Lithuania has updated the directive for issuing digital permits for temporary residence refugees seeking shelter from the war in Ukraine.
Through a statement, the Lithuanian Minister of Internal Affairs noted that from now on when verifying the authenticity and validity of these permits on the Migration Department’s website, migracija.lt, users will now have access to the personal and other data and a visual representation of the foreigner’s face displayed on the screen.
This change will make it possible to verify the foreigner’s identity, so there should be no more problems using electronic services. – Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania
Recently, there have been reports of concerns raised by both individuals and legal entities about the difficulties faced by Ukrainian citizens who have sought refuge from the war and have been granted temporary protection.
As the Ministry points out, they cannot access qualified electronic signature tools and other essential services because institutions need to acknowledge the digital permit as a valid means of confirming their identity. In addition, Ukrainian war refugees with temporary protection are only provided with one official document that permits them to reside in the Republic of Lithuania: the digital permit.
The Ministry further revealed that, as of now, a total of 45,238 digital residence permits have been issued under the temporary protection program.
In March of this year, the Migration Department of Lithuania extended all documents issued to Ukrainian refugees under the temporary protection program until March 4, 2024.
According to data from the same authority, during the same month, there were a total of 41,933 Ukrainian refugees holding valid permits that allowed them to reside in Lithuania temporarily.
Such data also show that 35,039 individuals have been granted digital permits, while 6,894 people possess temporary residence permits in plastic cards.
Moreover, in August 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Lithuania announced the approval of new fee amounts for migration services.
The updated fees will apply to various services, including issuing and exchanging Lithuanian passports, identity cards, residence permits for foreigners, and other pertinent documents. At the same time, the fees for processing applications for Lithuanian citizenship will also see an increase.
Thanks to the recent adjustments, the state fee for obtaining a personal identity card will experience a minor uptick, rising from €8.6 to €10, representing an increase of €1.40. However, it was stated that individual identity cards serve as flexible identification documents and can be used as a method of electronic signature, enhancing their significance.
