Several thousand more Latvian citizens of the Russian Federation want to test their language knowledge

Already on Thursday, the Seimas will consider in zero reading (transfer to a commission) the next amendments to the Immigration Law, which again concern Russian citizens living in Latvia from among former Latvian citizens or non-citizens.

Took on the subjects of the old law

We are, however, talking about a relatively small group of Latvian Russians (about 5,000 people) who issued a Russian passport under the old law “On the stay of foreigners and stateless persons in Latvia.” Since they were subjects of the previous law, they were not affected by the scandalous amendments to the Immigration Law, which were adopted by the last Seimas on the eve of the elections and which the current convocation of the Seimas has already amended twice.

And now, citing criticism from the Constitutional Court, the “Tevzemites” decided to make additions that will force this second group of Russians to undergo language tests and, accordingly, security checks when applying for the status of a permanent resident of the EU.

Member of the Seimas Edvins Šnore from TB–Visu Latvijai especially noted that among these five thousand Latvian Russians there are also former Russian (Soviet) military personnel and members of their families. True, only a quarter of this group of Russians will actually have to pass language tests – approximately 1,500 Latvians will have to take the exams. The rest have already reached the age of 75, and therefore are exempt from the exam.

Second version of amendments

Having seen the amendments of TB-Visu Latvijai, which were included in the agenda of the plenary meeting on Thursday, the ruling authorities also decided not to cede this topic of language checks. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared its own amendments, which are very similar to the “Tevzem” amendments. Namely: just like the first group of Russians, the second group will be given a year to prepare and pass the Latvian exam. You will also be given the opportunity to retake the exam in case of a negative assessment. If they fail to pass the Latvian proficiency test after two attempts, or even the Russians do not try to pass the exam, then they will ultimately face deportation.

True, again, it is possible to apply for a temporary residence permit due to family reunification (children, parents are permanent residents of Latvia), but a special residence permit is not provided for in the initial draft amendments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This follows from the comment of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rihards Kozlovskis, to the TV3 program NekA personIga. As you know, representatives of the first group of Russians have been given this opportunity – to ask for a special residence permit for a period of two years. It can be used by those who did not pass the exam on the second attempt or did not pass it for a good reason.

Apparently, first the Tevzeme amendments will be submitted to the Sejm commission on defense and internal affairs, and then the government ones. Yesterday, when this material was being prepared for publication, the version of the amendments to the Ministry of Internal Affairs was discussed at a meeting of the ruling coalition council.

Waiting for new surprises

Can the new amendments to the Immigration Law concerning Russians be considered the last? Unlikely.

FirstlyAccording to rumors, the possibility of increasing the language requirements for those foreigners (read: mainly Russian citizens) who live in Latvia on the basis of an investment residence permit is now being discussed. However, they are now not allowed to renew their residence permit if the five-year term of the first residence permit has expired. Apparently, those who have not completed this period will also need to take the exam for category A2.

Secondly, the Seimas is still waiting for its consideration of a new bill on immigration, which the parliament of the previous convocation began to prepare. The bill is to be considered in the second and third readings. It does not provide for the issuance of a residence permit in exchange for investments in real estate and subordinated capital of banks.

In principle, from a legal point of view, it would be logical to adopt a new law rather than endlessly patching up the old one and creating confusion through various amendments to the amendments and to the transitional rules.