RIGA, April 5 (LETA) - When a municipality reaches the maximum number of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees set by the Cabinet of Ministers, the state will have the right to transfer refugees to other municipalities.

This is envisaged by the amendments to the Ukrainian Civilian Support Law supported by the government on Tuesday, which also plans to determine the number of Ukrainian refugees to be accommodated in each municipality, taking into account the possible number of arrivals in Latvia and the population of the municipality.

The draft law stipulates that the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) maintains information on the number of Ukrainian civilians accommodated in the municipality in accordance with the procedure provided for in this law.

The SFRS shall update the said information at least once a day in accordance with the information provided by local governments. This information will be obtained and updated on the basis of information provided by the municipality. 

Accordingly, if the municipality has reached the maximum number of accommodation opportunities for Ukrainian civilians set by the Cabinet of Ministers, the SFRS will direct Ukrainian civilians to one of the municipalities where accommodation support is available.

As reported, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, 12,392 war refugees from Ukraine have received residency documents with the right to employment, according to the latest information released by the Ministry of the Interior.

Of the 12,392 Ukrainian residents, 10,318 were issued humanitarian visas and 2,074 were issued temporary residence permits.

Meanwhile, Latvia's civil protection committees have had to help 7,587 war refugees from Ukraine to find accommodation.

Most of the Ukrainian war refugees are women and children. Some of the arrivals stay with their relatives, friends or acquaintances in Latvia.

Ukrainian residents who have biometric passports and do not need any social assistance, may stay in Latvia for 90 days without informing state institutions about it.

Interior Minister Marija Golubeva (Development/For) said earlier that the ministry did not have the exact number of Ukrainian refugees in Latvia and that work on a centralized refugee database was ongoing.

The minister also said that the number of Ukrainian refugees in Latvia would exceed the initially projected 10,000.

The Ministry of the Interior does not expect the arrival of refugees to cause an accommodation crisis in the first three months, because in addition to the accommodation facilities offered by local governments, hotels and guests houses can also be adjusted for the accommodation of people fleeing the war.

At the same time, in preparation for an even larger influx of war refugees from Ukraine, authorities in cooperation with local governments are looking to adjust former school buildings, dormitories and other premises for the accommodation of refugees.