Lithuania promises Belarusian citizens tougher inspections upon arrival
Photo: Lithuania has decided to tighten checks on Belarusian citizens (facebook.com/Lietuvos policija)
Today, on January 31, the Lithuanian government approved a proposal to enhance the restrictions on citizens of Russia for another year and to strengthen checks on Belarusian citizens arriving in the country, reports LRT.
What exactly should change
As the explanatory note of the draft law reads, "...in cases where citizens of the Republic of Belarus cross the border with a Schengen visa, the officers of the State Border Guard Service must additionally assess the risks and, if necessary, carry out a more detailed inspection."
The draft law also proposes to clarify that the restrictive measure will apply to legal entities whose beneficiaries are citizens of Russia, regardless of whether they have a temporary or permanent residence permit in Lithuania.
It also aims to limit the right of legal entities to purchase real estate after assessing whether a Russian citizen is a beneficiary of a specific legal entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.
Restrictions against Russians
It is claimed that the implementation of restrictive measures will be facilitated by the information system of the participants of legal entities, which collects data on the beneficiaries of legal entities.
Restrictive measures for citizens of Russia have been extended until May 2, 2025.
Last spring, the Seimas introduced national sanctions against citizens of Russia and Belarus. The bill on restrictive measures due to military aggression against Ukraine strengthened the procedure for issuing permanent or temporary residence permits, issuing visas, and prohibited the movement of Russian citizens across the external border of the EU. The right of Russian citizens to purchase real estate in Lithuania is also limited.
Lithuania's position on sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus
Recently, the heads of the customs services of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia agreed on unified control during the implementation of European Union sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
Also, at the beginning of the year, Lithuania revoked the residence permit of the director of the Belarus sanatorium Ilya Epifanov, which is used by the Belarusian dictator Oleksandr Lukashenko.
And in November it became known that Lithuania will impose fines for non-compliance with international and national sanctions.
