POLICY REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN LATVIA: REFERENCE YEAR 2011

Transcription

1 POLICY REPORT ON MIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN LATVIA: REFERENCE YEAR 2011 Riga, April 2012

2 2 In accordance with Council Decision 2008/381/EC of 14 May 2008, the European Migration Network has been established; the objective of the European Migration Network shall be to meet the information needs of Community institutions and of Member States authorities and institutions by providing up-to-date, objective, reliable, and comparable information on migration and asylum, with a view to supporting policymaking in the European Union in these areas. The European Migration Network shall also serve to provide the general public with information on these subjects. The network consists of the European Commission and national contact points designated by the Member States. Each contact point develops national migration network. Every national contact point is required to provide an annual report describing the migration and asylum situation in the Member State including policy developments and statistical data. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs is Latvian Contact Point of the European Migration Network. Developed by: Kristīne Bērziņa, Expert of the Latvian Contact Point of the European Migration Network Linda Krūmiņa, Expert of the Latvian Contact Point of the European Migration Network Reviewed by: Jānis Citskovskis, Deputy Head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Ilze Briede, Head of the Migration Division of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Sanda Kundrāte, Head of the Persons Status Control Division of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Lāsma Stabiņa, Senior Expert of the Policy Implementation Division of the Sectoral Policy Department of the Ministry of the Interior Līga Vijupe, Head of the Asylum Affairs Division of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Contact: Čiekurkalna 1. line 1, B-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1026 Phone: Fax: emn@pmlp.gov.lv Web:

3 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ANNOTATION INTRODUCTION Methodology Terms and definitions POLITICAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK General structure of the political system and institutional context General structure of the legal system POLITICAL, LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Main political changes Main policy and legislative improvement debates Main institutional developments LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION Economic migration Changes within the national perspective Changes from the EU perspective Family reunification Integration Citizenship and naturalisation ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND RETURN Illegal immigration Return Actions against human trafficking BORDER CONTROL Control and surveillance at external borders Cooperation in border control INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AND ASYLUM UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND OTHER VULNERABLE GROUPS GLOBAL APPROACH TO MIGRATION IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU LEGISLATION LIST OF USED LITERATURE AND SOURCES...57

4 4 ANNOTATION The policy report is provides an overview of the migration and asylum issues in Latvia from 1 January till 31 December Tasks of the report to present amendments to the national laws, public administration practice, political and public debates on migration and asylum issues, to include information on the implementation of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, and the Stockholm Programme in Latvia, and to analyse the impact of EU migration and asylum policy on the migration and asylum policy of Latvia. Key political events in Latvia are related to the operation of the Saeima, the President, the parties, and the government. Following an announcement by the President Valdis Zatlers and the subsequent referendum, the 10 th Saeima was dissolved; this is the first time in Latvian history, when the President made use of the right to initiate dissolution of the Saeima. On 2 June 2011 the presidential election was held, where Andris Bērziņš, a member of the party Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers) and deputy of the 10 th Saeima, was elected. On 17 September 2011 extraordinary 11 th parliamentary elections were held, which resulted in the change of the main political forces. The new government, which was approved by the Saeima on 25 October, consisted of the following parties: Zatlera Reformu partija (Zatlers Reform Party), Nacionālā apvienība (National Alliance), and Vienotība (Unity). Rihards Kozlovskis, a member of the Zatlera Reformu Partija, became the Minister of Interior, who has announced prevention of illegal migration as one of his main priorities. Broad discussions both within the society and on the political stage took place on naturalisation, as well as the language policy, and economic migration issues. Changes in the allocation of responsibilities of various authorities shall also be noted as an event, which happened during the review period: the Ministry of Culture was allocated the function of integration, and a new function was allocated to the Ombudsman, while the functions of the State Border Guard and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs were extended. Legal migration During 2011 the number of first residence permits continues to grow 3777, comparing to 2010, when the number reached 2329 permits. During 2011 several amendments to the laws as regards the simplification of travel and residence of third-country nationals in Latvia for the purposes of employment were also introduced. Changes have affected the field of economic migration, by setting higher levels for investment amounts in the Immigration Law based on which legal right to reside in the territory of Latvia may be acquired. Also requirements of the Blue Card Directive have been transposed into the Latvian laws. By transposing the Directive 2004/39/EC, amendments to the respective national laws were made; i.e., the definition of the family member of a Union citizen was extended. On 20 October 2011 the Integration Policy Guidelines (elaborated by the Ministry of Culture) entered into force defining the policy on the strengthening of the

