45 000 Ukrainians currently have residence permits in Lithuania and have paid €205 million in taxes since the start of the war.

According to a survey carried out by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM Lithuania), 70% of Ukrainians living in Lithuania are active in the labour market, i.e. contract, self-employed and short-term workers. This represents about 62% of refugees with jobs.
"The employment rate of Ukrainians in Lithuania is quite high compared to other countries - 62% of war refugees are employed, while in Germany, Finland and Spain less than 20% are employed. There are several reasons for this: in Lithuania, it is possible to speak Russian, which helped to communicate with employers; secondly, in the registration centres, where there was the largest flow of war refugees from Ukraine, comprehensive integrated services were provided - from registration to kindergartens, so that many were able to solve several challenges at once: to take care of their children so that they can work themselves. In addition, in many cases, Ukrainians who have settled with their families have also received a free escort service from their families through the labyrinth of Lithuania's legal system, employment and health system", says Bingelis. According to the IOM Lithuania study, Ukrainians are quite entrepreneurial, with 15% of Ukrainians having created their own jobs.
The main needs of Ukrainians are financial security (62%), Lithuanian language courses (43%) and employment (36%). "The longer Ukrainians live in Lithuania, the more they need to speak Lithuanian in order to get a job, more qualified jobs and higher incomes. Currently, around 12% of Ukrainians report that their Lithuanian language skills are very good, while 47% report a lack of knowledge.
According to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the share of taxes paid by Ukrainians is increasing. Ukrainians paid €45 million to our country's budget in 2022, €95 million in 2023 and €65.2 million in the first 7 months of this year, €13 million or 25% more than in the same period last year.
According to the State Tax Inspectorate, the number of Ukrainians declaring income in 2022 was almost 2,000, while in 2023 the number is already over 3,000 - 3,253. The most popular areas for self-employment are transport, beauty and courier services. Last year, almost 900,000 in personal income tax was received.
"Obviously, if Ukrainians are to integrate successfully in our country, they need to feel financially secure, which is why job search and job placement are among the key aspects. As an organisation, we see that one of the biggest obstacles to finding a job is the language barrier, so we organise Lithuanian language courses, career counselling, and some time ago we implemented a programme to promote entrepreneurship. The Ukrainians have a lot of ideas," says Eitvydas Bingelis, Head of IOM Lithuania.

The IOM Lithuania survey was conducted between January and March 2024.