Lithuania is bound by the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework Regulation (URF)

29 April 2004: Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymas dėl užsieniečių teisinės padėties | Law Nr. XIV-1593 on the Legal Status of Aliens. 24 February 2016: Dėl prieglobsčio Lietuvos Respublikoje suteikimo ir panaikinimo tvarkos aprašo | Order No 1V-131 On the approval of the procedure for granting and cancellation of asylum in the Republic of Lithuania.

Lithuania is not implementing resettlement or humanitarian admission programmes at the moment.

Referral: The main authority responsible for the referral of both resettlement and humanitarian admission programmes is the Ministry of the Interior, which creates policy, negotiates and presents programmes of both resettlement and humanitarian admission to the Government. The decisions of approval on programmes of both resettlement and humanitarian admission is carried out by the Government of Lithuania. There is no specific institutionalised difference between resettlement and humanitarian admission referral procedures.

Selection and assessment of cases: Selection interview: The interviews are conducted with applicants individually by MD and SSG, the number of interviews applicants per selection mission varies sharply depending on the pledge being implemented. Questions related to reception/integration purposes are present during the interview, minors are not present, as underaged applicants do not match Lithuanian national criteria. There is no standard questionnaire, however the method of the interview generally follows the guidelines on asylum interviews. The difference with the standard asylum procedure is the involvement of the SSD and a broader number of topics discussed during the interview (reception/integration purposes, questions related to national security). Selection on dossier (if applicable): All cases are examined equally and individually using the same procedure, therefore there is no specific cases singled out for a more thorough examination.

Assessment of cases: 1 month to issue a decision on the admission/refusal for resettlement and humanitarian admission from the date of the reception of all necessary documents from the host country. No separate timeframe for emergency cases.

The Republic of Lithuania can grant a foreigner the following types of protection:

• Refugee status, in which case a foreigner is issued with a long-term resident's permit to permanently reside in the Republic of Lithuania that is valid for 5 years;
• Subsidiary protection, in which case a foreigner is issued with a temporary resident's permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania that is valid for 2 years;
• Temporary protection, in which case a foreigner is issued with a temporary resident's permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania that is valid for either 1 or 2 years;
• Tolerable stay, in which case a foreigner is issued with a temporary resident's permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania that is valid for 1 year.

All the above-mentioned resident permits in case of a renewal are valid for the same period as the initial one, however after 5 years of legal stay in Lithuania under any scheme, foreigners may apply for a long-term resident's permit to permanently reside.

All foreigners who are resettled or admitted in the country are generally obliged to apply for asylum, therefore the type of protection they receive is determined individually on a case by case basis, following the same procedure that is applicable for all other asylum applications.

After the selection interview all applicants are informed by the interviewing staff of the next steps in the procedure (assessment to be concluded in Lithuania, estimated timeframe until a decision, possibility of a negative decision) and are provided with a booklet in a language they can understand about Lithuania that holds general information about the country, its customs, laws etc. All other assistance/orientation is provided after departure.

Following a decision by the Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Affairs Minister, as of April 2021 Lithuania recognises the travel document issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter the national territories among others for resettlement purposes. In issuing an international travel document, Red Cross organisations of different countries and the authorities of those countries cooperate to verify the identity of persons and their family ties. ​​​​​​

Following a decision to transfer a foreigner to the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, if necessary, If the Migration Department issues him/her a travel document to enter country.

After the details of the foreigner’s arrival are known and prior to the transfer, Migration Department informs the SBGS (which meets and registers the foreigner) and the MSSL (which takes care of the reception procedures).

Upon arrival, refugees need to apply for international protection to the SBGS officers registering their asylum applications as per regular registration procedure. After that the asylum applications are examined in accordance with the regular examination procedure as all other applications.

The Reception and Integration Agency is implementing the project "Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission".

The Agency will be responsible for organizing integration measures for third-country nationals (non-EU member state citizens) or stateless persons admitted through humanitarian admission, who are participating in the social integration program either at the Reception Centres, managed by the Agency, or in municipalities (2022-01-01 – 2029-12-31).

Another project, called "Implementation of the Solidarity Mechanism between EU Member States and Third Countries"; aims to relocate third country nationals from European Union member states.

Currently no resettlement programmes are in place in Lithuania.

Currently, no humanitarian admission programmes as described in the Union Resettlement Framework are in place in Lithuania

Currently no community sponsorship schemes related to state-led programmes are in place in Lithuania.

The RISE project (Reinforcing Integration through Sponsorship Enhancement, the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (2021–2027)), is implemented in Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), along with the Reception and Integration Agency and other partners. Main objectives: strengthen knowledge and capacity to implement community sponsorship programmes, with a focus on housing.

Among other objectives, the project aims at improving improve access to and use of housing opportunities, identify effective models for piloting community sponsorship and expand housing and accommodation options by:

• engaging local authorities, real estate agents, landlords, and host families;
• developing practical toolkits;
• involving and training sponsors to provide housing support;
• connecting sponsors with beneficiaries of international protection.

Currently, no community sponsorship schemes linked to other complementary pathways are in place in Lithuania.