Latvian authorities plan to deport an 88-year-old Russian citizen

Latvian authorities want to deport 88-year-old resident Nadezhda Golomazova, who has Russian citizenship, within 30 days due to her refusal of a permanent residence permit, the Press.lv news agency reported.

According to media reports, Latvian opposition deputies sent a request to the Minister of Internal Affairs Janis Dombrava demanding clarification of the situation with the deportation of a woman who had lived in Latvia for a long time.

“Deputies of the opposition party “Latvia First” demand that Minister of Internal Affairs Janis Dombrava explain the decision of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs to refuse to issue a permanent residence permit to 88-year-old Russian citizen Nadezhda Golomazova, who has lived in Latvia for a long time,” the message says.

The deputies' request clarifies that the state border guard has set a 30-day period for Golomazova's voluntary departure from Latvia. Now the woman is not paid a pension and access to social assistance has been stopped.

The authors of the request indicate that Golomazova, who lives in the Saldus region, has no connections with Russia; she has no relatives there, no housing, no people who could take care of her.

According to media reports, the woman moved to Latvia from Moldova in her early youth and lived and worked in this country all her life, receiving the right to a Latvian pension. In 2021, Golomazova was denied a permanent residence permit on the grounds that she allegedly had not resided continuously in Latvia for at least five years. According to deputies, this conclusion was made due to the fact that the woman’s previous passport expired during the relevant period, although she did not actually leave Latvia.

According to the agency, opposition deputies want to receive from Dombrava an explanation of the legal basis for the decision of the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, and also to find out whether the refusal to issue a permanent residence permit complies with the norms of the Latvian constitution and international human rights documents.