In September, the Latvian authorities will notify about six thousand Russians staying on its territory that they need to leave the country. Those who have not fulfilled the conditions for obtaining permanent EU resident status will receive orders from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA).
This was announced by the chairman of the Seimas Commission on Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Ingmars Lidaka, Rus.LSM reports.
According to the law, Russians – former citizens or non-citizens of Latvia – with a permanent residence permit in Latvia have until September to submit documents to the State Department of the State Migration Service to obtain permanent EU resident status. The package includes a certificate of passing the state language exam. However, Lidaka noted that many Russians ignore this requirement.
“About 5-6 thousand, according to my forecasts. These are people who have not expressed any desire to either take the Latvian language exam or obtain a temporary residence permit,” he said.
Lidaka reminded that such people must leave Latvia within three months. The information about the upcoming expulsion was confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Deputy Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vilnis Vitolins noted that if a person who has not passed the check continues to stay in the country, it will be a violation of the law.
“Government agencies will find out about this and, accordingly, will remind you to leave. There is no criminal liability, but there is administrative liability, so a person can be fined,” he clarified.
Along with the loss of residence permits, Russians who fail to pass the verification will also lose the opportunity to receive many services in Latvia. They will also stop receiving pensions.
Earlier it was reported that Latvia would not let in Russians fleeing abroad from the events in Russia related to Prigozhin’s “rebellion.”
