POLICY REPORT ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN LATVIA ...

17
Having analysed the amount of funds contributed by investors and mainly by citizens of
the Russian Federation, conclusion must be made that amounts of such investments are close to
the minimum statutory amounts that are required for acquisition of a residence permit.
However, there have been also exceptions; for instance, a person invested LVL 260,000 in a
company, instead of the minimum statutory requirement of LVL 25,000. 32
It is important to note also that the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs has
detected the first fictitious transactions when citizens of third countries attempted to acquire
residence permits in Latvia that, respectively, give an opportunity of free travel in the whole
Schengen zone. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs indicates that it is difficult to
estimate the true benefit to the national economy of Latvia, because there are also fictitious
transactions where it cannot be tracked whether money has really come to Latvia. The current
wording of the Immigration Law does not stipulate that a transaction must correspond with the
true value of a property, and it also does not ensure that money really comes to Latvia. Thus,
persons who already have property in Latvia legalise their status in Latvia. The Government
and some political forces represented in Saeima tend to agree with this opinion of the Office of
Citizenship and Migration Affairs and promise to correct the Law. 33
3.3. Main Institutional Changes
Main institutional changes have affected the Office of Citizenship and Migration
Affairs. On 12 March 2010, Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 153 of 16 February 2010
"Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 811 of 3 October 2003 "Regulation
on the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs"" 34 entered into force. The Regulation
supplements the amount of tasks of direct administration for the Office of Citizenship and
Migration Affairs related to the joining of the Naturalisation Board, and specifies the procedure
for appealing administrative deeds or actual conduct of the chief of the Office of Citizenship
and Migration Affairs, by stating that a relevant application shall be submitted to the Ministry
of Interior. 35
32 Liela interese no NVS valstu investoriem par uzturēšanās atļaujām Latvijā (Increased Interest from Investors of
hte CIS about Residence Permits in Latvia).// http://diena.lv/lat/politics/hot/avize-liela-interese-no-nvs-valstuinvestoriem-par-uzturesanas-atlaujam-Latvia
- [see: 10.11.2010]
33 De facto: konstatēti pirmie fiktīvie darījumi, mēģinot tikt pie uzturēšanās atļaujām (The First Fictitious Deals
Detected Trying to Obtain Residence Permits).// http://www.delfi.lv/news/national/politics/de-facto-konstatetipirmie-fikhtivie-darijumi-meginot-tikt-pie-uzturesanas-atlaujam.did=35295796
– [see: 21.11.2010]
34 Published: The Latvian Herald, No.40, 11.03.2010.
35 Executive summary to the Cabinet of Ministers Draft Regulation "Amendments to the Cabinet Regulation No.
811 of 3 October 2006 "Regulation of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs"".//
http://www.mk.gov.lv/lv/mk/tap/pid=40163587 – [see: 29.01.2010]