Despite the fact that the Lithuanian government stopped issuing visas to citizens of Russia and Belarus soon after the start of the war in Ukraine, last year more residents of these countries arrived in Lithuania than before, writes LRT.
Sasha (name changed) came to Lithuania from Moscow last year and plans to stay in Lithuania for life. The man is learning the Lithuanian language in lessons organized by Caritas. Sasha had a Schengen visa, so it was easy to enter Lithuania. He left Russia for political reasons and chose Lithuania because he feels safe there. Sasha points out that Lithuania is a country that understands the dangers posed by Russia’s current regime and has long warned the rest of Europe about it.
Caritas Foreigner Integration Program head Eglė Masevičiūtė said about the Lithuanian language course attendants: “These are the people who are really planning their future here in Lithuania. Because those who are not interested, who have plans to move on, they just don don’t study.”
According to the data of the Lithuanian Migration Department,
almost four thousand Russian citizens wanted to obtain a Lithuanian residence permit in 2022, which is twice as many as in 2021.
The number of persons who have received residence permits has also increased – in the first months of this year, there are almost 1,000 Russian citizens.
Although the Foreign Ministry already announced in May 2022 that it will stop issuing visas to citizens of Russia and Belarus, they were initially able to freely enter Lithuania using visas from other countries of the Schengen area. Evelina Gudzinskaitė, the head of the Lithuanian Migration Department, explained that there were situations when a visa was obtained, for example, in Italy, and only then a residence permit was requested in Lithuania.
In September, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as Poland, stopped accepting Schengen visas from Russian citizens.
Grudzinskaite informed that the most common reasons for requesting a residence permit are family reunification or work needs. She pointed out that Russian citizens work in various jobs – from construction to high-level IT professionals.
Some politicians believe that the influx of Russian citizens into Lithuania is a risk to national security. Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the National Security and Defense Commission of the Lithuanian Parliament, stated that people are fleeing from the Putin regime, but on the other hand, their own security is the main thing for them, and Russian power structures can use the Russian diaspora for their own benefit. Kasčiūnas believes that the new law, which will prevent Russian citizens from obtaining residence permits (with certain exceptions), is necessary to prevent the risks.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1967918/despite-visa-bans-russian-residents-in-lithuania-on-the-rise
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