Lithuanian border guards report sharp rise in secondary migration from Belarus via Latvia

VILNIUS – A total of 352 irregular migrants who entered Latvia from Belarus and then attempted to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland were detained in the first half of 2025, according to data released on Tuesday by the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS).

Compared to the first half of 2024, when 140 such migrants were detained, the flow of irregular secondary migration from Latvia increased by two and a half times in January-June this year.

Of the migrants who traveled via the so-called Latvian route, 157 were detained by Lithuanian officers and 195 by Polish officers. Lithuanian border guards say that they usually hand such migrants over to their Latvian colleagues after completing the necessary procedures.

In the reporting period, the SBGS launched 25 pre-trial investigations into the illegal transportation of people across the state border and detained 31 migrant smugglers. In most cases, the aliens were illegally transported from Latvia and, in one case, from Poland.

Among the aliens detained by border guards in the reporting period, the majority were citizens of Somalia and Afghanistan, 150 and 53, respectively. The SBGS noted a particular increase in the number of Somalis detained, especially compared to 52 irregular migrants from that country detained in full 2024.

Somali citizens questioned by Lithuanian border guards most often say they are traveling from Somalia via the United Arab Emirates to Russia, from there to Belarus, and then seek to enter Latvia, from where they usually travel to Germany.

According to the SBGS, irregular migrants travel illegally from Latvia in groups of several to a dozen people, not only using the services of smugglers, but also traveling by regular buses with foreign or forged travel documents.

According to the SBGS data, 5,914 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia this year before being detained and turned back to Belarus. Meanwhile, Lithuanian border guards have barred 890 irregular migrants from entering from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year, after turning away 1,002 in 2024.

As regards Poland, 14,975 migrants have already attempted to enter the country this year and have been turned away at the border.