Latvia lacks labour market-based migration policy, audit finds

Latvia has no clear migration policy based on labour market data, the State Audit Office has found, according to Latvian public broadcaster LSM.

The issue has been largely overlooked in Latvia’s demographic policy, even as more people continue to leave the country each year than return, LSM reported.

When Pakistani national Sundus Azhmal moved to Latvia five years ago after receiving a job offer from information technology company Accenture Baltics, she faced difficulties overcoming the language barrier. She also bought kefir several times instead of milk, realising her mistake only when the “milk” added to her usual chai tea turned out to be sour and thick. Her workplace has arranged Latvian language lessons.

More than one in 10 employees at Accenture Baltics are foreign nationals.

“If we look at demography and how many people know or want to study STEM subjects, where are we supposed to get these talents?” said Ivo Ālmanis, head of Accenture Baltics. “One possibility is migration. If someone has another recipe, I would be glad to hear it, but I do not think there is one.”

Migration is one of the three main demographic indicators, alongside births and deaths. It is also the easiest of the three to influence.

However, migration is addressed only minimally in the Welfare Ministry’s report on the development of demographic policy. The greatest emphasis is placed on re-emigration, while more people still leave Latvia each year than return.

Demographer and associate researcher at the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies Zane Vārpiņa said that no serious demographic strategy was possible given Latvia’s age structure without addressing immigration.

She said Latvia currently lacked a specific overall demographic strategy. According to the State Audit Office, the country also lacked a clear migration policy based on labour market data.

Migration policy measures aimed at attracting talent from European Union countries have rarely been successful. Until now, talent attraction initiatives have come only from companies, while the procedure for moving to Latvia is administratively complicated and lengthy.

The Welfare Ministry’s demographic development plan refers to migration in two ways, with the main emphasis on bringing back people who have left Latvia. The plan also states that by 2040, one in 10 workers will have “disappeared”.