Lithuania Extends Protection of Ukrainian Refugees for Another Year
The Lithuanian government has decided to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian war refugees for another year. Now residence permits, which were valid until 4 March 2025, will be extended until 4 March 2026.
This is reported by Delfi.
This decision is aimed at reducing the administrative burden on citizens and employees of the Department of migration, as well as to simplify the process of replacing residence permits at the end of the current term of temporary protection, the Ministry of internal Affairs said in a statement.
According to the draft decree, the Migration Department receives about 30-40 new applications for temporary residence permits in Lithuania every day.
As of the end of July, about 44,000 people had received temporary protection.
The temporary protection mechanism was introduced at the EU level on 4 March 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It provides displaced people with collective protection, including the right to residence, work, housing, medical care and education for children.
According to the UN, by mid-March 2024, the number of Ukrainian refugees worldwide had reached 6.486 million, of which 5.983 million were in Europe.