Foto: BB.LV / Мигрант
By the end of August, 1,100 people had applied for asylum in Latvia with an initial application. This was reported in an interview on the program "900 Seconds" by Inese Jansone-Šulmeistere, head of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. In addition, 100 repeat applications and 155 requests for the resumption of the asylum procedure were registered over the eight months. Most frequently, citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Egypt seek international protection. According to the head of the OCMA, the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers entered Latvia from the direction of Belarus. "And, of course, the overwhelming majority arrived from the Belarusian border," noted Jansone-Šulmeistere. However, not all applicants receive asylum seeker status. As the head of the office explained, only a small portion of applications result in the granting of international protection, as in many cases the legal grounds provided by law are absent. The increase in the number of applications occurs against the backdrop of the ongoing heightened security regime at the Latvian-Belarusian border. The government has already extended the special measures until the end of 2026 due to the continued pressure of illegal migration. The heightened regime is in effect in Ludza and the Ludza municipality, Krāslava and the Krāslava municipality, the Augšdaugava municipality, Daugavpils, and in the Kaunata parish of the Rezekne municipality. According to the State Border Guard, last year, 12,046 attempts to illegally cross the Latvian-Belarusian border were prevented. For humanitarian reasons, entry was allowed for 31 people at that time. In comparison, in 2024, border guards prevented 5,388 attempts to illegally cross the border, and for humanitarian reasons, 26 people were allowed into the country. The situation at the eastern border remains one of the key factors influencing the number of asylum applications and the migration burden on Latvian state services.
