Suspending visas for Uzbek citizens: Why did Latvia come up with this initiative?

5 October 2026, 14:43·0·World

In Latvia, one of the leading Baltic states, an initiative has been put forward to temporarily suspend the issuance of entry visas to citizens of Uzbekistan. This was reported by “Fergana” news agency, citing the local Jauns.lv portal.

This proposal, prepared by the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs, is explained by offenses recently recorded involving certain individuals who entered the country.

“We are forced to take action”: The Minister’s firm position

Latvian Minister of Internal Affairs Janis Dombravaemphasized that restrictions should be introduced to review security measures:

“We are forced to take immediate action. Therefore, we propose to temporarily suspend the issuance of visas to citizens of Uzbekistan for a certain period and use this time to strengthen cooperation with the Uzbek side. The main goal is to prevent individuals who may threaten public order and security from entering Latvian territory.”

According to local media, this decision was prompted by several crimes involving Uzbek citizens, including illegal acts against minors. However, the ministry has not yet disclosed specific figures or complete statistics regarding these cases.

Has the initiative come into force? Disagreements in the government

An important aspect is that the proposal to suspend visas has not yet reached the practical stage and has not entered into force:

Coalition rejected it: Janis Dombrava attempted to include this issue on the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers meeting held on September 29. However, coalition partners in the government did not support adding this initiative to the agenda at the last meeting before the parliamentary (Saeima) elections;
Legal basis: BB.lv publication clarified that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is basing its initiative on Article 8, Part 2 of the national Immigration Law;
Future discussions: The Minister expresses hope that this issue will be reconsidered at one of the upcoming meetings of the new government.

What is the official response?

At present, no official response has been issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Latvia or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this statement by the Latvian official.

The development of the situation remains directly dependent on the migration policy of the new government and parliament to be formed in Latvia, as well as on bilateral diplomatic dialogues.