Frequently asked questions on the situation at the Latvian-Belarusian border
Nearly every day, individuals are attempting to cross the “green border” between Latvia and Belarus. This migration route is not new: since the restoration of Latvia’s independence, the southeast land border has been a popular entry point for various groups of border crossers. However, in the past 4 years, starting from summer 2021, this movement has become much more vigorous, as the Belarusian regime, led by Alexander Lukashenko, is actively inciting the arrival of third-country citizens in Belarus and directing them towards the neighbouring European Union countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Many individuals who arrive at the Latvia–Belarus border come from countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mali, affected by civil war, armed conflicts, protests against the ruling regime, and other forms of political instability. Citizens of these countries are seizing the opportunity to travel to Russia and Belarus in the hope of continuing their journey in one of the EU countries. No significant changes are expected this year, and similar trends are also observed in Lithuania and Poland, as well as in other migration routes towards the EU.
In 2021, foreigners arrived in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, via plane flights, mostly from Iraq or Turkey, but since the second half of 2022, most people have entered Belarus via Russia.
According to the available information, foreigners arrive in the Russian capital, Moscow, via plane flight, from where they travel to Belarus, at least part of the way, with the help of smugglers. In many of the cases in question, people entering Belarus from Russia do it in a way that does not comply with the law, meaning without a visa. In Belarus, migrants often rely on other smugglers to help them reach the border with Latvia, Lithuania, or Poland. People try to cross the “green border” and end up in a peculiar trap. The Latvian State Border Guard (SBG) is deterring them from crossing the border, while the Belarusian Border Guard and other state services are putting obstacles in place to prevent them from returning to Minsk or other Belarusian cities.
The State Border Guard (SBG) publishes three types of data:
→ the number of people stopped from crossing the border the previous day;
→ the total number of people stopped from crossing the border since the beginning of the year;
→ the number of people allowed to enter Latvia on humanitarian grounds.
According to information given by the SBG, until September 7, 2026, 10625 persons have been deterred from crossing the state borderland, 12 people have been admitted on humanitarian grounds. A total of 12,046 people have been deterred from crossing the state border in 2025, while 31 were allowed to enter Latvia on humanitarian grounds. In 2024, 5,388 people were deterred from crossing the border, and 26 were admitted on humanitarian grounds. In 2023, 13,863 people were deterred from crossing the border, and 428 were admitted on humanitarian grounds. In 2022, 5,286 people were deterred from crossing the border, and 217 were admitted on humanitarian grounds. Whereas in 2021, a total of 4,045 people were deterred from crossing the border, and 94 were allowed to enter on humanitarian grounds.
Importantly, the total number of people stopped from crossing the border refers to the sum of daily deterred individuals, and this count may include repeated attempts by the same people even within a day. Thus, the total number of people deterred cannot accurately reflect the true number of people at the border. In the summer months of 2023 – June, July, and August – there were on average 35 daily attempts to cross the border, while in autumn 2023 the number of attempted crossings tripled, reaching an average of 106 cases per day in September and 93 per day in October. In November, the number of border crossings fell again significantly to an average of 28 per day, and in December, the border-crossing attempts dropped to an average of 4 per day, or 135 across the whole month. Only 5 people attempted to cross the Latvian–Belarusian border in January 2024; however, by June 2024, this number had surged to 427 attempts within 30 days.
In the early months of 2025, a similar situation was observed: in the first 3 months, 355 border crossings were attempted in total; however, in April, there was a significant surge in attempts to cross the border – in April, 1,666 attempts were registered.
From August 10, 2021, to August 9, 2023, Cabinet order No. 518 “On Declaring an Emergency Situation” was in force in Ludza, Krāslava, Upper Daugava municipalities, and the city of Daugavpils. Under that order, representatives of not only the SBG, but also the National Armed Forces and the State Police had the right to stop attempts of individuals to unlawfully cross the border, as well as to order those who had already crossed the border to return to the neighbouring country, in this case Belarus. Service personnel were authorized to use physical force and special means, including batons, electric shock devices, gas cylinders, vision restricting agents, irritant or paralysing substances, smoke candles, as well as gas, light, noise, and rubber charge grenades, to enforce the return order.
