OREANDA-NEWS More than 3 thousand Russian citizens living in Latvia have been sent letters stating that due to the new requirements of the immigration law, they may have to leave the country or apply for any of the residence permits, head of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs Department (UDGM) Myra Rose said.

The letters were sent to 3255 Russians.

Rosa in the program of the Latvian television "Morning Panorama" reported that in relation to 73 persons it turned out that they are abroad, and about 200 more do not have a declared place of residence. The head of the department believes that they, too, may no longer live in Latvia.

She added that the two-year extension for passing the state language exam and obtaining a permanent residence permit is valid only for those Russian citizens who have already started the process of applying for a permanent residence permit and have passed, but have not yet passed the state language proficiency test.

"Those who do nothing should leave," explained Rose.

In December, the UDGM will check which of those who are subject to specific requirements of the law submitted the necessary documents, and who did not. The Department will check in the state registers whether persons who have done nothing to streamline their stay status have left Latvia, and will also send information to the State Border Guard, which will have to check whether these people are still in the country, and if necessary take further action by issuing an exit order.

The UDGM also issued a statement in which it recalls: if Russian citizens who are subject to amendments to the immigration law have unsuccessfully passed the state language test once and have applied for a second check before September 1, then it must be passed without fail.

As reported, the immigration law provides that the permanent residence permits issued to Russian citizens in September 2023 have become invalid. To live in Latvia, these people must apply for permanent resident status.