UNHCR observations on the Proposal to amend the draft Recast Immigration Law of Latvia

The UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries has provided its observations to the Proposal submitted by the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia on 16 February 2026 to amend the draft Recast Immigration Law (No. 56/Lp14).

The Proposal aims to implement instruments of the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum, namely the Screening Regulation and the Return Border Procedure Regulation, as well as to align the draft Recast Immigration Law with certain provisions of the Eurodac Regulation, the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, and transpose certain provisions of the Reception Conditions Directive. It establishes a legal framework for screening and return border procedures. Furthermore, it clarifies the role of the State Border Guard in managing identity, security, and vulnerability screening and establishes the Ombudsperson’s mandate for independent fundamental rights monitoring.

In its observations, UNHCR focuses on the screening and identification of persons with vulnerabilities, access to asylum-seekers during screening, the fundamental rights monitoring mechanism, restrictions on movement, detention, and alternatives to detention, and the revocation of residence permits due to administrative violations. UNHCR also draws attention to the fact that the draft Recast Immigration Law contains provisions that would substantially increase the number of years that are required for a refugee to qualify for Latvian citizenship.

UNHCR’s observations in English and Latvian can be found here.