Since August 10, 2023, an enhanced border protection system was introduced in the mentioned border areas, which, as per Governmental Order No. 184. is extended to June 30, 2026. This regime also involves support from the National Armed Forces and the State Police to prevent unlawful border crossing. It also enables law enforcement officers to enter residential and non-residential areas and parcels of land to capture or locate individuals who have crossed the border unlawfully. In accordance with the Order, the State Border Guard is responsible for providing food and essential items to individuals who attempted to illegally cross the border and could be stopped from doing so. Where necessary, border-crossers have to be provided with medical assistance.
In June 2023, the Latvian Parliament approved amendments to the State Border Guard Law. These amendments state that one of the tasks of the border guard is to prevent illegal crossing of the state border, and one of the duties is to prevent people from entering the country at an unauthorised place and time, unless there are objectively justified circumstances for entry. Border guards may use physical force, special combat techniques, and special means, as well as service dogs, to deter people from crossing the border.
On August 29, 2023, the government approved amendments to the “Regulations regarding the Types of Special Means and Procedures for their Use by Police Officers and Border Guards.” These amendments stipulate that in addition to the special means already in use such as batons, electric shock devices, gas cylinders, smoke candles and grenades, gas, light and noise grenades, border guards will also be able are allowed to use “sound devices with a psychological effect”, i.e., long-range acoustic devices.
The above-mentioned amendments legalise the deterrence of potential asylum seekers from crossing the border unlawfully (pushbacks) and thus violate their right to asylum and undermine their right to health, life, and safety.
Pushbacks are unlawful because they violate a person’s right to asylum, enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and EU law, including:
→ Regulation 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing a common procedure for international protection in the EU and confirming non-refoulement as a fundamental principle when taking decisions on the possibility of asylum seekers to remain on the territory of the Member States, thus repealing Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;
→ Regulation 2024/1347 of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection and for the content of the protection granted, thus repealing Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;
→ Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 9, 2016, on an EU Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders, i.e., the Schengen Borders Code.
Any third-country national shall have the right to apply for asylum even if the individual crosses or has crossed the border in an unlawful manner. This principle is recognised in Latvian law (Criminal Law and Asylum Law) and was reaffirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its judgment of June 30, 2022, in Case C-72/22 PPU on Lithuania’s actions in the mass detention of persons crossing the border unlawfully. The Court noted that any third-country national or stateless person has the right to claim international protection in the territory of a Member State, including at its borders or in transit zones, even if the individual is illegally present in that territory. In addition, Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (now, Regulation 2024/1347 of the European Parliament and of the Council) stipulates that applicants have the right to remain in the territory while their application is being assessed.
Furthermore, pushing border crossers off the border violates the principle of non-refoulement, as set out in Article 33 of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and in Article 19(2) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Under these articles, individuals may not be deported to their country of origin or transit, in this case Belarus, if they would be in danger of death or torture in that country. Furthermore, individuals should not be exposed to chain refoulement, whereby they could be deported to their country of origin, or, according to the information available, to Russia, where they could be at risk of torture and inhuman treatment.
The SBG has reiterated that the use of force to deter border crossers is a last resort, in compliance with the law and service protocols. Medical support, as well as water and food, is provided to the deterred people, if necessary. However, “I want to help refugees” has received testimonies from several border crossers about physical and emotional violence (beatings, use of electric shock, threats, and hate speech), including from representatives of unidentified units.
According to the SBG, people are pushed back without documentary checks and identification, meaning that their nationality, age, and other defining information remain unknown. Border crossers are also subjected to violence while in Belarus, as Belarusian border guards and other personnel force them to return to Latvia and prevent them from returning to Minsk or other cities. Caught “between borders” for extended periods of time, people face significant risks to their physical and mental health.
