Māra Libeka/Latvijas Avīze
Over three and a half years, Latvia has failed to develop a unified strategy for integrating Ukrainians into our society.
Since Russia’s aggression on 24 February 2022, at least 20 million people have left Ukraine at various times, many of whom have returned. Currently, 6.9 million Ukrainians are registered as refugees outside their homeland. Currently, around 4.37 million Ukrainians are under temporary protection in the European Union (Eurostat data as of 31 August), and this summer, the EU Council extended this protection status until 4 March 2027.
How have Ukrainians settled in neighbouring countries? How have the neighbouring countries managed to shift their focus from providing temporary housing and benefits to integrating refugees into society? Has the attitude of the host society towards unexpected newcomers changed over the years? Journalists from six countries have investigated the dynamics of this change. This publication focuses on changes in state support and attitude in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Natalia Yushchenko, coordinator of the Ukrainian civilian diaspora in Vidzeme, who, fleeing war-torn Chernihiv, along with her sons, accidentally ended up in Smiltene in the spring of 2022, believes that since the beginning of the war, the attitude of Latvian residents and local governments has not changed and that there is still a great deal of support. However, this support is gradually waning.
Although the war in Ukraine has been ongoing for three and a half years, and people continue to leave the country, our state institutions lack an understanding of what to do with Ukrainian civilians in Latvia. State institutions still view Ukrainians as a crisis-time group to be accommodated, rather than as people who could stay in Latvia permanently because many of them have nowhere to return to, according to a study by the public policy centre Providus entitled “Latvijas pašvaldību pieredze Ukrainas civiliedzīvotāju uzņemšanā: no krīzes līdz ilgtermiņa risinājumiem (The experience of Latvian municipalities in hosting Ukrainian civilians: from crisis to long-term solutions.)”.
Since the beginning of the war, the number of Ukrainian civilians seeking refuge in our country has fallen by more than 13 000 (from 44 174), according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. As a result, financial support from the state budget is also declining. In 2022, funding from contingency funds amounted to EUR 79 million, whereas in 2026, this amount will be reduced to EUR 40 million.
This year, 15 572 Ukrainian citizens have entered Latvia through its external border. At the government meeting on 14 October, the Minister of the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis, reported that the number of Ukrainians entering the country is much lower than in the first years of the war, with an average of 500–600 people per month newly registering for temporary protection status in Latvia. However, the number of people whose temporary protection status in Latvia has been revoked has increased significantly, as these people did not submit an application for a new residence permit within a month after the expiry of their visa or temporary residence permit. Three times more people transit through Latvia than remain.
The number of employed Ukrainians has grown
One of the main reasons why the government decided to cut funding for Ukrainian support was that Ukrainians are working more. Since 2022, both the number of employed Ukrainians and their gross income have been growing gradually but steadily. According to information provided by the Ministry of Finance, by June 2025, 9909 Ukrainian civilians were in legal employment, which is not a large number considering the fact that there are 21 959 war refugees from Ukraine of working age. They have been given the opportunity to receive employment and self-employment start-up allowances. The State Employment Agency reported that, since 2022, a total of 18 035 Ukrainian civilians who have become employees have received such benefits in the amount of one minimum monthly wage. The largest number of people receiving this benefit was in 2022 – 10 303 people, but this number has decreased over the years. In 2023, the benefit was paid to 3715 people, but in the first nine months of this year, only 1638 people received it.
However, the number of self-employed Ukrainian civilians who have received the self-employment start-up allowance is growing. In 2022, there were only 79 people, but in the first nine months of this year – already 298 Ukrainian civilians, and in total, this allowance has been granted to 839 people since the start of the war. However, this is the last year that Ukrainians will be eligible for these allowances, as on 14 October, the Cabinet of Ministers amended the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians, stipulating that these allowances will no longer be paid to Ukrainians from 2026. At the same time, Ukrainian civilians will retain the right to access the services of the State Employment Agency to the same extent as Latvian citizens.
No access to housing
Natalia Yushchenko, coordinator of the Ukrainian civilian diaspora in Vidzeme, has established a public organisation called “Nadiya” in Smiltene Municipality, which translates from Ukrainian as “Hope”, to help Ukrainians not only in this municipality but also in Valmiera, Ape, Alūksne, and elsewhere. In addition to her public organisation, Natalia, who is a psychologist by profession, also works for the Latvian Red Cross and often participates in various partner projects as a psychologist.
Photo from the personal archive
Natalia has met with all Ukrainian families who have fled the war and come to Vidzeme. She said that the number one problem for these people is finding their own apartment. Overall, the proportion of Ukrainian civilians in Latvia who are able to secure housing for themselves has increased, but there is still a significant group living in temporary accommodation, according to researchers at Providus.
