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Latvian parliament
Reinis Inkēns / Latvian parliament Press Service
On Thursday, 22nd January, the majority of Latvian parliament deputies supported amendments to the Immigration Law in the first reading, which provide for stricter requirements for foreigners residing in Latvia.
In the first reading in Latvian parliament, 57 deputies from the New Unity, Greens and Farmers Union, National Alliance and United List factions supported the bill. Deputies from the Latvia First and For Stability factions voted against it. Most of the Progressives deputies abstained from voting.
The draft law stipulates that a temporary residence permit issued to a foreigner may be revoked if that person has committed three administrative offences in the areas of public order, administration, or road traffic within one calendar year.
Statistics show that last year there were around 21,000 third-country citizens in Latvia, of whom 11,000 had committed administrative offences.
“The term ‘systematic non-compliance with the law’ in this case should be understood as a person’s deliberate, repeated and regular failure to comply with legal norms, which indicates an indifferent or dismissive attitude towards the law and previous penalties. Such behaviour is considered to be persistent non-compliance with the legal order and may be grounds for imposing more severe penalties or additional restrictions,” said MP Ainars Latkovskis (New Unity) at the plenary session of the Latvian parliament.
Latvian parliament still must view this draft law in two readings.
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