Several media outlets from Russia moved their editorial offices to Latvia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, LSM reports. Latvia has since issued over 6,000 visas to Russian citizens, of whom 500 are journalists and their family members. Dace Melbarde, parliamentary secretary at Latvia’s Foreign Ministry, said that giving Russian journalists an…
Estonia’s Social Insurance Board (SKA) has cancelled child benefits for nearly 3,000 Estonian children who mostly live abroad since 2019, ERR reports. Signe Riisalo, Minister of Social Protection, pointed out that family benefits are only meant for people living in Estonia. People paying taxes in Estonia should not pay for benefits to people who do…
Employers in Lithuania are more favourable than before towards Lithuanian emigrants who are returning, according to a survey of 512 companies and organisations by the Lithuanian Public Employment Service (UzT), LRT reports. The survey showed that 42% of companies in Lithuania suffer from a shortage of skilled labour. More than half of Lithuanian employers now…
Lithuania’s permanent population totalled 2,886,500 people in the beginning of 2024, which was 29,000 (1%) more than in the same period of 2023, according to the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reports. Around 22,000 permanent residents emigrated from Lithuania in 2023, which was up 44% from 15,300 in 2022. Some 12,000 foreigners and 10,000 Lithuanian…
Latvian businesses urge the government to ease the rules on the entry of foreign labour into the country, LSM reports. Speaking at a conference on human capital development in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, business representatives and market analysts noted that Latvia’s human resources were exhausted. They called for improving labour availability through relaxed rules…
An increasing number of Lithuanian emigrants are considering going back, according to a poll carried out by the Employment Service (UzT) in May 2023, LRT reports. The survey showed that 55.1% of respondents would like to return to Lithuania, which is 14.6 percentage points higher than in 2020. The majority of those who wish to…
Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins invited every Latvian living abroad to return home, The Baltic Times reports. He stressed their essential role in Latvia and assured them of a warm welcome upon their return. Speaking at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre to diaspora participants of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, Karins urged expatriates to…