Latvia: Around 4,500 Russians may be asked to leave

Around 4,500 Russian citizens may be asked to leave Latvia as they have failed to renew their residence permits, LSM reports. The permanent residence permits of altogether 25,300 Russian nationals living in Latvia expired on 1 September 2023. About 19,000 of the Russians have applied or plan to apply for renewal, and a little over 800 people have applied for a temporary residence permit. The remaining 4,500 or so have done nothing to obtain a new residence permit, however. They will receive a letter from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), asking them to leave Latvia within 90 days. To continue residing in Latvia legally, Russian citizens must apply for permanent resident status. To qualify, they must pass a Latvian language test at basic level.