The number of Ukrainians in Lithuania is decreasing, sometimes the number of people from Central Asia is increasing

This is shown by the data of the Migration Department published in March.

Director of the Migration Department, Evelina Gudzinskaitė, told BNS that at the beginning of March, war refugees from Ukraine had to change their residence permits in Lithuania. Updated statistics show that the number of Ukrainians in Lithuania has decreased.

“In April, it will be clear that the number of Ukrainian citizens with us has decreased, because some did not come to renew their permits, they have physically left Lithuania,” said E. Gudzinskaitė.

According to her, if at the beginning of the year there were over 86 thousand Ukrainian citizens in Lithuania, then at the end of March – slightly more than 74 thousand.

“Belarusians are in second place, they are still increasing, but their growth has been slower in recent months. This is due to the stricter checks we are carrying out and because employers are reorienting themselves to other countries,” said the director.

At the end of March, there were almost 63 thousand in Lithuania. Belarusians with a residence permit in the country. Compared to January 1 of last year, the number of Belarusian citizens in Lithuania increased by almost 29 percent.

The number of Russian citizens in Lithuania remains stable – just over 15 thousand.

“The law on restrictive measures, according to which new immigrants from Russia practically have no opportunity to come to Lithuania, really stopped the growth of the number of Russian citizens. Otherwise, there would be more of them here with us”, said E. Gudzinskaitė.

According to the director of the Migration Department, the eyes of Lithuanian companies, looking for potential employees, have shifted from Belarus and Ukraine to Central Asia and India.

“Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are the new countries from which employers are transporting labor. (…) Most of them come from Uzbekistan”, said E. Gudzinskaitė.

At the end of the fight, there were 9.7 thousand in Lithuania. for comparison, there were 1.8 thousand Uzbeks in Lithuania last January.

“The number of Uzbeks with us has increased more than four times,” said the director.

Similar trends can be seen with flows from other countries of the region. At the beginning of March, 6.6 thousand people had a residence permit in Lithuania. Kyrgyz citizens, at the beginning of last year – almost 2 thousand, Tajik citizens – 6.3 thousand. and 1.4 thousand, India – 5.2 thousand. and 1.2 thousand.

However, as E. Gudzinskaitė points out, a significant part of those arriving from India are students.

According to her, most of those arriving from Central Asia are low-skilled workers who come to work as drivers and construction workers.

There are over 6,000 highly qualified foreigners in Lithuania, mostly citizens of Belarus and Russia who work as engineers in information technology companies.

At the beginning of March, the Minister of the Interior, Agnė Bilotaitė, announced plans to tighten the requirements for foreigners coming to work in Lithuania and the companies inviting them.

Amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners propose to the employer to establish the obligation to employ a foreigner full-time, to return the requirement to provide the employer with information about the foreigner’s qualifications and experience.

It is also proposed to limit work for several employers – a foreigner could work for no more than three employers. If a foreigner has not submitted tax declarations, when such an obligation is provided for in Lithuanian legal acts, it is proposed not to issue him or to cancel a temporary residence permit in Lithuania.

In Lithuania, it is proposed to allow only foreigners with a residence permit to work, to refuse the opportunity to work upon arrival in the country using the visa-free regime or with a Schengen visa.

Kęstutis Budrys, the presidential adviser on national security issues, stated this week that the increased number of immigrants from Central Asian countries poses challenges to the special services that check them, because part of the political opposition in those countries is associated with extremism.