EU – Baltic States, Integration, Latvia, Legislation, Society

Latvia so far has taken in a total of 47 persons under the EU relocation program.

On Tuesday morning, three families from Syria arrived in Latvia and have been taken to the refugee center in Mucenieki.

The three families consist of eight, seven and three people. Among the arriving people there is a farmer, a car mechanic, an engineer, a teacher, a social worker, a designer. The asylum seekers speak Arabic, English and German.

The Syrian families have studied information about Latvia and have voiced a wish to start the integration process as soon as possible.

Representatives from the State Border Guard will meet with the asylum seekers and carry out more detailed interviews. The necessary documentation will also be prepared and submitted to the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs so that a decision can be made on their status.

Latvia has agreed to take-in 531 refugees from other EU member states. Most of these refugees will come from Greece and Italy, as well as Turkey. Latvia will relocate the refugees within the next two years, which means that approximately 30 asylum seekers could arrive in Latvia per month.