The Latvian authorities decided to deport 841 citizens of Russia who did not pass the mandatory Latin exam and did not apply for the status of a permanent resident of the EU.
This was reported by the Latvian Council for Citizenship and Migration.
The decision was made in response to changes to immigration legislation, adopted in 2022 because of a full -scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine. According to the new rules, Russian citizens who have a residence permit in Latvia had to apply for the EU resident status by June 30, 2025, to confirm Latvian language at a level not lower than A2 and to provide evidence of legal income. Those who did not fulfill these conditions and did not apply to leave the territory of Latvia until November 30, 2025. Despite the fact that two years have been set aside for compliance with the requirements, many have not even completed the basic procedure. At the beginning of 2024, there were 1167 people on the deportation list, about 70% of whom were older than 60 years.
The collective lawsuit against the Latvia Constitutional Court on this issue was rejected in February 2024. The Court acknowledged that deportation due to ignorance of the state language is legally substantiated. At the same time, those who want to stay in Latvia have given the last opportunity to apply for a residence permit, provided that all requirements are fulfilled.
