Latvia to ask thousands of Russian citizens to leave the country

In September, the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Board (PMLP) will send letters to six thousand Russian citizens asking them to leave the country.

This was stated by the chairman of the Saeima Commission on Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Ingmārs Lidaka, LSM reports.

According to him, we are talking about those who have not even tried to pass the test for EU permanent resident status.

"About 5-6 thousand, according to my forecasts. These are people who have not expressed any desire to either take the exam or obtain a temporary residence permit. That is, those who are silent. If you look at the law as it is now, the PMLP simply has to send a request to leave the country within three months," Lidaka said.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia confirmed that such letters are being prepared. According to preliminary estimates, there may be about six thousand recipients.

"If a person does not have the right to stay in the country, then he or she must leave for a country where he or she has the right to stay. The time for leaving is three months. It is given so that a person can leave without haste.

If a person continues to stay in Latvia illegally, there may come a time when the state authorities find out about it and, accordingly, remind you to leave. There is no criminal liability, but there is an administrative liability, so a person can be fined," said Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vilnis Vitolins.

Author - Olena Madiak, 04/08/2023