Latvian authorities have reportedly ordered 841 individuals who refused to take or failed a mandatory language test to leave the country

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Latvian authorities have ordered 841 Russian citizens to leave the country, citing their failure to take or pass a mandatory language test, state-owned broadcaster LTV has reported.

Since independence in 1991, Latvia has refused to grant citizenship to a large section of the minority group, issuing them instead “non-citizen passports.” The latter bar holders from voting or working in certain sensitive jobs. Russian speakers currently comprise approximately 25% of the Baltic country’s total population.

Latvia’s Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office announced they had sent notifications to hundreds of Russian citizens residing in the country, according to an LTV report on Sunday. Those notified had not certified their proficiency in the Latvian language within an allotted two-year deadline and these individuals now have until October 13 to voluntarily leave the country, or be forcibly deported.

The language proficiency requirement was introduced as part of amendments to Latvia’s immigration law in 2022, with the deadline mandated the following year.

According to the broadcaster, the mandatory language test requirement affected over 25,000 Russian citizens, with an immigration official quoted as saying that in most cases “these are people who have lived here for a long time,” and own properties in Latvia.

 

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At least ten people have already been deported in connection with their failure to take the language test, with around 60 currently awaiting deportation, LTV reported. Another 2,000 Russian citizens must prove adequate language proficiency by the end of September, or face the same fate, LTV noted.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Baltic nation has imposed sweeping travel restrictions for Russian nationals, banned multiple Russian-language media outlets and stopped providing education in the language.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Latvian authorities of “blatant discrimination against Russians” this past April. This summer, Riga prohibited entry to several Russian citizens who own real estate near strategically important sites, citing national security concerns.

In 2024, Moscow filed pre-trial claims against Riga for allegedly violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.