5 5 national identity, development of the civic society, and integration. Amendments to national laws on the citizenship and naturalisation issues were also introduced the procedure on registering children born in Latvia to non-citizens as citizens of Latvia was simplified; some categories of non-citizens were exempt from the national language tests as part of the naturalisation exams. Illegal migration, return and border control On the state border entry into Latvia was refused in 1230 cases during 2011; the number is 51% higher than in Most often the entry was refused due to invalid travel documents, visas or residence permits, or due to forged visa or residence permit. Whereas the total number of irregular migrants, who were detained within the state, is relatively small. The number of detained persons has decreased since 2005 from 307 persons, who were detained in 2005, to 195 persons in 2010, and 130 persons in The largest countries of origin of irregular migrants are still Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. By combating the illegal migration, in 2011 Latvia has continued developing the inter-institutional cooperation and cooperation with third countries, and has introduced a number of amendments to the national laws. By transposing the Employers Sanctions Directive, administrative and criminal responsibility for illegal employment of immigrants has been set. By transposing the Return Directive, the voluntary return principle has been secured, the procedures of the detention and return of foreigners has been specified, and minor technical amendments have been made. In order to decrease the risks of human trafficking, an Action Plan has been elaborated and a Working Group has been established; a draft law on the prevention of marriage of convenience which are entered into by force has been elaborated by providing for criminal responsibility for individuals, who maliciously provided legal residence to persons not only in Latvia, but also in other EU, EEA countries, or in the Swiss Confederation. In 2011 facilitations for local border traffic in the border area with Russia and Belarus have been introduced, several modern technologies have been purchased by fulfilling the functional requirements as regards the introduction of biometrics, amendments to the national laws have been introduced by continuing adoption of the Visa Code requirements. Since 11 October 2011 the first Visa Information System roll-out was launched, where the Embassy of Latvia in Egypt takes part. International protection In 2011 the number of asylum seekers has significantly increased (from 65 persons in 2010 to 350 persons), which is mainly due to the re-routing of asylum seekers within the EU. In order to improve the functionality of the existing asylum system, a Working Group has been established for elaborating a Measures Plan, which shall serve for communicated action of authorities in case of mass arrival of asylum seekers, as well as several studies and training courses on the asylum issues have been held.

6 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Methodology The report has been elaborated according to the specification by the European Commission, which was approved by the national contact points of the European Migration Network (EMN). The overview results of the national contact points of the EMN involved in the development of the report will be collated in a synthesis report, comparing the experience of Member States and policy trends on migration and asylum issues in the EU. The synthesis report shall be used in the annual European Council debates to be held mid The annual policy report 2011 on migration and asylum issues in Latvia provides an overview of the migration and asylum policy, development and amendments to the national laws, based on the implementation of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum and the Stockholm Programme. The specification of the policy report provides that the development of the migration and asylum issues shall be described separately from the view of the EU policy and the national policy perspective. It shall be noted that the migration and asylum policy in Latvia is mainly based on the common EU migration and asylum policy and only some issues are subject to a national approach, thus the policy of Latvia may not always be described from different perspectives. The Annual Report 2011 is the sixth policy overview prepared by the Latvian Contact Point of the EMN. Previous policy reports ( ) are available for download from the website of the Latvian Contact Point of the EMN Relevant data about various migration and asylum aspects were retrieved from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Welfare, the State Border Guard, the Court Administration, the State Police, and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, as well as from the websites of the aforementioned authorities. In order to represent the opinion of the society and address discussions on the political stage, articles, opinions, and statements published on various news and social websites, as well as information available on the websites of other governmental authorities were used. All items of literature and sources that have been used for the development of the study are included in the list of used literature and sources.

7 7 When preparing the report, no special criteria were used to verify the significance of articles, publications, opinions, and debates. The present document includes statistical data collated by national data providers and the EU Statistical Office Eurostat. The data is verified with migration and asylum experts Terms and definitions All and any terms included in the present document are in line with the definitions from the EU and EMN Asylum and Migration Glossary 1. Individual terms, which are used regarding the national laws, are provided with separate explanations. 1 Available on

