Third-country nationals counselling as a prerequisite for their integration into society: a case of a Lithuanian region

Abstract

The findings showed that purposeful and timely counselling is an important factor in the integration of third-country nationals into the local communities. The areas of counselling most relevant to third-country nationals include dealing with personal documents, searching for a job and/or setting up a business, obtaining a Lithuanian residence permit and/or citizenship, day-to-day problems, car purchase, and travel. The research data show that counselling as such is useful and facilitates integration into the local communities. However, it was observed that the importance of direct counselling varies depending on the individual’s age, gender and length of residence in Lithuania. The respondents aged between 36 and 45 consider themselves those most successfully integrated into the local community. Integration into the local community is directly related to the command of the local language.