Iraqi migrants acting lawfully when appealing status decision in Lithuania: speaker

The Iraqi migrants family, which is suing Lithuania's Migration Department due to the family' legal status, is acting in accordance with the country's laws, Loreta Grauziniene, speaker of Lithuanian Parliament, said on Wednesday.

The family has been granted legal protection by Migration Department instead of a refugee status they expected, therefore, they filed a complaint against the department at a court, local media reported earlier this week.

"Both a Lithuanian citizen and any person living here, if he or she was accepted in accordance with certain agreements and under our laws, have the right to defend their rights," Grauziniene said in an interview with broadcaster Ziniu Radijas.

"The family had lawfully expected to be granted refugee status but instead they were given a different status; we should wait for court ruling," she added.

The Iraqi family of four arrived in Lithuania from Greece in mid-December.

Evelina Gudzinskaite, acting head of Migration Department, explained earlier to local website Delfi that under the existing law, every decision by the department can be appealed in court.

The so-called additional legal protection allows the Iraqi family to reside in Lithuania for two years. The residency permit could be extended after that.

"However, should the authorities deem that the circumstances that made the Iraqi family flee their country have changed, they could be forced to repatriate," Gudzinskaite was quoted as saying by Delfi.

Meanwhile, a foreigner who gets refugee status is granted a permanent residence permit, Migration Department explains on its website.

Lithuania has pledged to take in 1,105 refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Eritrea over the next two years under the European Union migrant relocation scheme. Endit