The President calls for stricter migration policy

On Wednesday, President Gitanas Nausėda took part in a discussion at the Presidential Palace on tightening Lithuania's migration policy.

In his speech, the Head of State emphasized that over the past four years, the number of foreigners in Lithuania has grown exponentially, reaching 7.5 percent of the total population-more than doubling in just a few years since 2020.

"Of course, this increase was partly due to our noble mission of welcoming Ukrainian war refugees. However, if the current growth trend continues, we will face serious challenges due to rising immigration in the context of a rapidly declining birth rate," the President said.

According to Gitanas Nausėda, although Lithuania is quickly approaching the European Union average in terms of both migrant numbers and living standards, the country cannot afford to experience the issues seen in older European states, which arose from short-sighted migration policies in these countries. These problems include closed migrant zones avoided by local police, high crime rates among migrants, organized groups that intimidate local residents and disrupt their usual way of life, migrant radicalization and the resulting threat of terrorism or even terrorist attacks.

The President also noted that due to Lithuania's hostile neighbors and complex geopolitical situation, it is especially important to prevent other migration-related issues, such as societal polarization and division, narratives spread by migrants or through them, ideas that undermine Lithuanian statehood, the rise of radical political forces, and the accumulation of anti-Western sentiment.

"A particularly pressing issue is Lithuania's demographic situation. The Seimas will soon receive several of my proposals to promote the birth rate, but none will suggest increasing the number of immigrants. The current 7.5 percent of foreigners already represents a significant burden for our country. We cannot allow Lithuania's population to grow through a drastic increase in permanent foreign residents, as this would weaken our national identity," the Head of State underlined.

President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that Lithuania's migration policy must be managed and selective, primarily focused on the interests and needs of the state. Migration procedures should not encourage businesses to bring in workers 'as a reserve,' nor should they create incentives to lower wages. Quotas and other regulatory measures applied to foreign workers should instead encourage employers to seek labor primarily within Lithuania and to consider ways of bringing back Lithuanian citizens who have emigrated.

The President proposed creating a new mechanism based on the principle of circular migration, designed to complement existing immigration schemes while benefiting employers, foreign workers, and the Lithuanian economy and social system.

Under this mechanism, temporary work permits would be issued more quickly and on a priority basis, for a maximum period of two years. From a national security perspective, these permits would be significantly more security-oriented and would not create grounds for long-term ties between the state and the employee, as the foreign nationals would essentially come on a temporary basis solely for employment. Furthermore, foreign nationals would neither be eligible for nor acquire the right to family reunification or the opportunity to become permanent residents of Lithuania.

The Lithuanian leader emphasized that, in managing immigration flows, every effort must be made to avoid harming businesses, and that the temporary work permit initiative represents an appropriate compromise, allowing both objectives to be pursued simultaneously.

The tightening of Lithuania's migration policy was first discussed in a debate initiated by President Gitanas Nausėda in October last year. At Wednesday's meeting, concrete initiatives were presented.