On Thursday, 7 April, the Saeima adopted in the second and final reading urgent amendments to the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians, including amendments related to providing housing for Ukrainian civilians in Latvian municipalities.

The amendments state that in the case that a municipality has reached the maximum number of Ukrainian civilians hosted (established by the Cabinet of Ministers), the State Fire and Rescue Service will refer the civilians to one of the municipalities where housing support is available.

The Law also allows Ukrainian civilians to submit the documents required to request a visa or residence permit to the State and Municipal Unified Customer Service Centre that will then send the documents to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

Amendments to the Law also stipulate exceptions regarding the legalisation of documents. If a person holds public documents issued in Ukraine that must be submitted to or presented at Latvian institutions, the relevant institutions will have the right to accept the documents without an apostille. However, if the institution has reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the document and such doubts cannot be cleared by means of other measures, the institution will have the right to reject the document.

An exception also applies if a person does not possess a public document issued in Ukraine and it is not possible to receive such a document from Ukrainian institutions, and if a person does not have in possession a valid civil status registration document, but holds one issued by a Ukrainian SSR institution.

The Law stipulates that for six months, starting from 24 February 2022, the costs of medicines or medical equipment will be fully covered for the Ukrainians entitled to compensation for the costs of medicines or medical equipment in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding refugees and persons in need.

From now on, according to the Law, municipal capital companies or capital companies with the municipality owning over 50% of shares will be able to make donations in support of Ukrainian society in the form of items that have a value of zero euros and are no longer required for the economic activity of the capital company.

The Law also stipulates that, until 30 June 2022, the employees of the Custody Court and municipal social services that are involved in providing support for Ukrainian civilians will receive additional compensation for the overtime or additional work, financed from the state budget.

The amendments will enter into force on the next day after their promulgation.

Saeima Press Service