‘The basic limitation, both during the quarantine period and later, was the ban on coming to Lithuania from third countries, unless there were exceptional circumstances. The restrictions have eased over time and now the situation is incomparably better, although the number of cases is higher. When talking about the policy towards foreigners, we decided that people who have specific very important short-term or long-term interests in Lithuania should be allowed to enter our country. After all, no one can be locked up for long periods of time in a global world, ‘ Tautvydas Tamulevičius, the Vice-minister of the Interior presented fundamental changes in the rules of migration of foreigners.
Simplified entrance to Lithuania
Applications for granting citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania can be submitted online as of September. The system allows customers to quickly and conveniently submit applications for granting the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, taking the oath to the Republic of Lithuania, issuing certificates confirming Lithuanian origin or the right to restore the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania. Moreover, people can handle matters related to the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania of their children and other matters online too.
Evelina Gudzinskaitė, director of the Migration Department, emphasized that the new changes help to ensure the efficient booking of the visit time and the minimum number of contacts with other people.
‘Had it not been for the information system, which helped us a lot to adjust, the petitioners would have been forced to arrive with their documents, meaning they would have spent in the department's premises more than the recommended 20 minutes, ‘ said Gudzinskaitė.
In addition, foreigners who intend to take up work requiring high qualifications (to whom the so-called Blue Card is issued) or who practice the profession of investigator may apply for a temporary residence permit online before coming to Lithuania. This allows to limit the number of contacts and to facilitate the process of entering Lithuania.
‘We maintain electronic contact with clients. A person comes to the department only twice - to transmit a biometric image of the face, and later - to collect the card.
It is difficult for Belarusian citizens and other foreigners to cross the border, as only foreigners with national visas or residence permits are granted entry permits. The changed system is also convenient for foreign citizens - applying online and taking appropriate decisions is already the basis for obtaining a national visa entitling them to enter Lithuania without the need to obtain an additional permit to cross the external border. This allows to eliminate another restriction introduced in connection with the coronavirus,’ explained E. Gudzinskaitė.
Foreigners living in Lithuania also had problems in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. Visas or temporary residence permits of some of them expired.
‘Borders were closed, flights suspended or entry into a country was impossible, so foreigners staying in Lithuania could not return to their home countries. We approached such cases wisely and all foreigners whose visas or temporary residence permits have expired, had the validity of these documents extended. We have applied the general rule that such cases will not be considered as illegal stay, ‘ said T. Tamulevičius.
Simplified procedure for issuing visas for citizens of Belarus
Restrictions on migratory traffic resulted in foreigners ‘stuck’ in Lithuania, the issuing of Schengen visas was suspended, and the number of issued national visas dropped drastically.
‘These days, the number of visas issued is slowly returning to pre-pandemic standards. This happened because Lithuanian representations issuing national visas resumed work abroad. Now the situation is even better, and this is due to the new procedure that we apply to Belarusian citizens - they can get a visa as part of a humanitarian aid, ‘ underlined Gudzinskaitė.
Due to the situation in Belarus, its citizens and their family members may apply for a national visa in a simplified procedure. For this purpose, as emphasized by the interviewee, proof must be provided that a citizen has sufficient funds to live in Lithuania for a period of at least 3 months, or that the legal entity of the Republic of Lithuania can ensure him or her such a level of incomes.
Information of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania