Latvia Tightens Conditions For Permanent Residence For Belarusians, Russians

The country has adopted amendments to the law on immigration.

On September 6, the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia approved amendments to the law "On Immigration," writes delfi.lv. The amendments imply, among other things, toughening of conditions for issuing residence permits to citizens of Belarus and Russia, as well as introducing testing for foreigners to verify their knowledge of the Latvian language. The final decision on the amendments to the law is to be made by the members of the Seimas.

If the changes are approved, approximately 22.3 thousand foreigners will have to pass the exam in the Latvian language. This will also affect those who received a permanent residence permit before this law came into force.

If a person cannot prove their knowledge of the state language at level A2 or higher with a document issued by the State Education and Content Centre, their permanent residence permit will be revoked and a temporary residence permit for one year will be issued to them.

However, there will be exceptions. They will apply to people who have been in Latvia for humanitarian reasons or in connection with state interests. As well as those who were married to a Latvian citizen or non-citizen who has died and the spouses have a child together.

Until the entry into force of the amendments, all requests for long-term visas and residence permits received at Latvian diplomatic and consular missions abroad and at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs will be processed according to the previous procedure.