Russians face eviction for failing Latvian language exam

Russians who failed the Latvian language exam are finding eviction orders in their mailboxes. The recipients have 30 days to leave the country.

The problem mainly affects former citizens of the USSR, who are now generally over 60 years old and settled in Latvia during Soviet times. In 1989, two years before Latvia regained independence, over 900,000 Russians lived there. After Latvia regained independence, they chose Russian citizenship.

Latvia granted them permanent residence permits, but according to reports, they typically did not know Latvian and were not interested in local culture. They usually learned about world events from Russian media and often displayed pro-Russian attitudes. According to the National Statistical Office, there are barely half a million of them.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, the Latvian parliament amended the immigration law. To extend a permanent residence permit, passing an exam confirming knowledge of the Latvian language at the A2 level is required (this applies to both Russians and other foreigners seeking permanent residence). Reports indicate that over a thousand people failed the test.

In such cases, the immigration office cancels the residence permits. In the last 12 months, the office issued 63 orders to leave Latvia. Additionally, 632 people who failed the exam left the country voluntarily and went to Russia alone, not waiting for the immigration service's directive.

Currently, about a thousand people have not taken the exams and have not submitted documents to extend their residence permits in Latvia. The immigration service is waiting for them to explain the reasons for this.

According to immigration services, over 85 percent of Russians affected by the new law have completed the necessary documents, have already passed the exam, or are learning the language and have obtained temporary residence permits.