Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia proposed to temporarily suspend the issuance of visas to citizens of Uzbekistan

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia has proposed to temporarily suspend the issuance of visas to citizens of Uzbekistan. The ministry stated that the reason for the initiative is the cases of crimes committed by some citizens of Uzbekistan shortly after arriving in the country, including against minors. The proposal is based on the second part of Article 8 of the Latvian Immigration Law. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Janis Dombrov, noted that the period of restrictions is planned to be used to strengthen cooperation with the Uzbek side and improve checks on incoming persons.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia has not yet approved this measure. The partners in the ruling coalition did not support the inclusion of the issue on the agenda of the meeting on September 29. The Ministry of Internal Affairs hopes to submit the proposal for discussion by the government at one of the next meetings. The ministry has not yet specified the terms of possible restrictions and exceptions.