Vilnius population increased by another 10,000 people within a year

Vilnius continues to grow and remains one of the fastest growing capitals in the Baltic States: in 2020, 10,000 new residents of Vilnius declared their place of residence in the capital. During the previous years, the capital acquired 8,000 new declared residents for several years in a row.

“There are clear reasons for this trend, and we do our best to further strengthen these reasons every year. I have no doubt that the growth trend will continue for a long time,” says Remigijus Šimašius, the Mayor of the capital.

The declared place of residence—much more than just a formality—is a fair exchange that strengthens the city: funds from personal income tax are used to manage and develop the city, to build new cycling and walking paths, to open new sports grounds and parks, to build kindergartens and schools. Every declaring person contributes to the beauty of the city and to the city becoming more comfortable to live and work, while city residents enjoy all of the benefits.

The pandemic and the quarantine showed even more clearly the reasons why it is important to declare one’s place of residence in Vilnius: for example, there may be difficulties in accessing healthcare, and with the introduction of restrictions on travel between cities, people who actually live and work in the capital without declaring these facts find themselves in various difficult situations. At present, it is more important than ever that the necessary services reach people as soon as possible.

The number of ordered certificates increased ten times

After the announcement of restrictions on travel between municipalities, the number of ordered certificates regarding the declared place of residence increased almost ten times: previously, Vilnius Municipality received about 40 applications per day, while during the days before the holidays, there were up to 400 applications per day. It is assumed that some of the applications are potentially related to travelling to other cities during the holidays: applicants were looking for ways to leave and later to return.

Important information for those who decide to declare their residence temporarily in another city solely because of holiday trips

The declared place of residence is linked to a significant number of services provided by the city, so changing the declared place of residence may lead to major problems later. When changing the declared place of residence, there is a chance of losing priority in the queue for kindergartens. After re-declaration, a resident of Vilnius will be lower in the kindergarten queue than before. Another case is enrolment in schools. When changing the declared place of residence, the priority criterion may be lost because it applies when the declared residence duration in the service area assigned to a school comprises two years or more.

It is important to know that, if a person receives social benefits, when the person moves to another municipality, the benefit is no longer paid in the former municipality. In this way, it is possible to lose the right to housing heating, social benefit, free meals for children, child benefits, and special benefit in Vilnius. In another municipality, this benefit is granted and paid starting with the month following the change of residence.

The number of births and marriages remained fairly stable

Despite the difficult year affected by the pandemic, the number of births and marriages in Vilnius did not change much: 4787 couples got married and 9778 births were registered; compared to 2019, the number of marriages decreased by only 20 percent and the number of births decreased by 12 percent.

Vilnius Municipality invites you to declare your place of residence remotely from home by using electronic services provided on the website www.vilnius.lt/deklaravimas.