Lithuania’s new government has signaled it will take a tougher approach to migration, with President Gitanas Nausėda proposing stricter conditions for workers from other countries.
Nausėda’s proposal would see foreign workers given short-term work permits valid for two years, after which they would have to leave Lithuania for at least six months before being allowed to return. Foreigners working in Lithuania would also be barred from applying for family reunification, meaning bringing their families with them while they work in Lithuania.
The plan has already drawn criticism from legal experts and businesspeople, who have warned that tougher restrictions could exacerbate labour shortages and hurt the economy. At the same time, security officials have said that migration routes in the region have become part of a broader security challenge linked to Russia and Belarus.
Lithuania faced a serious migration crisis in 2021, with thousands of migrants crossing or attempting to cross Lithuania’s border with Belarus. The European Union called it a pressure campaign supported by Minsk. Conservative MP Agne Bilotaitė, who served as Lithuania’s Minister of the Interior from 2020 to 2024, said that Lithuania was the first to face a hybrid attack from Belarus, and thus the first to have to make decisions in a non-standard situation.
Under Bilotaitė’s leadership,
Lithuania responded to the threat by interning several thousand people who had entered the country illegally,
allowing border guards to push back migrants trying to enter from the Belarusian side, and building a fence on the border.
Latvia has also faced similar challenges. This year, almost 8,000 migrants have tried to enter Latvia from Belarus, almost nine times more than those who have tried to enter Lithuania. Antanas Montvydas, deputy commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard, said that the increased pressure is caused by Latvia’s unfinished border infrastructure and gaps in border surveillance systems.
Migrants who have entered Latvia often try to continue on to Western Europe through Lithuania. Over the past six months, Lithuanian authorities have detained about 1,200 people who were on their way from Latvia. Lithuania’s new interior minister, Martynas Katelynas, does not rule out the possibility of reinstating border controls with Latvia if the situation does not improve. However, both Nausėdas and Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius are opposed to this, as it would threaten the principles of free movement in the Schengen area. Nausėdas pointed out that 90% of the problem is not related to Latvia, so reintroducing internal border controls within the Schengen area would be a capitulation to migration.
The discussions on migration also highlight the growing tension between security concerns and labor market demands.
Nausėdas’s chief security advisor Deividas Matulionis said that there are currently around 220,000 foreigners in Lithuania, which makes up around 7.7% of the total population, putting pressure on the integration system and contributing to social tensions. Meanwhile, lawyer Skirmantas Bikelis criticized what he considered to be misleading arguments behind the proposed changes. He noted that the number of foreigners living in Lithuania is relatively stable, and called for avoiding using individual, isolated incidents to justify broad restrictions.
Entrepreneurs stressed that the presence of migrants in the country is important, as many sectors face long-term labor shortages. Bikelis said that employers have needed migrants for a decade, and there are jobs in Lithuania that locals do not do, even if they pay high wages.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2998314/lithuania-s-new-government-promises-to-be-tough-on-migration-but-are-concerns-justified
Read also: Harsh but necessary – Lithuania considers reintroducing border controls with Latvia