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13 April 2023

Lithuania: Language requirements and employment for those that have fled Ukraine

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The Lithuanian government suspended the requirement that refugees from Ukraine speak Lithuanian in order to secure a job. These individuals will now be exempt from the requirement for 24 months following the day they receive their temporary protection status in the country.

The Lithuanian Language Inspectorate warned that in 2024 it will start assessing companies that employ people who have fled Ukraine to check their language proficiency - by this time many will have been in Lithuania for 24 months. If a person fails to take the language test by a given deadline, they themselves will not be held responsible; rather their employer could face a fine. The language test undertaken will depend on the professional position a person holds. A bus driver, for example, will be required to speak Lithuanian at A2 level, while a physician will be required to reach B1 level.

The government announced its intentions to ensure that language courses are made more widely available from the summer of 2023. According to Minister of Social Security and Labour Monika Navickienė, over 2 500 Ukrainians subscribed to language courses organised by local authorities in 2022. In 2023 the Public Employment Service is also offering classes, and free language courses are additionally run by the House of Ethnic Communities, the Red Cross, and Vytautas Magnus University.

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Lithuania
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Posted by
Giedre Blazyte
Country Coordinator

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