Those Russian citizens who have received permanent residence permits in accordance with the so-called law on foreigners will also have to pass a test of the state’s language proficiency. This was decided by the Saeima on Thursday, supporting changes to the Immigration Law in the first reading. For the changes in the law to enter into force, the Saeima must still support them in the second and third reading.
As explained by the press service of the Saeima, the law on foreigners provided that permanent residence permits could be obtained by those foreigners who had their place of residence in Latvia on July 1, 1992 and who were registered in the population register. This law became invalid on May 1, 2003 with the entry into force of the Immigration Law. Many of them are Russian military pensioners and their family members, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously stated. 3,650 persons are citizens of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.
It is necessary to change the current procedure for the stay of Russian citizens in Latvia in order to strengthen the country’s internal security, strengthen the position of the Latvian language, as well as promote inclusiveness and belonging to Latvia among those foreign citizens who are staying in our country in the long term, the authors of the bill emphasized.
The changes provide that the permanent residence permits of these Russian citizens will be valid until May 15 of the following year, if the necessary documents for requesting the status of a permanent resident of the European Union (EU) have not been received by the Directorate of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) by April 30, 2025.
On the other hand, until September 15 of the following year, residence permits will be valid for those who will need proof of mastering the national language in order to request EU permanent resident status. This is provided if, by May 1, 2025, information has been received that this person has passed the state language proficiency test at least once and a repeat test has been scheduled for this person, but the PMLP has not received the necessary documents in the EU permanent residence by August 31 of the following year to request resident status.
The new requirements will apply to approximately 5,000 Russian citizens, according to representatives of the Ministry of the Interior. It is planned that language knowledge will be required for persons aged up to 75, as before.
It is expected that during this time, Russian citizens will have the right to employment without restrictions, as well as the right to receive services provided by the state, including pensions and benefits, if the person’s declared place of residence is in the Republic of Latvia.
Last September, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Immigration Law, which provided that Russian citizens who had applied, but had not successfully passed the national language test or had not passed it for valid reasons, could receive a residence permit for a period of up to two years. This did not apply to those Russian citizens who obtained permanent residence permits in accordance with the so-called foreigners’ law and for whom knowledge of the language was not required until now, the press service of the Saeima reminds.
Tags: Knowledge national language certified wider circle Russian citizens
