In the national report for the study of the European Migration Network (EMN) “Application of the Temporary Protection Directive: challenges and good practices” it is possible to get acquainted with the most significant changes in regulatory acts, challenges and examples of their solution, as well as good practices, by examining the legal, educational, employment, health and social welfare aspects in the period from January 1, 2023 to July 1, 2023 in Latvia.
The most significant changes found in the researched period are:
• Ukrainian civilians who apply for temporary protection in Latvia are granted a temporary residence permit for two years, as well as for persons who have been granted a long-term visa or temporary residence permit before January 1, 2023, it is automatically extended until March 4, 2025.
• For Ukrainian civilians who have applied for temporary protection, the term of providing primary assistance has been extended from 60 to 120 days (from 60 to 90 days in 2022), but no longer than December 31, 2024.
Several challenges have been observed during the research period:
1) application for temporary protection when changing the host country;
2) evaluation of applications of Ukrainian civilians who claim to be fleeing the war in Ukraine;
3) difficult integration of Ukrainian civilians into the Latvian labour market due to lack of knowledge of the Latvian language;
4) deficiencies in the proxy of the legal representative of Ukrainian minors to represent the rights and interests of the child abroad