Lithuania strengthens border surveillance with Latvia to curb secondary migration

Lithuania’s Interior Ministry (VRM) has announced measures to strengthen surveillance along its internal borders with Latvia to reduce illegal secondary migration, LRT reports.

Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius approved the decision to intensify monitoring technologies and active patrolling near internal borders, transport hubs, passenger transport routes, as well as air and sea ports. Checks will be conducted based on available intelligence and risk assessments.

The ministry clarified that these measures do not amount to the reintroduction of internal border controls and will comply with EU legal requirements, ensuring free movement within the Schengen area.

The State Border Guard Service (VSAT) will coordinate implementation, with support from the Police Department, the Public Security Service, and the Customs Department. These agencies will allocate necessary personnel and resources.

According to VRM, the enhanced measures aim to detect illegal migration cases more efficiently, prevent violations, and improve inter-agency cooperation in managing migration flows.

Last year, 1,288 irregular migrants were intercepted entering or transiting from Latvia—nearly 2.5 times more than in 2024 (540). In 2025, VSAT launched 85 pre-trial investigations into illegal human trafficking across the state border and detained 101 smugglers. This year, the number of migrants using the so-called “Latvian route” in the first half has already matched the total for all of 2025.

Secondary migration from Latvia has quadrupled in the same period this year, rising from 319 to 1,288 foreign nationals between January 1 and June 19. Since the start of the irregular migration crisis in 2021, over 25,000 attempts to illegally cross Lithuania’s border from Belarus have been recorded. Lithuania applies comprehensive measures to manage this threat, and while the current situation is stable, secondary migration from Latvia is increasing.

Lithuania maintains close cooperation with neighboring countries to address the issue jointly.