8 8 2. POLITICAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 2.1. General structure of the political system and institutional context There are no significant changes in the political structure of Latvia since Still, the Ministry of Interior is the main state administration authority in the field of internal affairs, which also develops and implements the policy in the field of migration. Besides the Ministry of Interior, also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, the Ombudsman, as well as state security institutions and local governments are dealing with migration and asylum issues. The aforementioned state administration authorities cooperate with each other within their competence to implement principles of good governance General structure of the legal system In 2011 the legal system in the field of migration and asylum has not substantially changed. The Immigration Law 2 and its subordinate regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers still define the procedure of entry, residence, transit, exit, and detention of foreigners, as well as the procedures by which foreigners are kept under temporary custody in the Republic of Latvia and returned from it in order to ensure the implementation of migration policy conforming with the norms of international law and the state interests of Latvia. The Asylum Law 3 and its subordinate regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers ensure the rights of persons in the Republic of Latvia to receive asylum, acquire refugee or alternative status, or receive temporary protection in accordance with generally accepted international principles of human rights. The Law On the Status of a Long-term Resident of the European Union in the Republic of Latvia 4 determines the procedures for granting and withdrawing of the status of a long-term resident of the European Union in the Republic of Latvia according to Council Directive 2003/109/EC 5 of 25 November Technical 2 Published: The Messenger, No. 169, [enters into force from ] 3 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 100, [enters into force from ] 4 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 107, [enters into force from ] 5 Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents. Official Journal, L 016,

9 9 amendments 6 were introduced to the law in 2011 in order to harmonise the terminology of the law with the requirements of the Treaty of Lisbon 7. The procedures for the entry and residence in the Republic of Latvia of citizens of the Union and their family members, as well as the restrictions on residence of such persons, are stipulated by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No of 30 August Law Amendments to the law On the Status of a Long-term Resident of the European Community in the Republic of Latvia. The Latvian Herald, No. 117, [enters into force from ] 7 Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon on 13 December Official Journal, C 306, Cabinet of Ministers Regulations of 30 August 2011 No. 675 Procedures for the Entry and Residence in the Republic of Latvia of Citizens of the Union and their Family Members. Latvian Herald, No. 141, [enters into force from ]

10 10 3. POLITICAL, LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 3.1. Main political changes Year 2011 was significant due to several political events the dissolution of the Saeima, the presidential elections, the elections of a new Saeima, the foundation of new political parties and alliances thereof, the liquidation of existing parties, and the formation of a new government. One of the key events in 2011 was the dissolution of the Saeima, which was elected only in 2010; the dissolution of the Saeima was initiated by the President of that time Valdis Zatlers on 28 May The President justified the dissolution of the Saeima with a serious conflict between the legislative and judicial power in Latvia, and because of the arbitrariness of minor groups of persons. 10 The decree of the President aroused extensive discussions in the society. It was the first time in the history of Latvia, when a president had made use of the right to dissolute the Saeima. The rule of law of the decree was also doubted the President had issued the order only a few days prior to the planned presidential elections. The presidential elections were held on the 2 June Valdis Zatlers was not re-elected by the Saeima; thus, becoming the first president who has not been reelected after Latvia regaining its independence. After having scored majority of votes in the second round, Andris Bērziņš, deputy of the 10 th Saeima and the representative of political party Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība, was elected; he took over the presidency from 8 July The elections are deemed to be an unprecedented event in the history of Latvia, because the new President was elected by the Saeima, regarding which no confidence was expressed by the existing President. 11 The dissolution of the Saeima promoted the development of the subsequent political events in Latvia due to the aforementioned decree of the President, the 9 Decree No. 2 by the President of Latvia of 28 May 2011 On the Dissolution of the Saeima. The Latvian Herald, No. 83, [enters into force from ] 10 Announcement of the President of Latvia to the Latvian society. Available at: [see: ] 11 Advokāts: vajag kārtību gadījumiem, kad valsts ir bez galvas un kakla (Lawyer: we need a procedure for cases, when the state is without the head and neck ). Available at: [see: ]

