The International Organisation for Migration Vilnius Office  (IOM Lithuania)  invites war refugees from Ukraine to learn Lithuanian for free. "In our research, we found that 18% of Ukrainians say that not knowing Lithuanian is one of the barriers to getting a better job and securing financial stability. Financial stability is what 24% of Ukrainians in Lithuania are looking for, while one fifth hope to find a long-term well-paid job. At the same time, we understand that some financial challenges may arise, which is why we invite war refugees to learn Lithuanian for free," says Eitvydas Bingelis, Head of IOM Lithuania.   

The total duration of the Lithuanian language course is until mid-June next year, but the training will be held in several sessions, one of which will last 2.5 months.  The first session starts in September and the course will be held remotely.

War refugees from Ukraine who came to Lithuania after the war started are welcome to attend the free courses. The additional criteria for the first session are: men and women aged between 21 and 30 years, or single men and women, or people over 60 years old, or people with a mild disability, or people with no permanent place of residence, or people who do not speak Lithuanian.
"We notice that Ukrainians are not working according to their profession and competences. Most often, they choose unskilled jobs because they do not require strong Lithuanian language skills, which become necessary for higher positions. That is why we encourage war refugees who have been living in Lithuania for a long time to register and learn the Lithuanian language", says Eglė Staškūnaitė, Head of Migrant Assistance and Crisis Management at IOM Lithuania.

Ukrainians and third-country nationals interested in participating in the Lithuanian language courses are invited to register on the IOM KoboToolbox platform by filling in the registration form: https://ee.kobo.iom.int/x/Dpel3Psu 

The number of participants is limited, so hurry up and registration will be open until all places are filled. The exact start date of the course will be sent to the email address provided in the registration form.

More than 80,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Lithuania so far. IOM Lithuania has been actively supporting war refugees since the beginning of the war. Over the past year, IOM Lithuania has assisted more than 10,000 people with various assistance measures. In addition, free psychological counselling in Ukrainian and Russian is regularly provided. Ukrainians in Lithuania can call 370 800 00 474, all calls will be free of charge.