Lithuania wants to revoke residence permits of Russians and Belarusians who frequently visit their homeland
18 March 14:57
Three members of the Lithuanian Seimas have proposed to revoke the residence permits of Russian and Belarusian citizens who visit their homeland more than once a quarter.
This was reported by Delfi, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Conservatives Laurinas Kasciunas, Audronius Ažubalis, and Valdas Rakutis propose to provide for this in the law on sanctions, which the parliament adopted in the first reading. This draft law proposes to extend national sanctions against citizens of Russia and Belarus if they have traveled to their homeland more than once in a quarter.
The initiators hope that this will help reduce the risk of recruitment of Belarusians with a temporary residence permit in Lithuania who frequently travel to their homeland.
Will there be exceptions?
It is noted that there will be exceptions. For example, for crew members and teams working in the field of international passenger and freight transportation, for carriers passing through Lithuania in transit to the EU.
“The purpose of these measures is to stop threats to national security. Our intelligence has repeatedly noted that returning citizens of this country may be recruited, asked to collect information and perform intelligence functions,” Kasciunas said.
According to the MPs, these restrictions will be optimal and balanced in the context of the current security situation. They believe that these measures are necessary and appropriate, and their application will not cause inconvenience to Lithuanian residents and businesses.
