The Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs has suggested to further tightening employment criteria for companies inviting foreigners to work in Lithuania.
More specifically, the new amendments suggest that employers should be obligated to hire foreigners on a full-time basis and return the requirement for employers to provide details regarding the qualifications and experience of foreign workers, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Under these proposals, Lithuania would allow only foreigners with a residence permit to work in the country. On the other hand, it would deny employment opportunities for those entering the country under the visa-free regime or a Schengen visa.
Furthermore, if foreigners do not submit tax declarations as required by Lithuanian laws, it is suggested to either deny them a temporary residence permit in Lithuania or cancel an existing one.
The Ministry also proposed limiting the number of employers a foreigner can work, implying that a foreigner cannot work for more than three employers.
Regarding these proposals, the Lithuanian Minister of Internal Affairs, Agnė Bilotaitė, said that the growing influx of foreigners coming to Lithuania makes maintaining control more challenging.
While addressing labor shortages and humanitarian issues, we must not overlook threats to national security and prevent abuse of migration procedures.
Lithuania Has Strengthened Foreigners’ Check Procedures
Prior to this, Lithuania decided to tighten controls related to labour migration in January of this year. According to Lithuanian authorities, such a measure was taken in an effort to avoid the abuse of immigration procedures. However, the minister considers that further measures are necessary.
We have already taken steps that have yielded positive results. However, additional measures are needed. Therefore, with the amendments to the UTPE, we propose to tighten the conditions and requirements for the employment of foreigners for companies inviting them to work in Lithuania.
Last year, 6,112 individuals were denied or had their temporary residence permits revoked due to violating migration regulations, as per the Ministry’s data. Meanwhile, in two months of this year, the number has already reached 1,807 people.
Administrative measures have also been tightened – companies and foreigners are checked by employees of the Migration Department, the police, the State Border Guard Service, as well as the Labor and Tax Inspectorates, and other institutions.
Over 227,000 Foreigners are Living in Lithuania
The number of foreigners living in Lithuania set a record last year, reaching 200,000. Meanwhile, at present, over 227,000 foreign individuals live in this country, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This is 8.1 per cent of all Lithuanian residents. The number of foreigners coming to work is also growing. Currently, there are more than 114 thousand of them in Lithuania.
Last year, Lithuanian authorities issued 16,000 decisions to ban entry for foreigners into the country due to national security concerns. Meanwhile, this year, 244 such decisions have been made.
