The following information is intended for persons who are not citizens of the EU (or their family members) and who want to obtain visas and/or temporary-permanent residence permits in Lithuania.
Temporary residence permit by doing business in Lithuania
You can come to Lithuania to do business. If a company that you manage or participate at has been implementing its legal activity for more than 6 months – you may be granted a temporary residence permit (which is usually issued for 2 years and later can be renewed). While your application for a temporary residence permit is processed, you can get a national visa.
You may also obtain a national visa if you are managing or participating at a company that was established not earlier than 1 year before your application for a national visa.
Requirements for the company owner/shareholder and/or director in order to obtain the TRP:
- The person is a shareholder of Lithuanian company (value of his shares makes at least 1/3 statutory capital) or director of the Lithuanian company;
- equity capital value amounts of the company not less than EUR 28 000, of which not less than EUR 14 000 are funds or other assets invested by the foreigner (EUR 14 000 does not apply for the director);
- a business plan, based on which the company has been implementing its activity for at least 6 months;
- citizens of Lithuania, another EU or EFTA member state or foreigners, permanently residing in Lithuania, working full-time and receiving a monthly salary that is not less than 2 times the average monthly gross salary of employees working in the national economy in the last quarter (about 1800 EUR);
- alternatively, residence permit is received if 260 000 EUR invested into established private limited company and workplaces created for not less than 5 employees, providing full-time employment to citizens of LT/EU or persons permanently residing in Lithuania. No requirements apply for the size of salaries in such case.
Temporary residence permit by taking up the employment in Lithuania
You can come to Lithuania to work. If you are planning to stay in Lithuania no longer than for 1 year, you can obtain a national visa. If you are planning to stay longer, you should choose a TRP (usually issued for 2 years, in case of highly-qualified employees – 3 years and later can usually be renewed). While your application for a temporary residence permit is processed, you can get a national visa.
TRP can be issued to a person who intends to take up employment upon the following conditions:
- the foreigner presents the Lithuanian employer’s written undertaking to recruit him under an employment contract for the period of not less than 6 months;
- the foreigner will require a resolution of the Lithuanian Labour Exchange, stating that the foreigner’s employment meets the needs of the Lithuanian labour market, except for the following cases:
- When the foreigner’s occupation is included into the list of occupations needed in Lithuania according to types of economic activity – this requires a document to confirm the foreigner’s qualification or a document to confirm at least one year of experience in working according to this qualification over the past two years;
- the foreigner is required a document confirming his/her qualification, who has graduated from vocational studies or training in Lithuania and is planning to work according to the qualifications obtained.
”Blue Card” residence permit can be issued to a foreigner who intends to take up highly qualified employment upon the following conditions:
A “Blue Card” is a temporary residence permit in Lithuania that allows highly-qualified citizens of non-European Union countries to legally reside and work in Lithuania and other EU countries. A Blue Card is issued to an employee with a university degree or at least 5 years of professional experience. A Blue Card in Lithuania is usually issued for 3 years.
Family members of a Blue Card holder are also allowed to reside in Lithuania. They will be issued a permit to temporarily reside in Lithuania for the same duration as their Blue-Card-holding family member. The following persons are considered family members: spouse, registered partner, unmarried children who are minors and depend on Blue Card holding family member.
A Blue Card may be issued on an expedited basis (30 days regular, 15 days fast-track), provided the salary is at least 1.5 or (or 3 times and no Labour Exchange resolution is needed) the national average (about EUR 1 300 before taxes).
During residence in Lithuania, you may briefly travel to third countries, but the duration of staying outside the territory of the European Union cannot exceed 6 consecutive months and cannot last for more than 10 months in total over the period of five years.
After the expiration date of the Blue Card, three additional months are granted in order to provide the Blue Card holders with a sufficient amount of time to extend or find another job.
Unfortunately, online application for the Blue Card is currently not available in Lithuania. If you want to have your application processed more quickly, we recommend you to have a legal assistance.
High professional qualification is evidenced by a higher-education diploma or at least five years of professional experience equivalent to higher education qualification which is essential for the profession or sector specified in the employer’s commitment to hire an alien according to the employment agreement or in the employment agreement itself.
During the first 2 years of high qualification work, it is allowed to change the employer. In order to do that a blue card holder must apply to the migration service to obtain permission from the Migration Department to change the employer. Later, such permission will not be necessary.
Moreover, TRP in Lithuania may be obtained on the grounds of studies/science, startup business, transfer inside a company, family, short-term stay and on the other grounds. If you plan to reside in Lithuania for more than 5 years, consider different options to obtain the permanent residence permit in Lithuania. If you consider to stay in Lithuania for up to 3 months, you might need assistance with visas procedures.
For more information and legal assistance in immigration and residence issues in Lithuania, contact at tadas.bulota@bulotalegal.eu