September 2022:  As his wife held a work permit and visa in Lithuania, he applied for family reunification and a residence permit based on her status. He also resumed work in the IT sector, though his employer was not based in an EU country. 

 

May 2023: He was deemed a “threat to Lithuania's national security” due to his military education and experience in the Belarusian Armed Forces. His residence permit application was denied, and the Lithuanian migration service issued a ban on his entry to the Schengen zone. He received this decision while on a private trip to Georgia, and as a result, he did not return to Lithuania.

 

Early October 2024: He subsequently resided in various countries outside Europe. As his passport was set to expire in June 2025, he considered seeking asylum. After consulting with Belarusian democratic forces in Warsaw, he left Georgia in early October 2024 and attempted to apply for asylum in Poland. However, due to the Schengen entry ban imposed by Lithuanian authorities, Polish authorities declared their intention to detain him in prison or a closed migration camp, which would have prevented him from continuing his work. For this reason, he withdrew his asylum application and returned to Turkey.

 

Late October 2024: While in Turkey, he made two attempts to re-enter Georgia, but Georgian border officials denied him entry without explanation. At the beginning of 2024, he also spent several months in Vietnam due to its lower cost of living compared to many non-Schengen European countries. After being denied entry to Georgia, he decided to return to Vietnam temporarily while awaiting the end of electoral campaigns in Georgia and Moldova, intending to seek asylum in one of these countries afterward.

 

November 13, 2024: He was reportedly arrested in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. By November 14, he was handed over to the Belarusian regime. According to an independent Vietnamese lawyer, there were no criminal or visa violations recorded in Vietnamese police archives under his name. 

 

A week after his arrest, Belarusian state television aired footage of his “return” to Belarus, confirming the Vietnamese lawyer's claims that his capture was orchestrated by Belarusian special services.

 

Vasil Veramejchyk is currently detained in the KGB detention center in Minsk. The intentions of the KGB regarding his case are unclear. However, given that the Kastuś Kalinouski Regiment was officially labeled a terrorist organization in Belarus in September 2024, it is highly likely that he could face charges related to terrorism.

 

Under Belarusian criminal law, individuals involved in terrorist activities as part of an organized group may face maximum sentences, including life imprisonment or even the death penalty.