5 times less Russians come to Latvia than to Estonia and Lithuania
According to the statistics provided by the State Border Guard Service, a total of 258 citizens from Russia have entered Latvia through its external borders in the last 24 hours.
These figures reveal that Latvia’s neighboring countries, such as Estonia (1,245) and Lithuania (1,336), receive five times fewer Russian citizens, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
According to the Latvian State Border Guard Service, since September 19, when the Latvian government introduced no travel restrictions, the number of Russian arrivals has decreased by 22 percent.
“A total of 4,230 Russian citizens have crossed the border between Russia and Latvia and Belarus and Latvia since September 19.” Notification of the State Border Guard Service.
The same authority has confirmed that only certain exceptional eligible persons can cross the border.
At the same time, only 15 percent of the 4,230 Russian citizens allowed to enter the country could do so with a C or D visa, and 40 percent were holders. Residence permit in Latvia. It is emphasized that among them are Latvian students, workers and people who need to travel or for humanitarian reasons, family members.
According to the Baltic News Network report, almost half of the Russians who came to Latvia used visas or residence permits issued by the authorities of other countries. This has led to speculation that the Baltic country is not their destination, but is being used as a transit country to reach other EU member states.
In addition, the State Border Guard Service emphasized that immigration control is currently being monitored, but emphasized that this is done for all international persons staying in Latvia.
“From September 19 149 Russian citizens will not be allowed to enter Latvia”, Notifications of the State Border Guard Service.
Ministers can prohibit the arrival of international countries to Latvia, taking into account the requirements of the Cabinet of Ministers and other conditions.
The Latvian government previously declared a state of emergency on the border with Russia, but one of the existing border crossings needs to be closed.
In this regard, Latvian Public Broadcasting (LSB) reported that the state of emergency at border crossing points and other areas came into effect on September 29 and will remain in effect until December 26.