Latvia may deport six thousand Russians: reason is given

In September this year, thousands of Russians in Latvia will receive letters from the Citizenship and Migration Board asking them to leave the country. In three months, those who do not comply with the request may be deported from Latvia.

This is reported by the Latvian edition of LSM, citing the head of the Saeima Commission on Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Ingmārs Lidāki. He explained that these are Russians who did not even try to pass the test for permanent resident status in the European Union.

They did not appear for the Latvian language exam and did not extend their temporary residence permit in the country. According to Lidaki, there are about six thousand such people.

The Latvian Ministry of the Interior confirmed that such letters to Russians asking them to leave the country are being prepared. After receiving the document, they will lose the right to stay in Latvia and will have three months to leave the country.

According to Deputy Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vilnis Vitolins, if such a Russian continues to stay in Latvia after three months, he or she may be fined. He also assured that the police would not hunt anyone down.

At the same time, the newspaper notes that despite the statements of the Interior Minister, it is unclear how things will actually happen.

The head of the Seimas Citizenship Commission, Ingmar Lidaka, believes that the fine will not be enough.

"The law provides for expulsion," he said.

However, Russians can obtain any other type of residence permit in Latvia, such as a visa or temporary residence permit.

Along with the loss of a residence permit, a person will also lose the ability to receive a number of services in Latvia, such as pensions.

For their part, Russia's supporters in Latvia are already calling on politicians and NGOs to reconsider the amendments to the Immigration Law.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

Back in the summer of 2022, Latvia supported the initiative to ban the issuance of visas to the European Union to Russian citizens. At the time, it was a manifesto against the country that unleashed a bloody war in Ukraine.

Then, in September, Riga refused to issue humanitarian visas to Russian citizens who avoided mobilisation for security reasons. Nor will the restrictions on the entry of Russians with Schengen visas, which were adopted earlier, be lifted.

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