Number of Belarusians in Lithuania spikes 57 percent in 2022

May 18, BPN. Lithuania’s migration department says the number of Belarusians living in the country rose by 57.3 percent to 48,804 in 2022, according to Anastasija Łuzhina, a senior researcher at the BEROC think tank.

She said the figure includes people who may not stay long-term, such as workers with temporary visas.

She added that some Belarusians who arrived in 2021 got a residence permit in 2022 after living for six months or a year with a type D visa.

Lithuania issued 20,531 visas to Belarusians in 2022.

Łuzhina said it is hard to estimate how many Belarusians have permanently moved to Lithuania. Over the past couple of years, the range could be between 25,400 and 37,900 based on annual data, she said.