Lithuania Wants To Toughen Migration Policy
- 10.01.2026, 13:59
Belarusians occupy the second place among foreigners with residence permits in the country.
The new head of Lithuania's Migration Department, Indre Gaspere, has proposed making migration policy stricter to stop abuse and document fraud by third-country nationals, writes LRT.
Gaspere said Lithuania is not seeking to reduce the number of migrants, but wants to improve control over the immigration process:
"The position of the Migration Department has not yet been formulated, but as I understand it, also as a former employee of the Ministry of Interior, the position of the Interior Ministry is to have a stricter migration policy. But only so that there is no abuse of migration procedures. It is not that we want to reduce the number of migrants as such. We want more rigidity, so that there are no abuses, so that fake documents are not presented, so that they do not arrive on one grounds and stay in Lithuania on other grounds."
The head of the department said that there are various ways to manipulate the immigration process - for example, coming to Lithuania on the basis of training while actually working or concluding fake marriages.
In December 2025, the Seimas began considering the government's initiative to adjust migration policy. It is proposed that a third-country citizen can obtain a temporary residence permit and the right to work if he or she meets at least one of the conditions: has the appropriate qualifications or has worked for at least one year in the last three years. The amendments also plan to toughen the procedure for the arrival of students.
At the same time, Lithuania will strive for greater integration of migrants.
"So that we cooperate with foreigners' communities and see a common interest - that integration into our society corresponds to their interests. That would benefit us all. So I see integration and learning Lithuanian as a very positive change," Gaspere said.
The official emphasized that foreigners should learn Lithuanian, especially those working in the service sector:
"They could adapt and learn Lithuanian at least at some level. Now we should have required an A1 level certificate from all people working in the service sector. Because it's just a sign of respect for the state."
According to the Migration Department, as of January 1, 2026, there are 50,286 Belarusians with residence permits of all types in Lithuania. Of these, 46,122 are on temporary permits and 3,958 on permanent permits.
Belarusians rank second among foreigners with residence permits. Ukrainians are in the first place, and Russians are in the third place.
In 2025, however, the largest outflow of Belarusians from Lithuania in recent years, 7,225 people left. In 2024, 4656 Belarusians left Lithuania. At the same time, in 2023, they came on the contrary - the inflow amounted to 13,363 people.