Lithuania’s parliament, the Seimas, has expanded the list of people who can be required to take a polygraph test, adding foreign nationals, the public broadcaster LRT reports.
Those who can be required to take a lie detector test include foreigners applying for or renewing a residence permit in Lithuania — but only if the Migration Department has “reasonable suspicions” that the person may “pose a threat to national security.” A foreigner who is asked to take the test and refuses will automatically be considered to “pose a security threat.”
Beyond foreign nationals, the new rules also broaden the grounds for polygraph testing of Lithuania’s own public officials. The lawmakers behind the amendments say the goal is to bolster national security measures in light of the “geopolitical situation, the growing activity of hostile states’ intelligence services, and the rising number of recruitment cases.”
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania has sharply narrowed the grounds on which Russian and Belarusian citizens can obtain a residence permit and, conversely, expanded the grounds for revoking one. A permit can now be revoked, among other reasons, for frequent travel to Russia or Belarus.
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