Russians in trouble. They were ordered to leave another country

"3255 Russian citizens must leave Latvia," announced on Friday the head of the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Maira Roze. The decision is related to the expiration of the residence permit.

In letters sent out by Latvian authorities, it was announced that the residency permits for Russian citizens who did not submit documents to receive EU permanent resident status have expired, LSM reports. In the summer of 2022, the Latvian parliament decided that Russian citizens can only receive permanent residency in Latvia after proving proficiency in the official language, which is Latvian, at the A2 level.

Changes that have been made to immigration law involve people who had Latvian citizenship or had "non-citizen" status, then became Russian citizens, and are now permitted to reside permanently in Latvia.

However, there are certain exceptions to this rule, which are associated with various factors, such as age or health condition of a certain individual. It is estimated that a total of about 18 thousand people will have to take tests to meet the new legal requirements.

According to the regulations adopted last year, Russian citizens were supposed to submit the appropriate documents to the office by the beginning of September 2023. Otherwise, their residence permits would become invalid, and they would have to leave Latvia by December 2nd, unless they applied for a temporary stay or visa.

In the middle of September, the Parliament decided to extend the examination deadline by two years. This applies to people who have "taken the initiative" in regard to taking the exam and those who did not pass the test for "justifiable reasons".

Therefore, those who have not taken any steps in this direction received letters from PMLP. The deadline for their permanent residency in Latvia passed on September 2. These individuals should leave Latvian territory by November 30 - reports LSM.