Eight hundred Russian citizens are at risk of being deported from Latvia, according to Madara Puke, representative of Latvia’s Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCME).

These individuals have not applied for either permanent or temporary residence, Puke said on Latvian television, according to Suspilne: “We have passed the information about these people to the State Border Guard Service for further verification. In the coming weeks, it will be clear whether these people are still in Latvia”.

Puke said that Russian nationals who remain in the country without documentation will be sent notices to leave the country within 30 days.

Latvia passed a legal requirement in 2023 stating that Russian citizens needed to pass a Latvian language proficiency test to attain or keep permanent residence permits.