11 11 society had the opportunity to elect new political forces in the coming extraordinary parliamentary elections. Considering the pro-active political position of the President Valdis Zatlers during his presidency on solution of various issues, and the non-election of him, as well as the fact that the decree on the dissolution of the Saeima was widely supported by the society, caused rapid increase of Valdis Zatlers rating, the political party Zatlera Reformu partija 12 was founded on 23 July 2011 aiming to participate in the extraordinary 11 th Saeima elections. The priority of the party is the reformation of the public administration and decreasing the impact of the oligarchs (impact by a group of narrow interests or even individuals on the public administration). Meanwhile, a nationally conservative political party Nacionālā apvienība Visu Latvijai! Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK (hereinafter Nacionālā apvienība (National Allieance)) was founded on 23 July 2011 by two political parties: Visu Latvijai! and Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK ; the priority of the alliance is the representation of national interests of the Latvians. 13 Upon the merge of the liberal party Jaunais laiks, the conservative party Pilsoniskā savienība and the social-democratic party Sabiedrība citai politikai, a new centre-right political party Vienotība 14 was founded on 6 August In 2010 Vienotība had been established as a union of political parties for the participation in the 10 th Saeima elections. After the dissolution of the Saeima, in the 15 th Congress on 9 July 2011, the political party Tautas partija took the decision to dissolve the party. 15 To date the party had been represented in the 7 th, 8 th, 9 th and 10 th Saeima. Members of the party, Andris Šķēle and Aigars Kalvītis had also been Prime ministers for several times. The referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima was held on 23 July According to the results, or 94,3% of the electorate voted in favour of the 12 Nodibina Zatlera Reformu partiju; eksprezidentu ievēl par priekšsēdi (Zatler s Reform party is founded; the ex-president is elected for the chairman thereof). Available at: [see: ] 13 Visu Latvijai! un Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK apvienošanās kongress (Merge congress of the parties Visu Latvijai! and Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK ). Available at: [see: ] 14 Dombrovska runa Vienotības dibināšanā (Dombrovskis speech on the day Vienotība was founded). Available at: [see: ] 15 Nolemj likvidēt Tautas partiju (Decide to liquidate the party Tautas partija ). Available at: - [see: ]

12 12 dissolution. Thus, the 10 th Saeima was dismissed and on 17 September 2011 extraordinary Saeima elections took place. 16 Five parties and party alliances managed to get deputy seats in the 11 th Saeima: the alliance of political parties Saskaņas centrs (31 deputy seats), Zatlera Reformu partija (22 deputy seats), party Vienotība (20 deputy seats), Nacionālā apvienība (14 deputy seats) and Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība (13 deputy seats). 17 On 10 October 2011 an agreement was reached that the government coalition will consist of Zatlera Reformu partija, Vienotība and Nacionālā apvienība. 18 In the extraordinary meeting 19 of the Saeima on 25 October 2011, the new Cabinet of Ministers was approved. Valdis Dombrovskis, member of Vienotība, was approved as a Prime Minister, thus being elected for this position for the third time in a row. Work in the new Cabinet of Ministers was continued by the following Vienotība members: Andris Vilks (Minister of Finance) and Artis Pabriks (Minister of Defence). Several Vienotība members were newly elected: Ilze Viņķele (Minister of Welfare), Ingrīda Circene (Minister of Health). In the new Cabinet of Ministers, Zatlera Reformu partija was represented by Rihards Kozlovskis (Minister of Interior) and Edmunds Sprūdžs (Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development). Nacionālā apvienība was represented by Žanete Jaunzeme-Grende (Minister of Culture) and Gaidis Bērziņš (Minister of Justice). Several non-party members were also involved in the government: Laimdota Straujuma (Minister of Agriculture), Edgars Rinkēvičs (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Daniels Pavļuts (Minister of Economics), Roberts Ķīlis (Minister of Education and Science) and Aivis Ronis (Minister of Transport). Irrespective of the expressed non confidence in the Cabinet of Ministers, the former political parties maintained their position in the 11 th Saeima. The key change is the entry of a new party Zatlera Reformu partija to the political arena. The results of the 11 th Saeima elections also showed, that the alliance of political parties gada 23. jūlija tautas nobalsošana par 10. Saeimas atlaišanu (National Referendum of 23 July 2011 on the dissolution of the Saeima). Available at [see: ] Saeimas vēlēšanas (Elections of the 11 th Saeima). Available at: [see: ] 18 Vienošanās par koalīcijas izveidi (Agreement on the coalition). Available at: [see: ] 19 The agenda of the extraordinary Saeima meeting on 25 October Available at: [see: ]

13 13 Saskaņas centrs, although it scored the highest number of votes, was not included in the coalition formed by the government. During 2011 political changes have also affected the interior issues. The previous Minister of Interior Linda Mūrniece decided to resign yet before the decree of the President on the dissolution of the Saeima. The Minister of Interior took the decision due to events in 2011, when employees of the State Police were accused of various criminal offences; with the resignation the Minister of Interior wished to take the political responsibility for the situation in the state. 20 Although the resignation of the Minister of Interior was accepted already on 21 February 2011, L.Mūrniece continued to perform her duties until 6 June in order to finish commenced work. Since another candidate for the position was not nominated, another member of Vienotība the Minister of Justice Aigars Štokenbergs took over of the duties. The new Minister of Interior was nominated only with the approval of the new government. From 25 October 2011 Rihards Kozlovskis, a member of the newly founded party Zatlera Reformu partija, was appointed for the position of the Minister of Interior; the decrease of illegal immigration has been announced as one of his key priorities. Migration issues were also included in the agenda of the new government. 21 Combat against crime, which affects the economic and judicial processes in Latvia, has been set as a priority, thus raising the need for strict control of immigration from third countries and decreasing illegal immigration. The tasks promoting integration were still on the agenda of the government cohesion of society, on the same time while ensuring the possibilities of each resident to maintain and develop their language and culture; introducing minority curricula; tasks related to the promoting of the naturalisation process and improving of the demographical situation in Latvia Dombrovskis pieņem Mūrnieces demisiju (Dombrovskis accepts the resignation of Mūrniece). Available at: [see: ] 21 Declaration of the Intended Activities of the Cabinet of Ministers. Available at: [see: ] 22 Zatlera Reformu partijas, Vienotības un Nacionālās apvienības vienošanās par reformu un tiesiskuma koalīcijas un valdības izveidošanu (Agreement by Zatlera Reformu partija, Vienotība and Nacionālā apvienība on the coalition of reforms and rule of law and on the formation of the government). Available at: [see: ]

