After the introduction of restrictions on passenger vehicles with Belarusian registration in Lithuania, there has been a significant increase in the number of re-registered cars. This is reported by local media.
It is noted that over the past year the number of re-registrations has increased tenfold. In just half of January 2025, about one hundred cars were re—registered, while in January last year there were only five.
"The car can only be used by the person who drove it. Transferring it to another person is prohibited," Darius Binkis, a representative of the Lithuanian Customs Department, recalled.
At the same time, it is reported that traffic across the border "remains stable," which causes concern among Lithuanian politicians.
"This situation creates a favorable environment for the activities of hostile intelligence services ... Someone thinks that, having seen Europe, these people (Belarusians. — EADaily) will become its supporters and bring changes to Belarus. But so far I don't see such trends," said Laurinas Kaschiunas, Vice—chairman of the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas.
At the same time, the head of this committee, Gedrimas Eglinskas, notes that restricting the use of cars with Belarusian license plates is part of the policy of reducing the influence of Belarus.
"The car number is just a symbol, but the cars themselves regularly cross the border. If our goal is to reduce interaction with the Belarusian authorities, this is an important step in this direction," he said.
Starting from July 2024, only persons with a residence permit in Lithuania or who have received a Lithuanian visa will be allowed to enter Lithuania by vehicles with Belarusian license plates. There are also additional restrictions for such cars. In addition, cars with Belarusian license plates that are not re-registered in Lithuania can stay in the country for no more than six months. At the same time, the Lithuanian customs services report that about 400 cars from Belarus enter Lithuania daily, and 450 leave.