It is estimated that there are currently 145,000 foreigners living in Lithuania - this is more than 5% of the country's population. There are trends that more and more people are choosing Lithuania as a destination country - so Lithuania is becoming a country of immigration.

This year, more than 71 thousand people came to Lithuania, war refugees from Ukraine, our country is the 5th in terms of the percentage of war refugees from Ukraine per country's population, according to a report prepared by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In addition, during last 10 months, more than 20 thousand Belarusians received a residence permit in Lithuania.

Around the world, every minute at least twenty people are forced to leave their homes to flee war, persecution and terror. These are not empty statistics - behind them lies the story of each person with their losses, experiences and lost right to a peaceful life. In the last year, what seemed very far from Lithuania has become very close. We have seen how Belarusians leaves their homes to escape persecution, and now Ukrainians are fleeing war and famine. Lithuanians very willingly helped both Belarusians and are now helping Ukrainians. Celebrating the International Day of Migrants, we invite you to think about all the good deeds that Lithuanians have done by helping each other and others," says Eitvydas Bingelis, head of IOM Lithuania.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, in order to understand the situation as accurately as possible and to provide the necessary assistance, IOM installed special systems in Ukraine that has helped monitor the movement of Ukrainians within the country and relocations to other cities. The data shows that about 7 million people moved to other cities of Ukraine where military actions are not taking place, almost 8 million. people left the country, and 17.7 million people need help.

In total, IOM helped about 1.5 million people in 24 counties of Ukraine and almost 300 thousand outside the country. The organization carries out the same activities in all countries - it is temporary accommodation, one-time payments, psychological support line. In every country where the headquarters of the IOM are located, Ukrainians who have arrived can take advantage of the assistance provided by it. For example, the organization provided more than 120 thousand of overnight stays in Airbnb accommodations and helped more than 5 thousand people: in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Lithuania. Almost 600 safe nights were provided in Lithuania, and about 30 families benefited from free short-term accommodation.
 
Officially, Lithuania became a country receiving asylum seekers in 1997, after the ratification of the Geneva Convention. Over 25 years, more than 5,000 refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Belarus, Eritrea and other countries received asylum. Over the past year, more than 71,000 people have already found temporary homes in Lithuania. Ukrainian war refugees, including about 24 thousand. - minors.
The International Organization for Migration, a member of the United Nations system, is the largest international intergovernmental organization leading in the field of migration. It has been operating in Lithuania since 1998.