Belarusian Alexei had lived in Lithuania for 17 years. At the end of November 2023, he was separated from his family and deported to Belarus. He had to leave behind his wife and two minor children because his residence permit in Lithuania was revoked, “Delfi” wrote,

The Lithuanian State Security Department (SSD) decided that the man posed a threat to Lithuania because he had served in the Belarusian army 20 years ago. The Migration Department noted that in such cases, the time spent in Lithuania and the presence of a family are not compelling arguments for allowing the person to stay in the country.

Alexei’s wife, Janina (the real name is known to the editorial office), told Delfi that her husband has been living in the country since 2006. The couple got married then, and they had two children, who are still minors. The children, like Janina, are Lithuanian citizens. Alexei had a temporary residence permit that was constantly renewed. This February, the document expired, and Alexei applied for its renewal as usual. The response took nine months, and when it was received, the family was shocked – based on the SSD’s findings, the Migration Department did not renew the residence permit, declaring Alexei a threat to Lithuania’s national security. “He cannot come to Lithuania for 30 months,” Janina said. Alexei was invited to the department, where the decision was printed out, and he was told he had to leave for Belarus immediately. “Border guards came and took him to the border with this document,” the woman said. She was stunned. Her husband was given no time to prepare or gather his belongings, and no one waited for an appeal of the decision. Alexei had to appeal the decision already being in Belarus. Now he lives there with his parents. “He is in shock, complete shock. He spent half his life here; his family is here,” Janina noted.

In the response from the Migration Department, which Delfi reviewed, it was stated that from 2000-2002 he served in the Belarusian army, and from 2003-2004 he served under contract, which means he “must be a loyal citizen of Belarus, supporting its authorities and the aggressive foreign policy of these authorities, which poses a threat to Lithuania’s national security.” The SSD noted that the Belarusian intelligence services control the reliability and loyalty of military personnel and state institution employees in Belarus. Janina assured Delfi that the SSD did not provide information that her husband could have cooperated with Belarusian special services, communicated with them, or transmitted any information to them. This was also confirmed by the Migration Department, which indicated that the SSD noted that Alexei could be used to perform various tasks for the special services. “He worked as a simple border guard – lifting and lowering the barrier, so to speak,” Janina assured. According to her, Alexei always did simple work – he was a storekeeper. “He worked here almost all the time, with a 16-year work record,” the woman added.

The Migration Department noted that despite Alexei living in Lithuania since 2006, being married to a Lithuanian citizen since 2005, and raising two minor children, he was still denied a residence permit based on the SSD’s conclusions for security reasons. The decision also mentioned that although Alexei lives in Lithuania, he often travels to Belarus. “Based on this, it can be concluded that the foreigner has not severed social links with Belarus, which increases the risk of providing information and cooperating with Belarusian services,” the decision stated. “Why can’t a person visit their parents? Yes, we used to go almost every weekend before the pandemic. His parents live there, and my mother is buried there. We don’t just go there for no reason,” Janina said. The department noted that Alexei did not apply for a permanent residence permit or citizenship, which was seen as a sign of “insufficient integration into Lithuanian society and that the person does not associate their future with Lithuania.” According to Janina, Alexei was also reprimanded for his low salary, with the department noting that she supports the family. Janina pointed out that due to the long consideration of the issue, her husband lived in Lithuania without medical insurance and could not work. During this time, he needed surgery, and the family had to pay for medical services. They did not have enough money for rehabilitation.

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