14 14 In general it shall be concluded that, besides the numerous political events during 2011, the political direction in the internal affairs has not changed in comparison to Main policy and legislative improvement debates Between 1 March and 31 May 2011 census was organised in Latvia, and the acquired results provided a much clearer understanding of the number of people who had emigrated from Latvia. According to the provisional census data, the population of Latvia reached on 1 March Since the last population census in 2000 the population has decreased by 307 thousands or 15%. 23 With the worsening of the demographic situation in Latvia, which was proven by the census results in 2011, employment became one of the top issues, and along with that also the related forecasts, which demonstrated that considering the long-term economic development of Latvia, the labour market of Latvia shall be made more accessible to third-country nationals. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs shall elaborate an Immigration Policy Plan 24 until 1 July 2013, in which the solution of the labour market issues shall be one of the top priorities. In order to bring forward the topics, which shall be covered by the new Immigration Policy Plan, on 11 October 2011 the Latvian contact point of the EMN organised the conference What should be migration policy in Latvia?. The conference was attended by representatives from public administration authorities, non-governmental organisations, academics, as well as political parties from the Saeima. The conference covered topical issues of the migration, situation in the labour market and labour force migration, mid-term and long-term labour market forecasts, and the significance of the integration policy of immigrants. During 2011 important debates occurred on legal order of the national laws as for the granting of citizenship and language policy. 23 Population Census Key indicators. Available at: [see: ] 24 Action Plan of the government for the implementation of the Declaration of the Intended Activities of the Cabinet of Ministers. Available at: [see: ]

15 15 Work on the amendments to the Citizenship Law 25 was started following the initiative of the President Valdis Zatlers regarding dual citizenship for exiled Latvian citizens and their descendants irrespective of their place of residence, automatically acknowledging as Latvian citizens all children who are born abroad to parents at least one of whom is Latvian citizen, and acknowledging as Latvian citizens all children born after 1991 to non-citizens 26 without a special application from their parents. The necessity for amendments to the Citizenship Law is due to the fact that the legal provisions included therein are outdated and do not correspond to the existing situation in Latvia. Legal provisions, which, considering the topical economic migration of Latvian citizens to the other Member States, would simplify the acquisition of citizenship of the children born to emigrated Latvian citizens, Latvian citizens emigrated during World War II and the children born to the non-citizens, should be included in the Citizenship Law. The legal provisions currently in force demonstrate that, for example, many Latvian non-citizens do not make use of their rights to register their children as Latvian citizens. The work on the draft law was delayed due to the dissolution of the 10 th Saeima and the formation of the new government. Following the discussions on the necessity of introducing amendments to the Citizenship Law, discussions related to the current language policy implemented in Latvia arose within the society and the government. The society Sargi valodu un Latviju (Protect the Language and Latvia) and Nacionālā apvienība initiated amendments to the Section of the Constitution 28 by adding the provision that the state shall provide free primary and secondary 25 Published: The Latvian Herald, No.93, [enters into force from ] 26 According to the Law On the Status of those Former U.S.S.R. Citizens who do not have the Citizenship of Latvia or that of any Other State non-citizens are such citizens of the former USSR who reside in the Republic of Latvia as well as who are in temporary absence and their children who simultaneously comply with the following conditions:1) on 1 July 1992 they were registered in the territory of Latvia regardless of the status of the living space indicated in the registration of residence, or up to 1 July 1992 their last registered place of residence was in the Republic of Latvia, or it has been determined by a court judgment that they have resided in the territory of Latvia for 10 consecutive years until the referred to date; 2) they are not citizens of Latvia; and 3) they are not and have not been citizens of another state. As regards the European Union, non-citizens of Latvia are deemed to be citizens of third countries, who have acquired permanent residence permits and have the related rights. The persons belonging to this category are not issued residence permits, but their status is approved by the non-citizen passport of Latvia. 27 Section 112 of the Constitution stipulates the following: Everyone has the right to education. The State shall ensure that everyone may acquire primary and secondary education without charge. Primary education shall be compulsory. 28 The Constitution of the Republic of Latvia (Satversme). The Latvian Herald, No. 43, [enters into force from ]

