A total of 18,600 Ukrainian residents have lost their temporary protection status in Latvia by not renewing their residence permits.
Such figures have been confirmed by Latvia’s Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office (PMLP), Schengen.News reports.
At present, a total of 30,920 residents of Ukraine have temporary protection status in Latvia, according to the Register of Natural Persons.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, 48,000 Ukrainians gained protection status in Latvia, according to the statistics provided by the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat.
Latvia’s PMLP has changed information in the Register of Natural Persons; nearly 18,600 Ukrainians have lost temporary protection status in Latvia because they have not applied for a new temporary residence permit within a month of the expiration of their visa or their residence permit, according to a report from LSM.
If Ukrainian residents lose their temporary protection status and continue to reside in Latvia, they are required to submit an application for the renewal of their temporary protection status and request a residence permit.
It is important for those Ukrainian civilians who continue to reside in Latvia to submit documents, as a residence permit is related to the possibility of receiving both benefits and other services.
At first, renewal applications had to be submitted by March 4. However, as a result of the low activity, the Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office offered an additional month, until April 4. However, authorities in Latvia said that even after this decision, the activity remained at a low level.
Ukrainians in Latvia Urged to Renew Their Residence Permits
In March this year, the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PLMP) called on all Ukrainians to renew their documents.
Back then, it was reported that a large number of Ukrainians didn’t renew their documents to continue residing legally in Latvia. The statistics revealed that of a total of 15,000 residence permits issued in 2022, only 3,500 were renewed.
This whole month of March until the beginning of April, we are very much waiting for people to submit their documents. But from April onwards, as soon as the residence permit expires, they will no longer be able to receive social services, or benefits, if any.
Since Latvia has a visa-free agreement with Ukraine, like other EU member states, Ukrainians are still allowed to stay legally in Latvia. However, from the beginning of this month, they are no longer allowed to work in Latvia or benefit from state-funded health services.
