Most Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania are not interested in acquiring Lithuanian citizenship, says the head of the Migration Department.
“We receive practically no questions about citizenship. If we look at how many Ukrainians have applied for citizenship in recent years, only a handful, this year only nine Ukrainians have become citizens through naturalisation,” Evelina Gudzisnkaitė told LRT RADIO.
When Ukrainians approach the department, they are mostly interested in extending their residence permits, she explained. “After that, of course, if the temporary protection expires, there will be questions about how to continue staying in Lithuania,” according to the head of the Migration Department.
Interior Vice Minister Arnoldas Abromavičius notes that naturalisation follows clear rules: one must have lived for ten years in Lithuania and know the language. Exceptions are made for spouses of Lithuanian citizens, in which case the time is shorter.
Ukrainians can also apply for a permanent residence permit after spending five years in Lithuania, if they have basic knowledge of the Lithuanian language and are not considered a threat to national security concerns, the vice minister said.
According to Gudzinskaitė, many Ukrainians find it quite difficult to obtain a permanent residence permit because they travel back and forth between Lithuania and Ukraine.
“In order to obtain the permanent resident status, you have to have lived in Lithuania for five years. We have noticed that Ukrainians are quite mobile, and many of them still want to return to Ukraine. There are cases where they come back to Ukraine, realise that it is impossible to live there, and they return. They do not maintain continuity, they often leave Lithuania,” Gudzinskaitė said.
Eastern Europe Studies Centre has recently published a survey showing that most Ukrainians do not have clearly defined plans for the future. When asked how long they plan to stay in Lithuania, 41 percent said they would stay until the end of the war in their home country, while 39 percent said they planned to spend several years in Lithuania. Around ten percent said they were planning to stay permanently, and the same number said they would stay until they could return safely to Ukraine.
Currently, around 86,000 Ukrainian citizens live in Lithuania.
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