Over 43,000 Lithuanians have returned from the United Kingdom over the last five years. Among the main reasons experts mention Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, while families with children more often choose to come back home.
Snežana Jackevičienė, who spent 18 years in Exeter, England, returned to her hometown Vilnius last year with three children aged 4, 12, and 16. The woman says that coming back to Lithuania was not difficult as the family had been preparing for it in advance and only made the move after finishing building a house and finding a school for the children.
“My husband is still in the UK, but he will be back soon. He has a company, so he has to hand it over and he is setting up a structure to work remotely,” the woman said. “I was lucky, I got my work sorted out during Covid so that I can now live in Lithuania and work remotely. The children are very happy and love living in Lithuania.”
According to Jackevičienė, during the years she lived abroad, Lithuania has changed for the better.
“It was very strange, but it was also good; I finally did it and I’m home,” she said about coming back from emigration.
The woman is one of the thousands of compatriots who have returned to Lithuania in recent years. The UK, which was the main destination for Lithuanian emigrants for many years, has lost its popularity after Brexit.
Bringing capital and skills home
Only a few thousand Lithuanians emigrated to the UK last year, compared to more than 21,000 in 2017 and over 23,000 in 2016, Edita Urbanovič, an expert at the Vilnius Office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), points out. Since 2017, more and more Lithuanians are also returning to their home country from the UK.
“In 2017, almost 5,000 people returned, and in 2021, the number almost reached the record 12,000. Although in 2022 and 2023, the number dropped slightly, with 5,500 and 6,500 returnees respectively,” Urbanovič says.
She notes that Brexit has undoubtedly had a significant impact on this process. With the change in entry conditions to the UK, fewer Lithuanians are choosing to come to the country, and the stricter requirements are discouraging those who do not seek permanent residency.
“At the same time, for many Lithuanians who have emigrated, Brexit has become an incentive to seriously consider returning to Lithuania. Events such as Brexit or global pandemics make it easier for people to decide on their future, often as an incentive to return home,” the IOM expert points out.
The consultation centre Grįžtu LT also says that Lithuanians living in the UK are those who inquire about coming back home most often. They account for almost a third (31.6 percent) of all enquiries.
“In 2023, according to the National Data Agency, the largest number of returnees from the UK were aged 25–34 (2,042). Families with young children also often return from the UK, as shown by both official statistics (1,083 people under 18 returned from the UK in 2023) and by the number of enquiries received by the Grįžtu LT Advice Centre,” says Tadas Kubilius, head of the centre.
According to Alvija Černiauskaitė, chair of the Lithuanian community in the UK, the Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic led to the surge of Lithuanians returning to their home country in recent years.
She says that many families who have spent 10 years or more in the UK come back to Lithuania with ideas, start-up capital for their business, and professional skills that they are trying to apply in their home country.
“Some people keep the safe option of working remotely for a UK company while living in Lithuania. In the last two years, we have had a significant number of people who work in the UK but reside in Lithuania,” Černiauskaitė notes.
However, she says that young families with children are not only returning to Lithuania but also choosing to move from the UK to other destinations, mainland Spain and Tenerife being the most popular choices.
A survey conducted by IOM Lithuania has shown that people most often cite psychological reasons for returning home from emigration, including homesickness, missing relatives, as well as wanting children to grow up in Lithuania and work for the motherland.
“The improving economic situation in Lithuania has undoubtedly had an impact. If ten years ago salaries in Lithuania and Western European countries differed by four or five times, now these differences have significantly decreased,” says IOM expert Urbanovič.
“And people living abroad calculate not only the income but also all the inconveniences of living in a foreign country, such as possible difficulties with integration, language barriers, and often jobs that do not match their skills. You do the maths and often you no longer have that crucial income difference that makes it worth putting up with those inconveniences,” she continues.
Visas and expensive studies
Even though the UK’s popularity has declined sharply, it remains one of the most often chosen destinations for emigration today. However, the gap between it and other countries has almost disappeared.
“In 2023, 2,095 Lithuanians left for the UK, compared to 1,348 leaving for Norway. Germany and the Netherlands are also among the top destinations, with 1,269 and 783 people choosing these countries respectively,” says Urbanovič, a specialist at the Vilnius Office of the International Organisation for Migration.
“In comparison, the UK was significantly ahead in 2021, with more than 6,000 Lithuanians emigrating there, while Norway in second place attracted 2,500 Lithuanians,” she adds.
The reasons why Lithuanians move to the UK remain similar, including people speaking English, as well as social ties.
“Studying at UK universities attracts young people, and the existing ties of the Lithuanian community – the social capital – make it easier to adapt and live in this country. Today, almost every Lithuanian has friends or relatives living in the UK,” Urbanovič says.
Černiauskaitė, chair of the Lithuanian community in the UK, adds that the significant drop in arrivals is due to the visa regime that came into force after the end of the Brexit transition period. To obtain a visa, people now have to meet certain criteria, such as salary requirements and finding an employer who can take on a European worker.
“The employer must be licensed and meet all visa requirements. The number of people who come is very small. They are highly skilled professionals, often coming on project activities. It is a cumbersome process, so the UK is not a dream destination right now,” Černiauskaitė says.
“There is also a reduction in students because young people coming to the UK from Lithuania are treated like third-country students, they pay a high price to study. Of course, there are still the best universities in the world that attract very well-educated students from Lithuania, but the numbers have drastically changed from what we had before,” adds the chair of the Lithuanian community in the UK.
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