Latvia to ask thousands of Russian citizens to leave the country

Up to 6,000 of Russian citizens in Latvia are expected to receive official notices next month asking them to leave the country, according to Ingmārs Līdaka, head of the parliament’s Commission on Citizenship, Migration and Public Mobilisation.

"There are 5,000 to 6,000 of them. These are people who have not shown any desire, either to take the exam or to obtain a temporary residence permit. They are silent. According to the current legislation, the Office of Citizenship and Migration will simply have to send them a request to leave the country within three months," he said.

Representatives of the Latvian Interior Ministry confirmed that letters are being prepared. Around 6,000 people will receive them, the ministry said, according to the Elta news agency.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Latvia decided to ask Russian citizens living in the country to undergo a mandatory Latvian language exam.

This caused mixed reactions in the country that still hosts thousands of Russian citizens who have lived in the country since the 1990 independence from the Soviet Union, but have never obtained the Latvian citizenship. Critics say many of them have failed to integrate into the Latvian society.