1,332 Russian nationals yet to register for language test necessary to obtain permanent residency in EU

RIGA - As many as 1,331 Latvia-based Russian nationals have yet to register for a Latvian language test they are required to take in order to obtain permanent residency in the European Union (EU), according to the State Education Development Agency's data.

In all, 2,494 Russian nationals living in Latvia might be required to pass the language test to receive the permanent residency permit. As LETA was told at the State Education Development Agency, at least 520 persons had passed the test by the start of this year.

As of April 10, the first official test day, 261 out of the 2,073 persons who had to take the language test by the beginning of the year, had already taken it.

Half of them, or 51 percent, passed the test successfully. The legislation stipulates that persons who flunk the test must register for a repeated test by June 16 and pass it by September 30.

Another 480 people have registered for the language test. To avoid queues and to ensure that Russian nationals can obtain proof of their Latvian language skills in time, the agency has reserved testing times specifically for these people from April 10 to May 16.

As reported, last June, the Saeima adopted draft amendments to the Immigration Law making the Latvian language test mandatory for Russian nationals seeking residency in Latvia.

The latest amendments supported by the government coalition concerned around 4,800 people, retired Russian military personnel and their family members, who were previously granted a permanent residence permit on the basis of the now-expired aliens law. Of these people, the language proficiency requirement could also be waived for those over 75 years of age.

The residence rules for Russian citizens in Latvia had to be changed in order to strengthen the country's internal security and the position of the Latvian language, as well as to promote inclusion and belonging to Latvia among foreign citizens who stay in our country on a long-term basis, the authors of the draft amendments have stressed.

It accordance with the new regulation, permanent residence permits of these Russian citizens will be valid until July 15, 2025, if the necessary documents for applying for the status of permanent resident of the European Union (EU) have not been filed with the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs by June 30, 2025.

For those who need prove their knowledge of the national language to apply for EU permanent resident status, residence permits will be valid until November 17, 2025. Such stipulation has been introduced for cases where information has been received by June 30, 2025 that the person has taken the language test at least once and needs to take it repeatedly, but the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs has not received the documents necessary to apply for EU permanent resident status by October 31, 2025.

As reported, the amended Immigration Law provides that permanent residence permits issued to Russian citizens expired in September 2023. In order to continue to live in Latvia, they had to apply for the status of a permanent resident of the European Union, but in order to obtain it they had to submit to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs documents proving that they have a minimum command of the state language and sufficient financial resources.

Shortly before these provisions came into force, Saeima decided to amend the Immigration Law, giving Russian citizens living in Latvia two more years to pass a Latvian language test in order to continue to reside legally in Latvia. In addition, from September Russian citizens living in Latvia had to at least obtain a temporary residence permit. According to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, those Russian citizens who have not done anything to regularize their status in Latvia will have their residence permits revoked and will be sent letters asking them to leave the country.

The amendments to the Immigration Law provide that Russian citizens who have not passed the Latvian language test for justified reasons may apply for a residence permit of up to two years, during which period they have to pass the test.