On Thursday, the 7th of September, the Saeima submitted to committees amendments prepared by the Ministry of the Interior to the Immigration Law. These amendments provide for extending by two years the period of time within which Russian citizens living in Latvia are to pass the state language exam to receive a permanent residence permit.
81 Saeima deputies voted in favour of submitting amendments to committees. 13 deputies from the National Alliance voted against. One member of the Combined List abstained in the vote.
The Saeima also plans to conceptually vote on the suggested amendments in the first reading on Thursday.
This extension will also apply to Russian citizens who do not take the exam for justified reasons.
It is planned the Saeima may vote on amendments in the final reading on the 14th of September.
The vote could be influenced, however, by the upcoming government approval vote in the Saeima.
The current redaction of the Immigration Law states that permanent residence permits issued to Russian citizens have expired as of September 2023. To live in Latvia, these people have to apply for an EU permanent resident status. To receive that, they have to submit proof to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of their knowledge of Latvian language at least on A2 level, as well as documents proving they have finances to live in the country.
At the very last moment the government ordered the Ministry of the Interior to prepare amendments to the Immigration Law, providing Russian citizens living in Latvia another two years to pass the state language exam so that they are able to remain living in Latvia. The government decided to provide this extension because it was concluded that approximately 10 000 of the 25 316 Russian citizens living in Latvia and who have a permanent residence permit have not applied for EU permanent resident status. This means these people will have to leave the country.
Despite the proposed changes, Russian citizens living in Latvia have to secure at least a temporary residence permit in September. Russian citizens who fail to do anything about their status will receive notifications from PMLP with an invitation to leave the country within 90 days. If no application is received by PMLP by the 1st of September 2023, that person’s residence permit is considered void from the 2nd of September 2023. That person is to leave the country by the 2nd of December 2023.
As reported by the Ministry of the Interior, with the first round of state language exam over, some of the persons who attempted the state language exam have failed it. In April and May 49% of applicants failed the exam, whereas the number of failures among people who took the exam in July and August is around 80%.
Exceptions to the state language test provide that a person who has completed basic, secondary or higher education in accredited programs in Latvian, who has completed an accredited minority education program and has passed the centralized exam in Latvian for 9th grade or the centralized exam in Latvian for 12th grade, is not required to take the test. Also, people under the age of 15 or over the age of 75 are not required to take the exam.
Russian citizens suffering from motor function problems or a diagnosis mentioned in Latvian Cabinet of Ministers regulations On the extent of the knowledge of the official language, the procedure for the examination of the knowledge of the official language and the State fee for the examination of the knowledge of the state language.
The proposed amendments state that persons who are required to take the exam are to submit their application and necessary documents by no later than the 30th of March 2024 and pay a fee of EUR 100.
Applications will be reviewed by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) within four months. Until the office makes its conclusion, the applicant will be allowed to continue living and working in Latvia. Temporary residence permits are issued for a period of two years.
According to information from PMLP, only 13 025 persons or 51% of the people who fall under requirements of the Immigration law have submitted applications to receive EU permanent resident status. The office concludes that as of September 2023 permanent residence permits have become void for about 10 000 people in Latvia.
Considering that amendments have ended up in the Saeima only now, LETA asked the Ministry of the Interior what will happen to the people who fail to take any action to receive the aforementioned status in Latvia.
The ministry explains – if a Russian citizen fails to submit an application to receive an EU permanent resident status in Latvia and sign up for a state language exam, he or she will have no right to stay in Latvia for any longer. If such Russian citizens continue living in Latvia under such conditions, he or she will be ordered to leave.
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