Amendments to the law provide for an extension of the deadline for compensation for the accommodation of Ukrainian residents, including accommodation and meals for vulnerable groups, as well as for reimbursement of expenses for the purchase of medicines or medical devices.
In order to reduce the administrative burden for both the citizens of Ukraine and the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the changes envisage issuing residence permits to Ukrainians for a period of three years instead of two.
Currently, a Ukrainian citizen is issued a temporary residence permit – a third-country citizen identity card – for two years.
Currently, 15,838 Ukrainian civilians have an active temporary protection status in the Register of Natural Persons, according to the information of the Ministry of the Interior.
Likewise, if a travel document issued in Ukraine has expired, it will be considered valid in Latvia until February 28, 2026. Currently, the law sets a deadline until the end of February next year.
The changes also provide that “unaccompanied” Ukrainian children from the age of seven will have the right to receive a certificate for the provision of social guarantees. Such support is expected to continue until the age of 19. Currently, 229 such children live in Latvia, according to representatives of the Ministry of Welfare.
Also, changes in the law provide that medical personnel – health care workers and pharmacists from Ukraine – after three years of working in Latvia, will have to certify knowledge of the national language at the B1 level.
This requirement will apply next year to 142 medics who arrived in Latvia in 2022, representatives of the Ministry of Health told MPs today. The permission to provide short-term professional services in the field of medical treatment is currently issued for five years to Ukrainian civilians.
It has already been announced that the one-time crisis allowance for Ukrainian residents will also increase by 24 to 34 euros next year, said Linda Liepa, representative of the LM, at today’s meeting of the Saeima Defense and Internal Affairs Commission.
Currently, it is determined that the social service of the municipality grants and pays out to Ukrainian civilians a one-time benefit in a crisis situation of 343 euros for an adult person and 240 euros for each child.
Liepa explained that this allowance is set at a constant amount in the Law on the Support of Civilians of Ukraine, but in essence it depends on the minimum median income, which changes every year. Accordingly, every year the ministry makes proposals to change the amount of the allowance accordingly. LM encourages changes to be made so that the benefit changes automatically.
Accordingly, it is planned that next year this benefit will be 377 euros for an adult and 264 euros for a child, or it will increase by 34 euros for an adult and by 24 euros for a child.
In order for the changes to the Law on Support of the Citizens of Ukraine to enter into force, they must still be adopted in the final reading by the Saeima.
Source: www.diena.lv
