Latvia to expel 841 Russian nationals before October 13
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The Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) has sent notifications to 841 Russian citizens stating that they must leave the country by Oct

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The Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) has sent notifications to 841 Russian citizens stating that they must leave the country by Oct. 13, Public Broadcasting of Latvia (LSM) reported. According to the agency, these individuals failed to submit the necessary documents to obtain a residence permit in line with the 2024 amendments to the country’s Immigration Law.

According to the broadcast, this group of Russian citizens had also missed the deadline to apply to take a required Latvian language exam. Maira Roze, the head of OCMA, noted that some of those who received notifications “had heard or seen nothing,” and had only realized something was wrong when their pensions stopped being paid.

Representatives of the Immigration Service of the State Border Guard are conducting inspections of the Russian nationals who did not respond to the OCMA’s call. According to Lieutenant Colonel Gatis Rūža, head of the Riga Service of the State Border Guard, the majority of individuals whose residence permits are no longer valid have already left the country.

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  • HotznplotznOPEnglish
    164·
    6 months ago

    They are Russian citizens and have “failed to submit the necessary documents to obtain a residence permit [and] also missed the deadline to apply to take a required Latvian language exam”.

    • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
      14·
      6 months ago

      Imagine if the AfD did the same in Germany. It’s understandable why they do it but this sets a precedent that we most likely will regret in the future.

    • muzzle@lemmy.zipEnglish
      511·
      6 months ago

      They have been living there forever “some of those who received notifications ‘had heard or seen nothing,’ and had only realized something was wrong when their pensions stopped being paid.”

      • Kornblumenratte@feddit.orgEnglish
        11·
        6 months ago

        If they are Russian citizens they are foreigners regardless how long they live in the country. They are either recent immigrants or choose Russian citizenship when Latvia gained independence. This is not ethnic cleansing.

        I still agree that it is not Ok to expell people who lived for decades in the country and paid their taxes. And it is not Ok to suddenly mandate a language exam for pensioners unable to learn the language due to their age to prolong a residency permit after almost 40 years granting residency without mandating language skills.

        • muzzle@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          6 months ago

          I agree with most of what you say, no need to squabble over definitions.