ABSTRACT
From the end of the Second World War, Lithuania was annexed to the Soviet Union and underwent rapid, large-scale industrialization, urbanization and colonization. Until the late 1980s, international migration in Lithuania was both intensive and stable. Soviet industrialization policy accelerated Lithuanian urbanization after 1950 and, in fact, today Lithuania remains highly urbanized, with 68 per cent of the population living in urban areas. The emergence and gradual increase in illegal migration for work in Lithuania can only be understood in the broader context of its development throughout the region, and particularly in the countries of the former USSR. The collapse of the former USSR, the liberalization of migration policy, and the considerable weakening of frontier controls led to the revival of traditional migration patterns. Foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania and having lawful employment enjoy the same economic and social rights as citizens, and the same rights to social security.
