On April 4, the Seimas of Lithuania passed in the second reading the bill on restrictive measures in view of military aggression against Ukraine. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Advisor on Legal Issues Kristina Rikhter explained what might change for the citizens of Belarus.
“The previous version of the bill imposed significant restrictions on Belarusians in obtaining visas, applying for residence permits, citizenship, e-residency status, and electronic signatures.
The official statement of the Seimas, released immediately after the vote on the bill, says only the following restrictions remained in the final version of the bill:
– suspension of visa applications at Lithuanian visa services abroad, except in cases with the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry as an intermediary. This restriction had already been in effect for Belarusians because of the state of emergency in Lithuania.
– suspension of e-residence status and electronic signature issuance for citizens of Belarus. We should emphasize that an exception was made for those with a temporary or permanent residence permit in Lithuania, which, in fact, upholds the standard requirements for obtaining the above-mentioned documents.
– ban on the import of Ukrainian hryvnias into the territory of Lithuania.
During the legislative process, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office was in touch with representatives of political parties, the drafters of the law, and Lithuanian government officials. During the communications, the Office noted that the restrictions are counterproductive and handed over the proposals developed by the Office's lawyers. The proposals to soften the restrictions were eventually taken into account during the second reading in the Seimas. As a result, restrictions on applying for residence permits, citizenship, and e-residency were excluded.
It should be noted that the lawmaking process is not over. According to the Constitution of Lithuania, a law must be signed by the President or sent for reconsideration with specific reasons stated”.
