The number of temporary residence permits issued to foreigners in Lithuania declined for the first time in the first half of 2024, according to data from the Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD), BNS reports. At the same time, the number of permit renewals increased several times. LMD issued 78,121 temporary residence permits to foreigners in six…
Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS) prevented a total of 2,770 people from illegally entering Latvia from Belarus in the first half of 2024, LSM reports. Only 12 people were admitted to Latvia on humanitarian grounds. VRS chief Guntis Pujats said that “very massive attempts” had been made to cross the border from Belarus to Poland…
A group of 24 migrants have filed a class action lawsuit against Lithuania, seeking compensation of EUR 5,000 each for their arbitrary detention in 2021-2022, BNS reports. The claimants allege that the Lithuanian government unlawfully detained at least 4,000 migrants for months without judicial review during an emergency declared due to irregular border crossings from…
Latvia has no current plans to search and send back Ukrainian men of conscription age to Ukraine, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, BNS reports. She said that the government had not received any requests from Ukraine on the issue. Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said that Lithuania should help Ukraine…
Lithuanians are the biggest supporters of Ukraine in the Baltic States, according to a Eurobarometer poll, BNS reports. As many as 95% of Lithuanians agree with providing humanitarian support to people affected by the war in Ukraine, compared with 91% in Latvia and 89% in Estonia. Another 93% of Lithuanians, 87% of Latvians, and 77%…
Lithuania’s Ministry of Interior will ask the parliament, the Seimas, to extend the validity of foreigner’s passports from one to three years, BNS reports. The Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD) issues foreigner’s passports to foreign nationals with Lithuanian residency who are unable to obtain a travel document from their country of origin. The Belarusian government has…
Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS) has asked the government to close the Silene checkpoint on the country’s border with Belarus due to a sudden surge in illegal border crossings in recent weeks, LSM reports. Latvia has two checkpoints on the Belarus border at Silene and Patarnieki. The Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), the State Police,…
Apartment rental prices in Lithuania are 20% higher than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, LRT reports. In Vilnius, the rental price of a one-bedroom apartment is around EUR 1,000 or more per month in the city centre, EUR 700-800 in new buildings, and EUR 500 in old buildings. In Kaunas, rents are around EUR…
Estonia granted international protection to altogether 2,107 foreigners in 2022, which was up from the usual yearly average of around 50, according to data from the Ministry of Culture, ERR reports. The number of applications for international protection totalled 2,940, which was up from the usual 100. Also, Estonia granted temporary protection to 41,639 Ukrainian…