Russian citizens who have not passed the language exam will have to leave Latvia in September

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia warned: Russians with permanent residence, and there are about 6,000 of them who have not passed the Latvian language exam, will be officially asked to leave the country.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs clarified that criminal liability for refusing to comply with the order “is not provided”, however, it will be impossible to extend the right to stay in the European Union, all such citizens will receive official “letters of happiness” in September, the rus.lsm.lv portal writes, and it is also possible imposition of fines.

How informs TASS, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vilnis Vitolinsh noted: citizens who receive letters demanding to leave the republic “must leave Latvia within three months.” Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the fact that letters with the specified requirements were being prepared, the addressees could be “about 6 thousand.”

The head of the Seimas (Parliament) Commission on citizenship, migration and social cohesion, Ingmar Lidaka, noted that, in accordance with new amendments to the immigration law, law enforcement agencies of the republic can expel even a “seventy-year-old grandmother” from the country if she does not have a language certificate:

“When we asked the head of the border guard such a question, he told us so. They simply have to do it according to the law.”

The department warns that the deprivation of permanent residence implies “the loss of the right to state guardianship, including the payment of a pension.”

However, Russians who try to pass the exam before September 1 but fail on the first try will be able to try again until November 30. Until this date, permanent residence will remain valid, registration for re-taking the exam is open from the beginning of August. If again luck turns away from them, it will be possible to try to “get a visa or a temporary residence permit” (permit).

In September last year, the Saeima of Latvia adopted amendments to the law on migration, according to which Russian permanent residence holders in the country must receive a certificate of knowledge of the Latvian language at level A2 by September 1, 2023, or their documents will be cancelled.

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