Conservative members of the Seimas Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Paulius Saudargas and Audronius Ažubalis propose to establish that such a document would be issued to a foreigner who has lived in Lithuania for five years and wants to extend a temporary residence permit in Lithuania, only if the person submits documents confirming knowledge of the state language.
After submission, 52 members of the Seimas voted for such amendments, four were once morest and seven abstained. The draft will be further considered by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas. Amendments are planned to be discussed further in the plenary session already during the spring session.
According to the parliamentarians, practice shows that individuals tend to extend their temporary residence permit indefinitely, so they are not subject to the requirements of checking the state language and the basics of the Constitution, which appear when applying for a permanent residence permit. According to them, this poses the risk of the formation of diasporas of foreigners.
It is also proposed to tighten the employer’s responsibility when employing foreigners. The amendments aim to establish that a temporary residence permit issued on the basis of work is revoked or a new one is refused, if a non-insurance period was established for at least one employed foreigner at the employer for more than 90 days during the last 180 days.
In addition, it is proposed to establish that a foreigner who has arrived in Lithuania can change his employer no earlier than six months following receiving the temporary residence permit.
According to the current regulations, employers undertake to employ a foreigner for six months, but practice shows that following a month or several, foreigners ask the Migration Department for permission to change employers, according to the authors of the amendments.
Members of the Seimas also propose to limit the number of temporary residence permits in Lithuania to persons of Lithuanian origin or to foreigners who have the right to restore Lithuanian citizenship. According to the draft, they would be issued a temporary permit once.
Such persons, who have lived in Lithuania for five years, should learn the Lithuanian language, pass the Basic Law of the Constitution exam and be able to obtain a permanent residence permit in the country.
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2024-07-21 09:05:44
