"The decision has been made to grant 167 Afghans the refugee status, i.e., to issue permits to live in Lithuania. Tomorrow, they will be acquainted with the decision, and it will take several days to make residence permit cards," Gudzinskaite told BNS.
In her words, procedures in the cases of another 11 persons are not completed yet as the department is awaiting additional information from other services.
The majority of the 170 Afghanistan citizens who were brought to Lithuania live in Raseiniai, and some of them reside in Vilnius. Those living in Raseniai will be able to take part in the integration program over the next three months, get payouts and work.
"They had no right to work so far, but as far as I heard from the local mayor, there are employment options. So I think they will be able to get employment after receiving the permits," the director of the Migration Department said.
The 15min.lt news website was the first to report on the decision to grant asylum to the Afghans.