16 16 education only in the official language in all state-financed schools starting from Grade 1 from 1 September The proposed amendments were justified with the necessity to promote the preservation and sustainability of the Latvian language by ensuring that the graduates and officials of local and governmental authorities speak good Latvian. The draft law aroused heated discussions in the society and mass media. Valērijs Buhvalovs and Jakovs Pliners from the political party Par cilvēka tiesībām vienotā Latvijā (For Human Rights in United Latvia) disapproved of the draft law and stressed: such amendments would only stir up the internationalized hatred within the society and dissolve the balance between the Latvian and Russian communities; the idea is in contradiction to human rights and would reduce the authority of Latvia in Europe; similarly in case of introduction of the law, the skills and competitiveness of pupils would be decreased and thus the unemployment would increase; as well as demonstrations would be inevitable citizens of Latvia voted in favour of the amendments, which is less than one tenth or of the number of Latvian citizens having the right to vote in the last parliamentary elections, 31 thus, the draft law on the amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia was not considered by the Saeima. In its turn between 1 and 30 November 2011, signatures were collected for initiation of another draft law Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia aiming to nominate Russian as the second official language of Latvia. The collection of signatures was supported by the political party Saskaņas centrs. The draft law Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia was submitted to the President of Latvia, who in turn submitted it for review to the parliament. On 22 December 2011 the Saeima rejected the amendments and thus a national referendum was organised. In 2011 the government several times revalue the amendments to the Immigration Law 32, which entered into force from 1 July 2010, and which stipulated 29 Note: the current education system in Latvia provides for free state-financed education also in minority schools. 30 Pliners: mācības tikai latviešu valodā uzkurinās starpnacionālu naidu (Pliners: education in Latvian only will raise international hatred). Available at: [see: ] 31 Par parakstu vākšanas likuma Grozījumi Latvijas Republikas Satversmē ierosināšanai rezultātu (On the results of the initiation of the law Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia ). Available at: [see: ] 32 Law Amendments to the Immigration Law. The Latvian Herald, No. 74, [enters into force from ]

17 17 that a residence permit in Latvia may be obtained, if the investments in real estate, subordinated capital of banks, or equity capital of companies has been made. Fraudulent transactions were stated where third-country nationals had performed counterfeit transactions in order to acquire legal rights to reside in Latvia. In order to avoid such cases, once again the Immigration Law 33 was amended by introducing additional requirements regarding individual wishing to acquire a residence permit in Latvia through investments or contributions. At present it is difficult to assess the impact of the draft law on the national economy, since the additional requirements entered into force only recently and the public opinion regarding the acquiring of a residence permit through investments or contributions is various Main institutional developments There have been no institutional changes in migration and asylum field in Latvia in 2011, but in order to improve the enforcement of public administration functions, the responsibilities of various authorities were reshuffled. Thus, along with the amendments to the Immigration Law 34, the functions of several authorities on the procedure of return of irregular migrants were extended: - The Ombudsman was assigned the function of monitoring the procedure of forced return of irregular migrants (up to now there was no system in Latvia monitoring the forced return, which would provide for an unbiased assessment of the procedure of forced return from legal and practical point of view); - the rights of the State Border Guard officials were extended by giving rights of issuing a return decision irrespective of the place where the offence was registered (till now return decisions were issued by the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs and the State Border Guard based on territorial principles (the State Border Guard in the border area and on the state border crossing points, the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs within the territory of Latvia)). On 1 June 2011 the detained foreigners accommodation centre was opened in Daugavpils, where 73 persons may be accommodated at a time. The former centre in Olaine was closed. 33 Law Amendments to the Immigration Law. The Latvian Herald, No. 93, [enters into force from ] 34 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 93, [enters into force from ]

