With 30 000 Ukrainian refugees arriving in Latvia, seven of the country’s biggest cities should take on as many as 14 876 people, with more than half of them settling in Riga, according to rules prepared by the Ministry of the Interior.
Previously the government passed amendments to the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians, which provide that once municipalities reach the maximum capacity for Ukrainian civilians set by the Cabinet of Ministers, the state will be authorised to divert refugees to other municipalities. This means Latvia’s regions will have to take on refugees more or less equally depending on local population numbers and accommodation capabilities, according to Minister of the Interior Marija Golubeva.
The ministry’s state secretary Dmitrijs Trofimovs said last week that initially there was a plan to resettle 10 000 Ukrainian refugees in Latvia. Now, however, the ministry has a plan in the works to increase the number of refugees to 30 000 to 40 000. Golubeva said last week that the previously predicted number of 10 000 is already exceeded. This is why the ministry is already working on the next refugee welcome plan.
To agree on it, it is first necessary to survey the support resources still available in the country. It is planned to be done this week.
Considering the government’s previously supported amendments to the aforementioned law, the Ministry of the Interior has prepared rules for the number of Ukrainian refugees to be provided with accommodation in Latvian municipalities. The government will decide on these rules on Tuesday.
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The ministry noted, commenting on the aforementioned rules, not all municipalities in Latvia are united in taking in Ukrainian civilians. Because of that the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians will govern the number of Ukrainian civilians to be resettled in different municipalities based on the number of refugees and population numbers in each of Latvia’s municipalities.
The number of refugees to be resettled in municipalities is divided in proportion to the number of residents in each administrative territory. The total population of Latvia (2 002 090, according to data from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs as of 1 March) is used as the main index for the distribution of refugees. The distribution of refugees across municipalities is also based on the total number of declared residents in Latvia.
The distribution of refugees is based on the general assumption that Latvia will have to resettle up to 40 000 Ukrainian civilians.
The regulations proposed by the ministry provide that upon reaching 30 000 Ukrainian refugees, all seven major cities in Latvia will have to resettle people the following number of people: 9 794 in Riga, 1 300 in Daugavpils, 1 097 in Liepaja, 870 in Jelgava, 85 in Jurmala, 533 in Ventspils, and 431 in Rezekne.
At 40 000 Ukrainian refugees, Riga would receive 13 058, Daugavpils – 1 733, Liepaja – 1 463, Jelgava – 1 160, Jurmala – 1 134, Ventspils – 711, and Rezekne – 575.
Varaklani and Valka would have to resettle the smallest number of refugees if their number reaches 40 000 – 60 and 166, respectively.
Latvia also has plans for distribution numbers if the number of Ukrainian refugees reaches 35 000.
The Ministry of the Interior told LETA that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Latvia has issued residence and employment permits to 15 017 refugees. 9 215 persons were provided with accommodation with assistance from Civil Protection Committee.
Of 15 017 civilians, 12 187 were provided with humanitarian visa and 2 830 were given residence permits.
As of Monday, Ukrainian refugees have turned to the Civil Protection Committee with requests for support 20 344 times.
Most of the refugees are women and children.
In spite of creating an information system, Ministry of the Interior is not aware of the exact number of refugees that have arrived in Latvia. It will become known once all the available data has been put in the system.
At the same time, the ministry noted that Ukrainian residents who have biometric passports and do not require social assistance or assistance with accommodation, can remain in Latvia for up to 90 days without informing authorities of their presence.
In preparation for a bigger influx of Ukrainian refugees, Latvian institutions together with municipal administrations have plans to repurpose schools, student accommodations and other available premises for refugees, as previously confirmed by the minister.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in February, millions of people have been forced to leave their homes.
Government to decide how many refugees Latvia’s largest cities should accept
