The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) has sent notification letters to 24 505 Russian citizens living in Latvia and for whom the recent amendments to the Immigration Law are binding, as confirmed by the office.
PMLP representatives say that the new amendments provide for Russian Federation citizens who were citizens or non-citizens of Latvia before accepting citizenship of the Russian Federation and who received permanent residence permits in accordance with the Immigration Law, have until the 1st of September 2023 to submit documents to PMLP to request EU permanent resident status. They are also required to submit a certificate that proves they have passed the state language exam.
It is planed for document review term to last up to one year.
PMLP stresses that whole documents are in review, the previously issued residence permit will remain valid until a new one is issued.
“We invite people to submit documents on time, so that the review process is done quickly and without delays. It is especially important to keep in mind that if a person is exempt from the state language exam, all other documents have to be submitted regardless,” stresses PMLP manager Maira Roze.
PMLP representatives say that
if no application is received by the 1st of September, those residents’ permits will lose power on the next day. Additionally, those residents will have to leave the Republic of Latvia by the 2nd of December 2023.
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