Return - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

Return Migration: Policies and Practices
of the order to the alien. The court will hand down a decision within ten days after the date of filing
the appeal.
Yet in practice it appears that, where expulsion is immediately enforced, asylum seekers may
face deportation during this period of time.
Financial constraints are another obstacle in the execution of removals. Although the costs of
deportation should be borne either by the migrant, where he/she has financial means, or by the
hosting legal or physical entity, in practice these costs often have to be paid by the state. Lithuania
faces the problem of financing the expenses of commercial flights or other travel tickets to
remove expelled foreigners.
Over the past years, protection of the state borders has significantly improved. Border authorities
are enforcing the legislation and trying efficiently to prevent the illegal crossing of
migrants, who do not fulfil the necessary requirements for residence in Lithuania.
However, in 2002, international and national organizations reported instances where border guards
tried to ignore asylum applications in their effort to prevent entry of illegal foreigners into Lithuania. 5
1.4 STATISTICS ON INVOLUNTARY RETURN
In 2001, out of 342 persons deported, 13 were rejected asylum seekers. In 2002, ECRE reports
that removal was executed in 32 cases of rejected asylum seekers.
Year Illegal Immigrants
Caught
TABLE 1
STATISTICS ON INVOLUNTARY RETURN
About 28 per cent of those deported in 2002 were Russian citizens, 19 per cent were from
Belarus, 9 per cent from Ukraine and 7 per cent from Latvia.
232
Expulsion Orders
Issued
Deported
2000 100 633 345
2001 107 441 342
2002 114 244 312
2003 n/a n/a n/a
Source: State Border Protection Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs
(www.pasienis.lt).