The Effectiveness of Return in Lithuania: challenges and good practices linked to EU rules and standards

Unlawfully entering or illegally staying aliens are issued a return decision, which sets a period for voluntary departure during which an alien must depart on his own. A decision on expulsion is issues to aliens who fail to leave within the prescribed period for voluntary departure and on other grounds established by law (for example, an alien represents a threat to national security or public policy).

On average, Lithuania issues approximately 1 500 return decisions each year: in 2016, 1 571 decisions were issued, in 2015 – 1 469 decisions. The absolute majority of the decisions (87-90%) are enforced, and illegally staying aliens leave Lithuania within the set period. 

Although currently Lithuania faces no systemic issues concerning return, the geography of the aliens returned is expanding and the number of the aliens detected without personal documents is increasing (since 2014, Lithuania has faced the issue of the return of citizens of Vietnam, because problems arise in establishing their identity and in obtaining travel documents), therefore, return issues remain topical.