Driven by globalization, as observed in other European countries, the last decade has witnessed a significant student migration in Latvia. This phenomenon has created an opportunity for Latvian higher education institutions to compete on an international scale by attracting an increasing number of international students especially for young people from Asian countries who want to obtain higher education in the European Union. As a result, the number of international students has more than doubled over the ten-year period, now constituting 14% of the total student population.

In recent years, students as a research object have gained prominence also in the social sciences and geography, as researchers seek to better understand the phenomenon of studentification and the role of students in shaping urban spaces (Murzyn-Kupisz, Szmytkowska 2015; Fabula et at. 2017; Revington 2018). The study of international students has also become a topical issue among geographers (e.g., Apsite-Berina et al., 2023).

In order to encourage international students to contribute to the economy, their successful integration into the local community is essential. This process requires the local community to be receptive and facilitate the integration of international students into the labor market. Existing research in Latvia has concentrated predominantly on societal attitudes towards immigrants as a whole (Kaprāns, Saulītis, Mieriņa 2021). Yet, to date, there has been a dearth of research examining local community attitudes towards students as a distinct social cohort, differentiated from other immigrant groups. Therefore, this study aims to determine local community attitudes towards international students and assess the level of acceptance towards this immigrant group.

To achieve this aim, a survey of the general public on social cohesion will be conducted between the winter of 2024 and the spring of 2025, supported by the State Research Programme of Latvia. The survey will explore whether the public believes that international students contribute positively to the local environment, safety, and economy. Furthermore, the survey will examine public opinion on the desirability of retaining international students in the local economy post-graduation.

Considering the current negative demographic trends in rural Latvia (Krisjane et al., 2017; Dahs et al., 2024), newcomers play an important role in restoring the composition of the population; newcomers are contributors of the demographic imbalance and the agents of change. Therefore, the attraction and retention of newcomers has the potential to ensure the sustainable development of rural areas.

Since there is a lack of research in Latvia that would focus on a deeper study of the integration of newcomers in rural areas, thereof the aim of the research is to explore what the integration process of newcomers in the rural areas is, to identify factors that promote or hinder the integration of newcomers in the rural area in Latvia. The integration process of newcomers in rural Latvia was analysed based on the social integration model four dimensions: structural, cultural, interactive and identification integration (Bosswick W., Heckman F., 2006).

The research data was collected using a qualitative social research approach – case studies in remote rural communities that included semi-structured individual and group interviews with newcomers, municipality representatives, and local activists, as well as published and unpublished materials from rural nongovernmental organizations.

The integration process in rural Latvia takes place through several elements: home, work, places and events, as well as society and various organizations. While there are many factors that contribute to the integration of newcomers in the rural areas, which are related with development of home in the rural area, different job opportunities, activities outside home and local community, there are also factors that can negatively affect newcomers’ future intentions to stay in the rural area. Among them are such factors as housing shortage, reluctance of local society to accept newcomers, concerns about school closures and unorganized infrastructure. In many places, opportunities for structural integration are gradually diminishing.

This study was supported by National Research Programme “Letonica for the development of Latvian and European society” Project No. VPP Letonika-2021/4-0002 “New solutions in the study of demographic and migration processes for the development of the Latvian and European knowledge society”.