Latvia asks over 800 Russians to leave the country by mid-October

Three years after the Latvian parliament amended the Immigration Law, thousands of Russian citizens who have lived in the country for decades now face an uncertain future. The requirement to certify Latvian language skills, introduced in 2022, has become the centrepiece of a wider debate on integration, national security, and the special status of “non-citizens” in Latvia.

According to Latvian Television’s De Facto programme, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) has already sent letters to 841 persons notifying them that they have until 13 October to leave Latvia.

In 2023, 46% of Russian citizens living in Latvia managed to prove their language skills at A2 level, the minimum threshold required. The others were granted a two-year extension, but that deadline is now expiring. For 841 Russian citizens, the application period has already lapsed, and PMLP has issued letters ordering them to leave Latvia by mid-October.

Border Guard representatives say many of those affected have already left voluntarily. For those still in the country without valid documents, deportation procedures are triggered. In practice, this means either detention in a migration centre or – in cases where humanitarian considerations are taken into account – permission to remain in their homes until the process concludes.

Officials stress that the situation is sensitive. “We must understand that these are people who have lived here for decades. They own property, they have families. That is why some are allowed to stay in their homes while deportation procedures run their course,” explained Lieutenant Colonel Gatis Ruža of the State Border Guard.

The legacy of “non-citizens”

The current tensions are rooted in Latvia’s unique post-Soviet legal framework. When Latvia restored independence in 1991, citizenship was automatically granted only to pre-war citizens and their descendants. The large number of Soviet-era settlers and their families were not granted automatic citizenship. Instead, they were placed in a new legal category: non-citizens.

Non-citizens are not stateless persons in the strict international sense, but they also do not enjoy the full rights of Latvian nationals. They hold a special passport that allows them to reside in Latvia permanently, travel visa-free to parts of the Schengen area and Russia, and receive social guarantees such as pensions. However, they cannot vote in national or municipal elections, cannot hold certain public-sector jobs, and are subject to additional restrictions on political participation.

For years, non-citizens – the majority of them Russian-speakers – were encouraged to naturalise by passing a Latvian language and history exam. Many did, but tens of thousands did not, often citing difficulties with the language test, lack of motivation, or political resistance to recognising Latvian statehood on the terms set by Riga.

The war in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s use of Russian minorities abroad as a political instrument have shifted this long-standing issue into the security sphere. Latvian authorities argue that insufficient integration of Russian citizens and non-citizens leaves them vulnerable to Russian influence campaigns. The State Security Service has warned that Moscow has deliberately exploited the weak Latvian-language skills of Russian-speakers to keep them tied to the Russian media space.

Language tests and deadlines

The amendments of 2022 and 2024 tightened the rules. Russian citizens – including those who had previously been Latvian citizens or non-citizens, were now obliged to prove Latvian language knowledge or risk losing their residence permits. Initially, many struggled. Out of 700 applicants in 2023, only about 30% passed the exam, according to the State Education Development Agency. Some individuals attempted the test multiple times, in one case as many as eight unsuccessful attempts.

Authorities extended the deadline by two years for nearly 4,000 people, retaining their social guarantees in the meantime. But this grace period is now expiring. In early 2025, thousands more will face the requirement to re-sit exams or face expulsion.

Overall, the reforms affected some 25,000 Russian citizens in Latvia. Around 16,000 have secured permanent EU residence permits, while another 1,000 obtained temporary residence permits through family reunification or employment. Roughly 2,600 have left voluntarily.

There is a small minority of Russian citizens who have shown no interest in settling their obligations with the country of residence and have not responded to the invitation to leave voluntarily. A decision on forced expulsion is then taken. For about 60 people, deportation procedures are already underway.

So far, 10 people have been expelled. In such cases, the Russian citizen is allowed to collect his belongings and, in agreement with the Russian side, is taken to the border or allowed to fly out.

For many affected individuals, the changes are dramatic. One 74-year-old man, who has lived in Latvia for 37 years, admitted he had relied on Russian all his life and found learning Latvian extremely difficult. Despite attending courses, he failed the test twice. “My children and grandchildren all work here, and I work too. Why should I leave? Who am I bothering here?” he told Latvian Television.

Such cases highlight the human dimension of the policy. While some Russian citizens have taken the requirement as an incentive to integrate, others view it as unfair after decades of residency. For Latvia, however, the law is part of a broader effort to consolidate national identity and reduce dependence on the Russian-speaking space.

Security dimension

The security services underline that the issue is not merely bureaucratic. Since 2022, 327 Russian citizens have been denied residence permits on national security grounds, and seven more have been placed on a blacklist. One case that gained attention involved a Russian citizen whose Latvian residence permit was revoked after he refused to condemn Moscow’s war against Ukraine and instead moved to Russia, where he publicly celebrated his “return to the homeland”.

The coming months will test both the state’s resolve and the affected community’s resilience. By mid-October, over 800 Russian citizens are expected to leave Latvia, voluntarily or by force.

Currently, the number of applicants retaking the Latvian language test is on the rise, with some individuals attempting the exam multiple times. According to Anta Lazareva, head of the State Language Proficiency Testing Department at the State Education Development Agency, many have enrolled in free Latvian courses offered by the State Employment Agency and the Ministry of Culture. Yet, the results remain modest: of the 700 people who sat the test this year, only around 30% passed. “I still believe that the largest number of applicants will come in 2026,” Lazareva said, pointing to the looming deadlines.

The debate over “non-citizens” and Russian residents is unlikely to end soon. For some Latvians, the language requirement is a long-overdue step to ensure loyalty and integration. For others, it raises questions about fairness, human rights, and whether long-term residents who have contributed to society should be uprooted in their later years.

For years, Moscow has vehemently criticized Latvia’s non-citizen status for ethnic Russians, denouncing it as discriminatory, and the recent deportation orders are likely to escalate tensions further.

Other source used: www.lsm.lv. Edited by k.n.

Caption: Russian in Latvia wait in line on last day of voting in the Russian presidential election at the Russian embassy in Riga, Latvia, 17 March 2024. EPA/TOMS KALNINS