Lithuania has suspended the acceptance of employment applications from citizens of Central Asian countries

2 hours ago

Lithuania has temporarily suspended the operations of external service centers where citizens of Central Asian countries submit documents for employment and entry into the country.

According to Gaspere, the number of workers coming to Lithuania from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan has significantly increased in recent years. Authorities have temporarily stopped accepting new applications due to an excessive volume of employment requests. The head of the department did not disclose which specific countries in the region these measures apply to.

"Taking into account the expectations of employers and foreigners wishing to find employment, the activities of external centers have been suspended, and applications are no longer being accepted," BNS quoted Gaspere as saying.

This decision was made at a time when control over labor migration is being tightened. At the beginning of September 2026, the annual quota of 24,706 people set in Lithuania for workers from third countries was fully exhausted. Once the quota is exhausted, temporary residence permits are issued only in cases provided for by law, including when specified salary requirements are met.

According to the Migration Department, as of September 1, 2026, nearly 227,000 foreigners held valid residence permits in Lithuania. Approximately 80,000 of them were citizens of Ukraine, 48,000 of Belarus, and about 13,000 each of Russia and Uzbekistan. Additionally, more than 9,000 citizens of India and over 7,000 citizens of Tajikistan lived in the country.

The Lithuanian government has previously restricted the acceptance of documents from the region. From October 22, 2025, the operations of the external service center in Dushanbe were suspended. The Lithuanian Migration Department explained this change by a reassessment of employers' needs and the conclusions of authorized state bodies.

During the two years of the Dushanbe center's operation, nearly 6.5 thousand people, mainly drivers and construction workers, processed documents for temporary residence in Lithuania. They were criticized by authorities for periodically violating local laws, overstaying visas, or attempting to enter the country illegally.