“Time for a review.” Latvia to review the residence permits it has already issued

Latvia review President of the Baltic Republic, Egil Levits, said that he canceled residence permits (permits) and visas for those who have already been issued and support “Russian aggression”.

How does the portal transmit? delfi.lvThe head of state also reiterated his position previously expressed by Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevich that permanent residents of the country who will receive Russian citizenship in the future will not be granted a residence permit. “They will have to leave our country,” Levits said.

“The trade of residence permits issued by previous governments, their unwarranted generosity in granting residence permits to Russian citizens, created security risks behind which only the interests of some political businessmen were hidden, and contributed to bilingualism. “It’s time to review the consequences of this failed and dangerous policy.”

The Latvian leader claims that no matter what form of state Russia is allegedly always “imperial and threatening its neighbors”. “The killing of innocent people, torture, humiliation, deportation, deprivation of human dignity – everything that happens in Ukraine today has happened here, in Latvia,” said Levits.

Stop issuing visas

He reminded that Latvia does not issue tourist visas to Russians, but some other EU countries still continue to do so. Russian tourists come to Latvia on a tourist visa from other Schengen countries such as Finland or Italy.

Therefore, I believe that Latvia, together with Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and other like-minded countries, should put forward a request at the European level to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens in the future. “This would be an additional sanction against Russia,” he said.

Recall that on August 11 Latvian Saeima recognized The actions of the Russian army in Ukraine “Russia as a sponsor of terrorism and terrorism.” Parliament also urged EU countries to take immediate action. suspend the issuance of visas Russians and Belarusians. Moscow also promised to take retaliatory measures. Let’s add that in a month and a half, on October 1, the next Diet parliamentary elections in Latvia should pass.

Close Schengen to the Russians

Earlier this week, German Cabinet spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that the proposal to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians is being discussed in the EU – Berlin has taken this into account, but does not yet intend to evaluate the possible consequences.

And citizens of the Russian Federation since August 18 won’t be able to enter To Estonia with visas issued by this Baltic republic.

“At the same time, Estonia is so against the arrival of the Russians that they considered the possibility of closing the borders of the state within the Schengen area.

But the government is not yet ready for such extreme measures. First, it will create additional difficulties for the Estonians themselves. Second, the restriction will cost the country’s budget 4 million euros per month. In addition, border guards will need to be transferred from external borders to internal borders. In order not to bear such a burden alone, the Estonian authorities recommend that EU member states also limit the issuance of visas to Russians and close the borders for them. In particular, this issue will be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the end of August. TourDom.ru.

what are other countries doing

Against this background, Lithuanian lawmakers supplied Draft amendment to the citizenship law, which introduced the possibility of deprivation of foreign citizens who exceptionally obtained a Lithuanian passport.

It is assumed that citizenship will be taken from persons whose actions “support a state that threatens the security and interests of Lithuania or threatens Lithuania, its allies or other countries”. The initiative primarily concerns individuals who support Russia in the conflict in Ukraine.

In contrast, the Danish Cabinet thinker The opportunity to reduce the number of tourist visas issued to Russians – the special operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine is cited as the reason for such a decision, writes politics With reference to Korea Dyubwad, Minister of Integration.

Commenting on the restrictions imposed by Estonia on the citizens of the Russian Federation, he pointed out that such an application should be extended to the entire EU. “It is clear that if there is only one country in Europe that Russians can enter, it is possible in principle to enter the entire Schengen area. Therefore, it has to be done within the EU,” explained Dyubvada.

In contrast, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kufud believes that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement on the closure of all European countries to the Russians. may be soon reality.

According to the minister, the kingdom is ready to consider any restrictions proposed to Russia by EU countries or the USA.

According to the TV and radio company, the Finnish government will also consider possible travel restrictions for Russians. Yeah, the discussion will be held at an informal meeting next Tuesday, August 16. It was previously reported that Helsinki plans to limit “transit tourism” from Russia.

Jussi Tanner, Head of the Consular Office of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “We will intervene if the Russians start to travel elsewhere with permission from Finland,” and noted that this measure will only affect those who use the visa issued to go abroad. Finland is the third country. But, according to representatives of the tourism industry, such restrictions are unlikely to have a serious impact on the flow of tourists from Russia, writes. Prof.Travel.