“Around 90% of Ukrainian civilians currently living in Vidzeme do not have their own housing. At the beginning of the war, many hoped that it would end quickly and they would return home, but now, many of those I have spoken to plan to stay in Latvia because they have nowhere to return to. Therefore, the most important issue is personal housing, as it is the foundation of life for every person. All Ukrainians in Smiltene Municipality work, except for pensioners; children go to school, and some study at Latvian universities, so they will become specialists who will remain in Latvia. They pay taxes and want to take out loans to buy apartments, but unfortunately, banks will not give them loans,” concludes Natalia.
Latvijas Avīze contacted Latvijas Banka (LB) and Luminor Bank to find out why Ukrainians in Latvia are unable to obtain loans to buy homes. LB Press Secretary, Jānis Silakalns, replied that Latvijas Banka’s Credit Risk Management Regulations do not restrict credit institutions from issuing loans to foreign customers. Latvijas Banka has not received any complaints from potential loan applicants from Ukraine.
However, Kaspars Sausais, Head of Mortgage Lending at Luminor Bank, reported that since 2022, the bank has granted Ukrainian citizens approximately ten mortgage loans per year with an average amount of EUR 100 000, as well as an average of ten consumer loans per year. “When assessing a mortgage loan application, we also evaluate how long the person has been residing in Latvia and what their current residence permit status is.
If the customer is a resident of Latvia or has a permanent residence permit, citizenship is not a decisive factor in the loan approval process,
” explained Kaspars Sausais.
Aino Salmiņš, Advisor on economic issues to the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments, emphasised that the stock of dwellings of local governments is very small and that, in fact, there are no instruments in our country to renew the stock of dwellings. Local governments have a small number of premises that are not rented out but have been transferred for Ukrainian civilians to use, and, therefore, they are not included in the list of unrented residential premises of the local government. Such right to grant Ukrainians free living space has been granted to local governments by law until 31 December 2026.
In the aforementioned study, Providus found that the role of local governments is currently diminishing and becoming blurred compared to the first two years of the war, when local governments had sufficient capacity to provide assistance to Ukrainians, mainly because the state covered most of the costs. The need for integration has now become more pressing, but the role of local governments in this process has not been defined. The long-term needs of Ukrainians are coming to the fore, but it is unclear who is responsible for this situation and for its supervision.
About one-third of Ukrainian children are outside the Latvian education system
The second most important issue, in Natalia’s view, is the education of Ukrainian children. Currently, most of the Ukrainian refugee children who have ended up in Vidzeme are studying remotely at Ukrainian schools. Only about ten percent of children are attending Latvian schools and kindergartens, which gives them the opportunity to quickly integrate into our society.
“If children in the first, second and third forms only study remotely at Ukrainian schools, their development is slowed down because they cannot participate in extracurricular activities and clubs. I can already see that these children, who have decided to stay in Latvia with their parents, will face quite significant problems. Therefore, the government should decide as soon as possible that the children of Ukrainian civilians must be obliged to start attending Latvian primary schools,” says Natalia.
Currently, Ukrainian children of compulsory school age have the right, but not the obligation, to attend an educational institution in Latvia.
According to data from the State Education Information System, as of 7 October 2025, the total number of Ukrainian civilians of preschool, primary and secondary school age in Latvian general education institutions, is 3687. According to data from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, there are approximately 6900 Ukrainian children under the age of 17 residing in Latvia. This means that only half of them are attending school.
“Local governments do not know how to integrate such a large number of Ukrainian civilians into Latvian society in the long term. They do not see themselves as integration policymakers, but expect that it will be developed at the national level,” explained Dārta Pelse, a leading researcher on migration and integration issues at Providus, to members of the Saeima. February next year will mark four years since Ukrainian war refugees arrived in Latvia, but the state still has no strategy for ensuring effective state language training for both adults and children. Ilona Jekele, Head of the Cohesive Society Policy and Civil Society Unit at the Ministry of Culture, pointed out that the ministry is already working on a Ukrainian integration policy and negotiating with the partners involved.
Ukrainians have the same rights as Latvians
Ukrainian civilians have the same rights to social services and social assistance as Latvian residents. In 2025, each adult is granted a benefit of EUR 377, while each child receives a benefit of EUR 264. Benefits from the State Social Insurance Agency (childbirth, childcare, family state benefits, state social security benefits in old age, etc.) are paid under the same conditions as for Latvian residents.
State-funded healthcare services are also equivalent to those provided to locals. Ukrainians also receive reimbursable medicines and materials, but they are exempt from patient co-payments. From 2026, Ukrainians will also have to pay patient co-payments, just like Latvian residents.
Since the start of the war, Ukrainians have been able to use public transport free of charge, but from 2026, they will have to pay for public transport tickets.
