Vilnius mayor criticises interior minister for avoiding responsibility on language requirements for foreigners

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas has accused Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius of “shirking responsibility” after the minister rejected calls to introduce mandatory Lithuanian language requirements for foreigners holding temporary residence permits, public broadcaster LRT reports.

Benkunskas stated that the Interior Ministry bears primary responsibility for migration policy and criticised Kondratovičius for “lacking leadership” on the issue. The mayor’s comments follow the minister’s response to a proposal that would require foreigners to demonstrate basic Lithuanian proficiency (A2 level) after three years of residence to renew their permits.

“The Interior Ministry is responsible for migration policy in our country, even if other ministries assist on certain matters. It is regrettable that responsibility is being dodged and leadership is not shown,” Benkunskas said in a statement carried by the BNS news agency. He urged the minister to “stop running from the problem” and address what he called a “gap” in temporary residence regulations, which currently allow indefinite renewals without language requirements.

The mayor warned that failing to enforce language standards could heighten security risks and social tensions. He noted that Lithuania’s Migration Department—a branch of the Interior Ministry—issues temporary permits, placing the matter squarely within the ministry’s jurisdiction.

Kondratovičius countered that while his ministry oversees border control and legal entry, integration—including language acquisition—falls under the remit of the Culture Ministry, the Social Security and Labour Ministry, and local municipalities. In a Facebook post, he emphasised that “migration is about controlling who enters, while integration is about how people behave once inside.”

Last week, the minister told journalists that foreigners should be expected to learn Lithuanian within five years of arrival. He also highlighted Vilnius’s unique demand for foreign workers amid stagnant overall immigration numbers. City data shows 76,000 foreigners reside in the capital, 61,000 of whom are non-EU citizens.

Benkunskas’s party, the conservative Homeland Union, proposed legislative amendments last September to mandate Lithuanian proficiency for long-term foreign residents. President Gitanas Nausėda has separately pushed for faster, priority-based work permits—primarily two-year visas—to streamline immigration.

As of early March, 189,000 foreigners held temporary residence permits in Lithuania, according to the Migration Department.