Draft Laws No XIIIP-3285 and No XIIIP-3286 Amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens are aimed at helping to avoid negative legal and practical consequences for UK citizens residing in the Republic of Lithuania after they lose their EU citizens’ status following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU with no deal. The draft Laws provide for a transition period of nine months, which would enable UK citizens and their family members to renew their documents that were issued before the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU confirming the right of a citizen of an EU Member State or his/her family member to reside in the Republic of Lithuania.
The amendments are about establishing a separate framework for granting, and for applying more favourable conditions for granting, temporary residence permits to UK citizens who intend to work or engage in legitimate activities in the Republic of Lithuania.
The proposal is to issue temporary residence permits of up to three years to UK citizens when they have an employment contract or engage in business activities or other legitimate activities, including activities performed under an individual activity certificate. Residence permits are also foreseen for their families.
The move is to exempt UK citizens from the requirement to have a work permit. Temporary residence permits for UK citizens on business grounds would be issued when they are members or managers of an undertaking pursuing an activity in the Republic of Lithuania and when the purpose of their arrival is to work for that undertaking. They would be, however, subject to general conditions for granting a temporary residence permit such as the availability of health insurance, sufficient means of subsistence, etc. A temporary residence permit may be withdrawn when an alien loses employment for more than three consecutive months or more than once during the period of validity of a temporary residence permit.
The accompanying social legislative proposals provide for the right of UK citizens and their family members who have been granted temporary residence permits to benefit from the Lithuanian system of social integration of people with disabilities, including provision of medical, professional and social rehabilitation services, establishment of disability level, working capacity, and special needs level, allocation and payment of targeted compensation for satisfying special needs, and entitlement to social assistance benefits. The suggestion also is to regulate entitlement to child benefits, funeral allowance and social benefits for low-income residents.
In addition, the proposal is to include the period of the pension social insurance record before the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU into the aggregate period of the pension social insurance record in accordance with the procedure set out in the coordination regulations. This would ensure that the pension social insurance record before the UK’s withdrawal from the EU is taken into account when determining pension entitlements and a person retains the earned rights to a pension.
The Minister underlined that the above mentioned provision was particularly relevant for the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who had worked in the UK for quite a long time and might not earn the right to a social insurance pension in Lithuania without the aggregation of insurance periods.
The total of 86 votes in favour were unanimously given to draft Laws No XIIIP-3285 and No XIIIP-3286 amending the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and the accompanying legislation, including draft Law No XIIIP-3287 Amending the Law on Benefits for Children, draft Law No XIIIP-3288 Amending the Law on the Social Integration of the Disabled, draft Law No XIIIP-3289 Amending the Law on Assistance in the Case of Death, draft Law No XIIIP-3290 Amending the Law on Cash Social Assistance for Low-Income Residents, draft Law No XIIIP-3291 Amending the Law on Social Assistance Pensions, draft Law No XIIIP-3292 Amending the Law on Targeted Compensation, and draft Law No XIIIP-3293 Amending the Law on State Social Insurance Pensions. The Government’s proposal to consider these draft laws under the urgency procedure on 9 April 2019 was also approved by consensus.
