Under the Aliens Law, permanent residence permits could be obtained by foreigners who were resident in Latvia on July 1,1992 and were registered in the population register. This law expired on May 1, 2003 with the entry into force of the Immigration Law.
Permanent residence permits for these Russian citizens will be valid until July 15, 2025 if they don't submit the necessary documents to apply for European Union (EU) permanent resident status to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) by June 30, 2025.
Residence permits will be valid until November 17, 2025, for those who need proof of knowledge of the national language to apply for EU permanent resident status.
The new requirements will apply to around 5,000 Russian citizens, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously said that many of them are Russian military pensioners and their family members.
As before, those aged 75 and over will be exempted from language exams.
During this period, Russian citizens will have the right to employment without restrictions, as well as the right to receive existing state services, including pensions and benefits, if their declared place of residence is in Latvia.
