Lithuanian govt extends temporary protection for Ukrainians until 2027

VILNIUS - Lithuania's government on Wednesday decided to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war until March 2027.

Under the existing resolution, temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens is in place until March 4, 2026.

"The European Union's common position is to extend temporary protection because the war is not over. We proposed to do the same in Lithuania with this government resolution," acting Prime Minister Rimantas Sadzius said during the Cabinet meeting today.

According to the Interior Ministry, the Migration Department registers 30-40 new applications daily for temporary residence permits in Lithuania on the basis of temporary protection, i.e. when a person cannot return to their country.

Right now, residence permits issued to Ukrainians are valid until March 4, 2026, but following a change in the government's decision, the permits will be valid for another 12 months.

"This means that the administrative burden on persons would be reduced as they would have a longer-term residence permit, and also the workload of the Migration Department staff would be reduced, and it would be easier to manage the flow of residence permit renewals as March 4, 2026 approaches, as some individuals would already have longer-term residence permits," the ministry said.

The granting of temporary protection will also extend the period during which foreigners working in Lithuania are not required to learn the Lithuanian language.

In early July, the government decided not to require war refugees to speak Lithuanian while they have temporary protection status.

In February 2022, when Russia launched its large-scale war in Ukraine, EU member states agreed to grant temporary protection to persons fleeing Ukraine for one year and are extending this period annually.

Most recently, in June, the EU decided to extend temporary protection until March 4, 2027, for more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled Russian aggression.

According to the Migration Department, temporary protection in Lithuania is currently granted to 47,600 people.

Temporary protection is a special assistance measure designed for people who have been forced to leave their country due to difficult circumstances and cannot return. Persons covered by temporary protection enjoy the same rights throughout the EU. These rights include the right to reside, the possibility to find employment and obtain housing, medical assistance, social support, and the possibility for children to attend school.

The government also Lithuania decided to provide medical rehabilitation and psychiatric services in Lithuania to minors who were forcibly transferred from Ukraine to Russia and later returned to Ukraine.

"Minors would be accommodated in institutions providing inpatient medical rehabilitation services for children. Accommodation and catering services would be provided for accompanying persons," the ministry said.

The plan is to take care of about 150 children per year.