Every tenth resident of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, is a foreign national, according to the city’s mayor, Valdas Benkunskas, ELTA reports. Vilnius has altogether around 76,000 foreign residents, of whom 61,000 (80%) are non-EU citizens, BNS reported. Around 40,000 of the foreigners, mostly from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, have temporary residence permits. The mayor warned that the large number of foreigners created a risk of societal problems. According to surveys, around a third of foreigners in Vilnius do not speak Lithuanian. The municipal government therefore plans to offer more Lithuanian language courses to foreign residents. Also, the city has asked the government to tighten regulations for issuing residence permits. Benkunskas has suggested that foreigners be obliged to speak Lithuanian at A2 level to have their temporary residence permits extended.
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