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Legal status of foreign nationals: Lithuanian state support for the integration of foreign nationals may be discontinued where a beneficiary of international protection, without a justified reason, misses 40 per cent or more of adult Lithuanian language and/or Lithuanian culture courses.

By a ruling of 3 December 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania held that the Commission on Issues Relating to Support for the Integration of Beneficiaries of International Protection had lawfully refused to extend the integration period of a foreign national (a beneficiary of international protection) due to non-attendance of Lithuanian language classes.

The case established that the foreign national had, without a justified reason, missed 40 per cent or more of adult Lithuanian language course sessions.

The foreign national argued that he had attended remote Lithuanian language classes and had not been aware that continued attendance of such classes was mandatory. However, the Commission found that such conduct constituted a breach of Article 108(3)(1) of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners, which requires compliance with the obligations set out in the agreement concluded with the foreign national. Such conduct also breached the provisions of the Description of the Conditions and Procedure for Providing Lithuanian State Support for the Integration of Foreign Nationals, under which integration support within the territory of a municipality may be discontinued by decision of the Commission if a beneficiary of international protection, without a justified reason, misses 40 per cent or more of adult Lithuanian language and/or Lithuanian culture course sessions.

Having examined the legal and factual circumstances of the dispute, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania found that the applicant did not have knowledge of the Lithuanian language and that his argument that he had been unaware of the obligation to attend Lithuanian language courses was contradicted by extensive evidence collected in the case. This evidence included the support agreement signed by the applicant, written statements from the head of the institution implementing the integration programme and from the Lithuanian language teacher, as well as a post made by the applicant on his social media account.

The Court rejected the foreign national’s arguments that, due to his lack of knowledge of the Lithuanian language and non-attendance of language courses, insufficient or disproportionate consideration had been given to his vulnerability and need for support. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania noted that the foreign national’s situation had been assessed comprehensively, taking into account the support already granted and its extensions, the applicant’s conduct during Lithuanian language courses (attendance without active learning, reluctance to participate, failure to achieve a sufficient level for communication), the factual circumstances relating to his lack of Lithuanian language skills and non-attendance of courses (his decision to study independently), his financial situation, and his conduct when submitting requests for extensions of support.

The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania dismissed the foreign national’s appeal and upheld the judgment of the court of first instance.

Administrative case No eA-1320-1047/2025