Lithuania’s opposition conservatives, the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), have proposed tightening restrictions on property purchases by Russian and Belarusian citizens who hold temporary residence permits.
“Fifteen members of our political group have registered amendments. […] We believe the time has come for stricter regulation of real estate purchases in Lithuania,” lawmaker Mindaugas Lingė told a news conference Tuesday.
Under the proposal, Russian and Belarusian citizens with temporary residence permits would be barred from purchasing real estate in Lithuania. The ban would not apply to holders of permanent residence permits or to individuals who inherited property.
However, even Russians and Belarusians permanently residing in Lithuania would face restrictions on buying property near sites critical to national security or military training areas.
“Unrestricted and uncontrolled purchases can facilitate activities such as espionage, movement monitoring or logistics, including the use of property for storage or transport coordination,” Lingė said.
The proposed restrictions would not apply if authorities determine that a specific transaction poses no threat to national security.
Currently, Russian citizens without residence permits are barred from buying real estate in Lithuania, but exceptions apply to those holding permanent or temporary residence permits. No such restrictions apply to Belarusian citizens.
The TS-LKD introduced similar amendments last year, but the bill failed to pass its first reading in parliament after receiving no support from lawmakers representing the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or the Nemunas Dawn, both part of the ruling coalition.
“At the time, the ruling parties said they would prepare their own amendments. A year has passed, and although the government registered proposals about a month ago, there is still nothing that would restrict or otherwise change the substance of the bill,” Lingė said.
He said the conservatives were revisiting the issue in light of developments in neighbouring countries, noting that Finland and Latvia have tightened their regulations, while Estonia is considering similar measures.
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry proposed in early January to extend national sanctions on Russian and Belarusian citizens through 2028 without introducing new restrictions. The current regulation bars Russians without residence permits from purchasing property.
As of February 1, Lithuania had issued temporary residence permits to 45,877 Belarusian citizens and 5,069 Russian citizens, according to the Migration Department.
Data from the Centre of Registers show that Russian citizens purchased 2,814 properties in Lithuania between 2022 and 2024, including 1,845 located within 10 kilometres of critical infrastructure sites. Of those, 364 were bought by holders of temporary residence permits.
Belarusian citizens purchased 1,834 properties over the same period, including 1,152 within 10 kilometres of critical infrastructure sites. Of those, 556 transactions involved buyers with temporary residence permits.
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