The current legal framework allows individuals to request asylum at official border crossing points, at the detention centre for foreigners and asylum seekers in Daugavpils and other departments of the State Border Guard, at all State Police departments, as well as all departments of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, but not on the land border. Yet travelling with the help of a smuggler in a way that does not comply with the law makes it virtually impossible for people to reach official border crossing points. The Belarusian authorities also prevent people from reaching the official crossing points. As mentioned above, Belarusian officers direct border crossers to the “green border”, where they are forced to go to Latvia through openings in the border fence. Latvian border guards likewise prohibit people caught at the land border from going to official border crossing points.
However, even when arriving at the only remaining official border crossing point on the Latvian–Belarusian border, in Pāternieki, potential asylum seekers will most likely not be able to apply for asylum. On March 16, 2025, the government decided to close the Pāternieki border checkpoint to pedestrians and cyclists, implying that the border can only be crossed by motor vehicles. The Silene border crossing point has been suspended since September 19, 2023. Thus, the asylum application procedure in several Latvian border municipalities has been suspended de facto.
In his report for 2022, the Latvian Ombudsman has pointed out the need to ensure access to the asylum procedure and prevent risks of inhuman treatment, especially in vulnerable groups. In a letter dated June 15, 2023 to the Saeima Committee on Defence, Internal Affairs and Prevention of Corruption regarding amendments to the State Border Guard Law, the Ombudsman mentioned that if a person, while in the territory of Latvia, expresses a request for asylum, the application for international protection is considered as prepared and this person is subject to both procedural rights during the examination of the application (the right to be heard, to submit evidence, etc.), as well as such fundamental rights as remaining in the territory of a Member State until a decision is made in the individual’s case at least in a court of first instance. According to information provided to “I want to help refugees” by the border crossers themselves, even if immediately after crossing the border, they have expressed a desire to apply for asylum in a manner that is not in accordance with the law, they have been directed back to the territory of Belarus.
According to Article 6(5c) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders, countries may allow people to enter for humanitarian reasons, which is also implemented in Latvia. Those permitted to enter mainly include families with children, unaccompanied minors, border-crossers with severe health problems, and elderly people. People allowed to enter for humanitarian reasons are initially detained in accommodation centres for foreign detainees in Daugavpils or Mucenieki. There they can start their asylum procedure.
However, the evidence gathered by our organisation suggests that individual circumstances of vulnerable persons are not always consistently assessed and considered: both families with children and unaccompanied minors have been pushed back. Moreover, the principle of family unity has not always been respected in decisions to admit or not to admit persons to Latvia: there have been cases when a part of the family has been pushed away.
Pushing border-crossers back to Belarus without sufficient consideration of their individual circumstances (for example, without verification of identity documents, which makes it impossible to ascertain their age and family ties) violates the prohibition on collective expulsion of foreigners under the European Convention on Human Rights as set out by Article 4 Protocol No. 4 to the Convention and by Article 19(1) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The prohibition of collective expulsion means that states cannot deport groups of foreigners without assessing their individual circumstances and giving them the opportunity to present their objections to the actions taken by the national authorities. The European Court of Human Rights has made several judgments, such as M.A. v. Cyprus, 41872/10; Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy [GC], 27765/09; M. H. and others v. Croatia, 15670/18 and 43115/18; Shahzad v. Hungary, 12625/17; M.K. and Others v. Poland 40503/17, 42902/17 and 43643/17, ordering compensations for breaches of the prohibition of collective expulsion.
Yes. According to publicly available information, 15 people have died at the Latvian-Belarusian border. At the end of 2022, a man from Afghanistan suffered fatal frostbite and died in a hospital in Rēzekne, while in April 2023, a woman from Syria died in a hospital in Daugavpils. Both victims were taken to medical facilities from the Latvian-Belarusian border. Since October 2023, the remains of 11 unidentified people have been found in the border area. As the identities of the deceased could not be established, they were buried in the Zaščirina Cemetery in Krāslava Municipality, the Silene Orthodox Cemetery in Augšdaugava Municipality, and the Grīnvalde Cemetery in Šēdere Parish. In April 2025, a man from Kenya and a man from Belarus were found dead in the border area and were later repatriated to their home countries.
