On Latvia’s Immigration Law

On Thursday, September 14, the Saeima supported amendments to the Immigration Law in the first reading, which provides for the possibility for Russian citizens living in Latvia to extend the time period for the Latvian language exam for the receipt of a permanent residence permit by two years. This would apply to those Russian citizens who have already tried to pass the test.

In April this year, after reviewing the arguments expressed by the responsible authorities, the Saeima supported amendments to the Immigration Law, which provided for the extension of the residence permit and the deadline for the processing of applications for Russian citizens who have passed or at least once have tried to pass the Latvian language proficiency test in accordance with the established procedure and who have been ordered to take the test again.

However, it was already clear at that time that there were some Russian citizens who were subject to the specific provisions of the Immigration Law who were not in a hurry to pass the Latvian language exam and to complete the documents for a permanent residence permit.

Today, we know that approximately 10 000 of the more than 25 000 Russian citizens who have been issued with an EU permanent residence permit in Latvia have not submitted documents for this permit and have not applied for the language exam.

This fact — the number of Russian citizens who choose not to comply with the law — was used as the basis for initiating new amendments to the Immigration Law.

Given the manipulation of concepts in recent months in relation to the provisions of the Immigration Law concerning the continued stay of foreigners, and more specifically Russian citizens, in Latvia, I think it is worth recalling two things: (1) the expulsion of third-country nationals from a country in which they are staying illegally is not uncommon, and (2) what is meant by the terms ‘expulsion’, ‘collective expulsion’ and ‘deportation’, which have been inappropriately invoked.

The terms:

Collective expulsion: any measure that requires aliens as a group to leave the country, except where such a measure is taken on the basis of a reasoned and objective examination of the particular case of each individual alien in the group.

Deportation: (from Latin deportare: to forcibly transfer to another place) the forcible expulsion, transfer, removal of individuals or groups of individuals to another place of residence or another country. Deportation usually involves deporting various “undesirables” — illegal migrants and other persons who have somehow or other entered the country’s territory by circumventing the legal procedures for crossing the border, or who have violated the country’s laws, or who are a threat to its security. Deportation is less often applied to nationals of their own country, as the constitutions and laws of democracies prohibit the deportation of their own nationals.

Expulsion: in accordance with the Immigration Law and international obligations binding on Latvia, expulsion applies to the stay of foreigners in Latvia that does not comply with the laws and regulations (e.g. if the foreigner does not have a valid visa or residence permit). If it is established that a foreigner is unlawfully staying in Latvia, an exit order is issued giving the foreigner a deadline to leave Latvia voluntarily. The departure order and the decision on forced expulsion are administrative acts which the foreigner has the right to challenge or appeal in accordance with the procedure laid down by law. The foreigner shall not be expelled if the expulsion is contrary to Latvia’s international obligations.

So, to summarise the current situation, more than 25,000 Russian citizens living in Latvia had their permanent residence permits expire on 1 September. Some 19,000 people have applied or are planning to renew their status. Just over 800 people have applied for a temporary residence permit. The rest have not done anything to obtain a residence permit. So for at least 19 thousand Russian citizens, nothing will change in the next few months. About 4.5 thousand Russian citizens who have not done anything to obtain a residence permit could soon receive a letter from the PMLP asking them to leave Latvia within 90 days.

Yesterday, the Saeima supported in the final reading the Interior Ministry’s amendments to the Immigration Law, which stipulate extending state language tests for Russian citizens in Latvia by two years so they could obtain a permanent residence permit in Latvia, provided that they have taken the initiative to take the test.

It is absolutely clear that no sympathy should be shown to those who have not even tried to get their paperwork in order by the original deadline.
That would not be collective expulsion in any case.

The amendments to the Immigration Act adopted last year are legally sound. The fact that they were adopted in the run-up to the elections has no legal or political significance. The Parliament is fully responsible for the laws it adopts from the first to the last day of the parliamentary term. Yes, of course, Russia will try to turn this situation into propaganda against Latvia. However, it must be remembered that Latvia also has good arguments here.

Everything depends on whether and how far the Latvian Government is prepared to represent Latvia’s position in the international arena, in accordance with its competencies, and to represent our interests and the legitimacy of our regulations.

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