Latvia to extend residence permits of Russian citizens on rare occasions - PM

RIGA. Aug 16 (Interfax/BNS) - The Latvian ruling coalition has agreed to change the principles of residence permit extension for Russian citizens - such residence permits will now be extended on rare occasions, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said at a press conference on Tuesday.

For instance, spouses will be issued permanent residence permits only if they pass the official language test, Karins said.

The government will make respective decisions in the coming weeks, he said.

Latvia has stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens, except in extraordinary cases, and there are practically no new residence permits, Karins said.

Some time ago, Latvian Interior Minister Kristaps Eklons proposed that applicants for permanent residence permits take an official language exam.

Nearly 1,000 residence permits issued to citizens of Russia and Belarus have been cancelled in Latvia since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, including 114 residence permits annulled at the request of security services, BNS said. The State Border Guard of Latvia has banned the arrival of 263 citizens of Russia and 43 citizens of Belarus.

Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky earlier condemned the idea of Latvian President Egils Levits to review residence permits issued to Russian citizens. "The very idea of such a revision is disgusting. To be honest, it is Nazism as it is and an encroachment on rights and freedoms along national lines," Slutsky said on Telegram on Sunday.