Until the end of 2024, 63 foreigners have died in the border area of Belarus (migrants’ and activists’ testimonies point 16 more casualties), 11 in the border area of Latvia, 6 in the border area of Lithuania, and 42 in the border area of Poland, according to public information on the situation at the EU–Belarus border. These victims are just the visible part of the iceberg. The exact number of missing and dead at the Latvia–Belarus border is unknown. Non-governmental organizations working at the EU–Belarus border have received a total of ~500 requests for assistance from people seeking their missing relatives from Sudan,Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, India, Afghanistan and other countries.
Our organisation has been approached by several people who suffered from frostbite in their hands and/or legs and later had their limbs amputated due to prolonged stays at the Latvia–Belarus border and being forcibly moved back and forth between the two side
According to the information at the disposal of the association “I want to help refugees”, if a person has gone missing after crossing the Latvian–Belarusian border, someone close to the person, preferably a first-degree relative, must inform law enforcement of their home country about the fact that the person cannot be found. It is essential that law enforcement is aware that there is strong reason to believe the person has disappeared in the territory of Latvia, as well as to provide them with information about the last known location of the person. In accordance with international co-operation agreements, the police of the country where the information on the missing person was submitted must then contact the State Police of Latvia. If the country that the missing person is a citizen of has an embassy in Latvia, it is encouraged to inform them of the case and ask for support if needed.
Most people who tried to cross the border were denied entry and returned to the territory of Belarus, in other words: pushed back. Latvia is bound by international conventions and the laws of the European Union, which stipulate that every foreigner has the right to apply for asylum even if he/she tries to cross the border unlawfully. Deterring people from the border crossing in the winter months risks serious health damage or even death. “I want to help refugees” possesses information about several individuals who died or had their limbs amputated after their prolonged attempts to cross the Latvia–Belarus border with the aim to seek asylum.
This was the main reason why Ieva Raubiško, an employee of “I want to help refugees”, turned to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of five Syrian nationals in January 2023. Having received recurring pleas for help from the group of Syrian asylum seekers who had been repeatedly pushed back from Latvia to Belarus since mid-December 2023, Raubiško was worried about their lives and health.
Following the Court’s decision to impose interim measures on this group of Syrian asylum seekers, I. Raubiško and Egils Grasmanis, also a member of “I want to help refugees,” headed to the Latvia–Belarus border to ensure the Court’s decision was carried out and offer much-needed humanitarian assistance to Syrian citizens. For these actions criminal proceedings were initiated against Raubiško and Grasmanis, and later a charge was brought against Raubiško for facilitating an unlawful border crossing for a group of people.
A number of Latvian non-governmental organizations, as well as the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the European Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, have expressed criticism and worries over the criminalization of human rights defenders’ activities in Latvia where the existing legislation heavily restricts asylum rights.
The terms “illegal immigrant” and “illegal immigration” are frequently employed in relation to the situation at the Latvia–Belarus border. This approach could be considered stereotyping, as approved by the Latvian Public Media Ombud to whom one of the cases was referred by our organisation. It should be noted that not only do people attempting to cross the EU’s external borders predominantly become asylum seekers, but the very term “illegal migrant” is recognised as undesirable (see e.g. the glossary of the International Organization for Migration). From a legal and ethical perspective, an action or procedure may be deemed illegal, but not an individual.
No one is illegal! We call for the use of neutral terms like “border crossers,” “foreigners,” or “migrants” when referring to people attempting to cross the border, especially when more comprehensive terms like “individuals” or “humans” are not workable. We also insist on using alternative language instead of the term “illegal immigration” when discussing complex migration situations.
Last updated on 07.09.2026.