18 18 Following the introduced amendments to the Latvian Administrative Violations Code 35, the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs now processes administrative cases and imposes administrative sanctions on persons for violating the passport storage and usage provisions, for failure to notify or intentional provision of false information to the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs and institutions that declare places of residence, for failure to notify the changes to the information provided for the receipt of a residence permit, for failure to register a residence permit, for residing in the Republic of Latvia without a valid visa, residence permit, or a valid travel document, and for consciously providing a person with an opportunity to reside illegally in the Republic of Latvia. According to the new competence of the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the amendments to the By-law of the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs were introduced. 36 As regards the integration, it should be noted that the Ministry of Culture took over the development of the national policy of social integration, as well as of the implementation and coordination thereof, and it also took over the development of the immigrants integration policy and the implementation of the monitoring function of the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals. 35 Law Amendments to the Latvian Administrative Violations Code. The Latvian Herald, No. 183, [enters into force from ] 36 Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No.875 of 8 November 2011 Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 911 of 3 October 2006 By-law of the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs. The Latvian Herald, No. 178, [enters into force from ]

19 19 4. LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION 4.1. Economic migration Changes within the national perspective Employment National laws regulating the employment of third-country nationals are built horizontally, i.e., referring to all third-country nationals equally. Latvia does not promote the immigration of qualified labour force, because the total number of immigrants is rather small and most persons entering the country for employment purposes are not highly-skilled. Whereas the number of persons entering Latvia for low-qualification jobs is so small that it cannot affect the situation of the labour market in their country of origin. It shall be concluded that there is no such tendency that labour force would be more needed in one industry than another, and thus Latvia is not interested in promoting immigration of particular professionals to Latvia. Compared to 2010 the unemployment rate in Latvia has decreased by 3,3%, i.e., from 18,7% to 15,4%. The employment level following a continuous three-year decrease has started increasing, reaching 55,3%, which is 2,2% more than in The most rapid growth in the demand of the labour force affected the primary industries mostly agriculture, forestry and logging, construction, and professional, scientific and technical service industries. The most significant reduction affected the arts, entertainment and leisure industry, mining and extractive industry, and watersupply and waste management industry work permits were issued to third-country nationals in 2011 (2212 permits in 2010). The foreigners were mostly employed in the following fields: transport (665 work permits), manufacturing of other vehicles (257), catering services (166), sports (123) and transactions with real estate (85). 39 During 2011 several measures have been introduced, which significantly facilitate the employment of various categories of third-country nationals in Latvia. 37 Source: the Central Statistical Bureau. 38 Report on the Development of the National Economy. The Ministry of Economics. Available at: [see: ] 39 Source: the Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

20 20 The Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 26 of 11 January 2011 Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 553 of 21 June 2010 Regulations Regarding Work Permits for Third-country Nationals 40 stipulate that a third-country national is entitled to work with any employer in the Republic of Latvia, if he or she has received a temporary residence permit until the coming into effect of a court judgment on the divorce and the determination of the place of residence of a child or until the day a public notary has made the divorce certificate. The amendments were aimed at non-limitation of the rights of foreigners on the employment in Latvia during the divorce process should there be a child involved until a court judgement on the divorce and assignment of custody to either of the parents has not yet been made. On 29 July 2011 the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 582 of 26 July 2011 Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 553 of 21 June 2010 Regulations Regarding Work Permits for Third-country Nationals 41 entered into force. The amendments specify the following: 1) more simplification of the procedure of receiving work permits by thirdcountry nationals carrying out business in Latvia the employment rights of such third-country nationals are confirmed with the mark Business in the residence permit or visa and they do not need to receive individual work permits for each business area or participation in several companies; 2) providing for the right of spouses of the third-country investors to work with any employer in the Republic of Latvia if they have received temporary residence permits for the residence in the Republic of Latvia; 3) making the labour market of Latvia more accessible to foreign students the provision of the employment of students in Latvia has been extended, i.e., also exchange students are entitled to receive a work permit for the employment with any employer working up to 20 hours per week; 4) extending the list of persons who are entitled to work without a work permit in Latvia, should they have arrived for the purposes of family reunification or studying. 40 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 9, [enters into force from ] 41 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 117, [enters into force from ]

