Russians face eviction in Latvia over language exam failures
Russians who failed the Latvian language exam are finding eviction orders in their mailboxes. The recipients have 30 days to leave the country.
The problem mainly affects former citizens of the USSR, generally over 60 years old, who settled in Latvia during Soviet times. In 1989, two years before Latvia regained independence, over 900,000 Russians lived there. After Latvia regained independence, they chose Russian citizenship.
Latvia granted them permanent residence permits, but according to the portal, they typically did not know Latvian and were not interested in local culture. They usually learned about world events from Russian media and often displayed pro-Russian attitudes. According to the National Statistical Office, barely half a million of them exist.
After the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, the Latvian parliament passed an amendment to the immigration law. To extend the permanent residence permit, Russians and other foreigners seeking permanent residence must pass an exam confirming knowledge of the Latvian language at the A2 level. According to the portal, over a thousand people failed the test.
Russians received orders
In such cases, the immigration office cancels the residence permits. In the last 12 months, the office issued 63 orders to leave Latvia. 632 people who failed the exam left the country voluntarily and went to Russia alone, not waiting for the immigration service's directive.
Currently, about a thousand people have not taken the exams and have not submitted documents to extend their residence permits in Latvia. The immigration service is waiting for them to explain the reasons for this.
According to immigration services, over 85% of Russians affected by the new law have completed the documents, passed the exam, or are learning the language and have obtained temporary residence permits in connection with it.
