The number of foreigners living in Lithuania exceeded 200 thousand for the first time this year. limit - more than a third of them live in Vilnius. According to the data of the latest survey, the majority of foreigners come to our country for work purposes and are most happy about the opportunities to study at universities, send their children to private kindergartens and schools, but experience difficulties integrating into local communities and learning the Lithuanian language.
According to the Migration Department, slightly more than 208 thousand people lived in Lithuania at the beginning of October. from persons arriving from various foreign countries, when at the beginning of the year this number reached almost 190 thousand.
"When the war started in Ukraine, the ranks of the Lithuanian population were greatly supplemented by war refugees, but usually foreigners come to work here. It is estimated that almost 50 percent all foreigners in Lithuania came to work, most of them in the missing professions. These are mostly long-haul drivers and construction workers. The number of people coming to work in these sectors is constantly growing, every month they increase by 1-2 thousand in Lithuania", says Evelina Gudzinskaitė, director of the Migration Department.
The interviewee notes that our country is also attractive to highly qualified specialists, such as IT or engineering workers, who are subject to favorable migration rules - there are almost 6,5 thousand such specialists from foreign countries in Lithuania.
"The number of highly qualified specialists is gradually increasing and this is a good sign. Lithuania competes all over the world for highly qualified workers, because they are lacking everywhere, and the fact that we are able to win the competitive battle and attract them shows that we can be attractive", she comments.
According to the data of Vilnius TechFusion, an ecosystem connecting high-tech companies, the game industry sector of the capital city has experienced a particularly big change over the past two years. In a very short time, more than 1 people moved to the capital. the number of game developers, i.e. those working in the game industry in Lithuania, has almost doubled: the number of game development companies, comparing 2020 and 2022, has increased by 11 percent, the number of employees in the ecosystem has increased by as much as 98 percent during the same period. The average salary in this sector last year, compared to 2021, grew by 20 percent.
Most foreigners live in Vilnius
According to the information of Go Vilnius, Vilnius city tourism and business development agency, foreigners who have come to Lithuania usually choose to live in Vilnius. More than 73 thousand of people declared their place of residence in the capital, and the rate of arrivals is increasing rapidly. For example, at the beginning of this year, this number reached 71 thousand. population, when in January of last year only 38 thousand lived in Vilnius. foreigners.
In order to find out how foreigners value and feel in Vilnius, International House Vilnius conducted a survey of foreigners staying in Vilnius in May-June of this year about their satisfaction with living and working conditions. According to the survey data, foreigners rate life in Vilnius as 4 out of 5 31 percent of the respondents say that they intend to stay here for more than 5 years. Only 5% plan to spend less than a year in the capital. respondents.
"They are most happy about the fact that it is relatively easy to enroll in universities or colleges, to use health care services in private institutions, to enter private kindergartens and schools, and there are also opportunities for business development," says International House Vilnius, a center for relocation and integration services for foreigners. manager Agnė Camara. - Despite the positivity of foreigners, they also talk about the problems they face. We see that it is still very important to find ways to improve the integration of foreigners in our country. Although we have made considerable progress, citizens of foreign countries still face challenges when it comes to obtaining a driver's license or changing it to a new one, it is difficult to integrate into Lithuanian communities in Vilnius, difficulties arise with learning the Lithuanian language, it is not always easy to find housing and use public health care services."
According to the head of International House Vilnius, regularly conducted surveys of foreigners are essential for the development of public policies and programs aimed at improving the integration process of foreigners, such as creating more effective strategies for language training, employment and community involvement.
Students intend to stay in Vilnius
A. Camara notes that Vilnius also attracts the attention of foreign students - 1,3 thousand are studying in the capital this year. their
"The number of foreign students in the capital has remained similar in recent years, the only exception was during the coronavirus period, when movement was severely restricted," she believes.
Foreign students studying in Vilnius mostly chose social science studies - 380 people were interested in them. The other most popular fields of study among foreign students are engineering sciences, business and public management, and law. According to the data of the survey of foreigners conducted by International House Vilnius, almost half of the surveyed students (42%) studying in the capital state that they see their life in Vilnius even after graduation.
By the way, there are also many minors from abroad in Vilnius. In January last year, only 5 people lived in the capital. minor foreigners, this number increased to 13 thousand in January of this year, and now there are a little more than 11 thousand.
"This number is constantly changing, but has remained more or less the same lately. It is likely that the minors who stayed with their families in Vilnius will finish school, and then perhaps study at the capital's universities and find themselves in the local labor market. It is clear that we should not only attract students to the capital's universities, but also help foreign citizens to integrate into society. Nevertheless, we can be happy that the general attitude towards Vilnius is very good, and our labor market is becoming more and more attractive to foreigners", the interviewee summarizes.