21 21 With the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 593 of 2 August 2011 Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 564 of 21 June 2010 Regulations Regarding Residence Permits 42 : supporting documents to be attached and information to be indicated in a sponsorship request has been specified provision to indicate in the sponsorship request the estimated number of employment hours for those third-country nationals, who are officials registered in the Commercial Register, has been excluded; it has been stated that in case a third-country national is employed with several employers, the sponsorship request shall be filled in by each employer; the documents, which shall not be re-submitted in requesting or registering the residence permit (e.g., education document, documents which attest the necessary means of subsistence) is stipulated, as well as additional documents to be submitted (proof that a physical entity with whom a contract for work performance has been concluded has been registered as a taxpayer and it has no statutory tax debts); it has been specified that taxes and fees, which are paid from the remuneration of officials registered in the Commercial Register, shall be paid from the income as stipulated by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 550 of 21 June 2010 Regulations Regarding the Amount of Necessary Financial Means for a Foreigner and Procedures for the Determination of the Existence of Financial Means 43. The Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs is currently developing amendments to the Immigration Law in order to simplify the arrival to the Republic of Latvia by international cargo and passenger carriers, releasing these from the necessity of receiving a work permit. Investments In 2011 the efficiency of the amendments to the Immigration Law 44, which entered into force on 1 July 2010, was re-assessed several times. The amendments stipulated that a foreigner is entitled to request a temporary residence permit for a period of time not exceeding five years, if: 1) he or she has invested in the equity capital of the capital company by increasing it, or he or she has invested in the equity capital of the capital company by 42 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 122, [enters into force from ] 43 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 100, [enters into force from ] 44 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 74, [enters into force from ]

22 22 founding a new capital company, and the investment is at least LVL , and during a financial year the capital company pays in total in the budget of the state and local authority as taxes at least LVL ; 2) if he or she has acquired in the Republic of Latvia and he or she owns one or several real estates in Riga planning region or cities, the total value of which is at least LVL , one or several real estates outside Riga planning region or cities and the total value of which is at least LVL , if he or she does not have and never has had debts of payments of real estate tax and the payment of the total value of real estate has been performed by clearing. When the residence permits were started being issued based on the aforementioned provisions, several cases were established, when the requirements for requesting a residence permit were intentionally misread. For example, in majority of cases the investment in the amount of LVL was invested in a middle-size or large capital company (for example, in one of Latvia s credit institutions), providing no economic benefit to the national economy if compared to the individual benefits a person received the residence permit, which allows free residence in the Schengen Area. There were also several transactions between individuals, who are not registered in Latvia, by transferring financial means via foreign banks and thus ensuring only minor benefit to the national economy (for example, state fee due of 2%, which is paid by registering a real estate in the Land Register). Moreover, it was established that some of the transactions are obviously counterfeit, for example, paying LVL (the transaction was made between two non-residents of Latvia who were close relatives) for 3m 2 (undivided share of the estate). In fact the estate of low market and cadastral value was sold for a statutory fee, but after registration of the transaction part of the fee was returned to the buyer. Such transactions have an adverse impact on the real estate market. In order to avoid such cases in future and to ensure greater economic benefit to the national economy, the following amendments were introduced to the Immigration Law 45 : 1) LVL may be only invested in a company if the company is deemed a small enterprise (less than 50 employees, annual turnover or the annual balance sheet less than 7 million lats, and during a financial year the capital company pays in 45 Published: The Latvian Herald, No. 93, [enters into force from ]

23 23 total in the budget of the state and local authority as taxes at least LVL ). In case of a large enterprise LVL shall be invested; 2) the real estate shall be purchased from a physical entity registered in the Republic of Latvia or legal entity, who is either Latvia s citizen, Latvia s non-citizen, Union s citizen or a third-country national, who resides in the Republic of Latvia based on a valid residence permit; 3) the total sum for the real estate shall be bound to the cadastral value thereof. The cadastral value of the real estate at the time of purchase shall be at least LVL , or in case the real estate is located outside Riga planning region or cities, the total cadastral value thereof shall be at least LVL If the cadastral value is less than indicated, the total value of the real estate shall be no less than the market value calculated by a certified expert assessing the value of real estates. Thus, it can be concluded that the interest of third-country nationals for the possibility to acquire a residence permit after they have made the investments according to the Immigration Law is relatively high. The total amount of investments from 1 July 2010 till 31 March 2012 amounted to LVL , and the number of persons requesting residence permits (including the family members of investors) from 1 July 2010 till 30 April 2012 reached 3095 persons. The number of persons requesting residence permits is steadily growing; the largest number of applications for residence permits was received in December 2011 (101 applications) and most often these are related to the purchase of a real estate. Largest number of the applications is received from the citizens of Russia and other former USSR countries Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. It should be noted that this is the first year after the amendments have entered into force and therefore the impact thereof on the national economy may not yet be exactly calculated; a more exact estimation of the impact of these investments could be carried out after at least one financial year has lapsed. 46 The Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 593 of 2 August 2011 Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 564 of 21 June 2010 Regulations Regarding Residence Permits : prescribes the criteria necessary to determine that a commercial company, a branch of a foreign merchant, individual merchant or a self-employed person is 46 Report on the Implementation and Results of the Provisions according to Section 23(1) Clause 3, Clause 28, Clause 29, and Clause 30 of the Immigration law. Available at: [see: ]