Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania will not have to meet language requirements in order to work for at least another year, the government decided on Wednesday.
It extended the period during which “the categories of proficiency in the state language shall not apply to the employment of foreign nationals under temporary protection in Lithuania”. Originally, the period was two years after getting temporary protection, but it has now been extended to three years.
The cabinet also extended the temporary protection period for Ukrainian refugees until March 2025.
According to the Education, Science and Sport Ministry, the state “will continue to provide opportunities for Ukrainians to learn Lithuanian through measures funded by the Employment Service or through the Individual Learning Accounts system”.
The Lithuanian Language Inspectorate informed politicians in mid-March 2023 that from March 2024, it would start checking the language proficiency of Ukrainian refugees working in the country, as required by law.
It said in a letter that if employers failed to provide a certificate of their employees’ language test, “the Language Inspectorate and municipal language authorities will be forced to take action”.
The language watchdog’s plans angered government officials.
According to the Social Security and Labour Ministry, almost 30,000 Ukrainians have found jobs in Lithuania since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
