Knowledge of the national language will be required for a few thousand more Russian citizens

Silina pointed out that the coalition agreed to advance relevant amendments to the Immigration Law in order to apply the conditions for knowledge of the national language to the group identified in the ST verdict, who acquired Russian citizenship earlier, but for whom knowledge of the language was not required until now.

The parties forming the government could submit the relevant amendments to the law this week.

According to the information collected by the responsible officials, the amendments to date regarding the certification of language knowledge apply to around 20,000 Russian citizens. The group in question totaled about 25,000, but of these, about 5,000 were over 75 years of age, so the requirement did not apply to them.

On the other hand, the latest amendments advanced by the coalition refer to others, a total of around 4,800 Russian citizens, who were issued a permanent residence permit earlier, based on the Law on Foreigners, which has already lost its force. Of the mentioned, the requirement for language knowledge might also not apply to those over 75 years old.

This smaller group also includes retired Russian military personnel and their family members.

As reported, the opposition National Union (NA) has prepared amendments to the Immigration Law, suggesting that Russian citizens who have a permanent residence permit in Latvia are obliged to submit documents for requesting the status of a permanent resident of the European Union, as well as a certificate of mastering the national language.

According to the data provided by the Directorate of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the amendments to the draft law would apply to approximately 5,000 persons who are Russian citizens, according to NA.