Lithuania to Close Visa-Document Centers in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
The centers will stop operating on 1 November; the interior minister cited security risks and the threat of terrorism.
Lithuania will close external service provider centers that accept migration documents in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on 1 November. The decision also affects Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The reason: 'security and terrorism'
Lithuania's Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said the closures were prompted by security risks and the threat of terrorism. Lithuania's State Security Department had previously reported identifying individual members of the Central Asian community with radical views or links to terrorism.
The decision to close was prompted by security risks and the threat of terrorism.
— Martynas Katelynas, Lithuania's Interior Minister (September 2026)
Quota and applications
Lithuania's 2026 annual quota for foreign workers, 24,706, was exhausted in early September. After that, the Central Asian centers stopped accepting new applications from people seeking to come for work.
How many are affected
As of 1 September, roughly 13,000 Uzbek citizens and 7,400 Tajik citizens held valid residence permits in Lithuania. For newcomers, the path to apply becomes harder.
In brief
- What: visa/residence-permit document centers close
- Where: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (+Bosnia)
- From: 1 November 2026
- Reason: security and terrorism threat (official)
- Quota: 24,706, exhausted in September
