of government? Most likely - yes. And the Prime Minister himself, it seems, would not insist on these proposals, as he leads a clearly very conservative government.

However, the Saeima will certainly vote for a kind of introduction of quotas for issuing residence permits to citizens of certain countries. Here is how the amendment from the relevant Saeima committee reads: "The Cabinet of Ministers may establish third countries whose citizens are restricted from entering for employment purposes, as well as the maximum number of foreign citizens from these countries who may receive a visa or residence permit for employment in Latvia within a calendar year, as well as the categories and professions of foreign citizens to which this restriction does not apply."