Relocating
to Lithuania

Invest Lithuania is the official agency for Foreign Direct Investment and Business Development. We’ll partner with you to get your business set up and off to the best start possible:

• Helping you with decision-making during international expansion
• Facilitating the overall relocation process for your team
• Helping you with business establishment procedures by connecting you with relevant stakeholders to guarantee a soft landing
• Once your business is up and running, we’ll continue being there for you, providing aftercare and support

The company planning to relocate its employees to Lithuania shall provide a list of employees and their family members containing the following information should be provided to Invest Lithuania:

• Name and Surname
• Date of Birth
• Passport Number
• Passport expiration date
• Passport date of issue
• Passport issuing country
• The officially registered name of the company

Timeline: The Invitation Letter will be prepared within 1 working day after the list of employees with the required information has been received.

*Citizens of Belarus, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea.

The employee and their family members, whose details have been provided in the Invitation Letter, will have to fill in an application form for the National (D) Visa.

The following documents are required for D Visa Application, which can only take place at the Lithuanian Embassy:

• Printed and Signed D Visa Application Form;
• Travel insurance covering the full duration of the visa (181 days);
• Documents demonstrating that the employee has sufficient funds for subsistence in Lithuania, preferably a bank statement providing evidence that the employee has EUR 2,000 in their personal Bank account (EUR 2,000 for each adult and EUR 1,000 for each child).

Note: The embassy recommends that applicants prepare company statements as they might be easier to obtain than personal bank statements. Each applicant needs to provide an Individual statement at the Embassy (not a single statement for all employees).

• 1 passport format picture (color, physical format).

Employees should pay the application fee at the Lithuanian Embassy in Belarus. Payments are only accepted in cash and in euros. At the embassy, the applicant will have to provide all the above mentioned documents, together with their passport and fingerprints. Children younger than 12 do not have to submit their visa application in person, their parents or legal guardians can submit the application on their behalf.

Timeline: In urgent cases, the Embassy will issue the visas within 1 or 1.5 days after the employees and their family members have submitted the required documents to the embassy.

Once the National D Visas are issued, employees and their family members can enter Lithuania. The National D Visa allows an individual to stay in Lithuania for 6 months.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, residents from Belarus are required to self-isolate for:

• Obtain a COVID-19 test and self-isolate for 14 days (self-isolation is mandatory even if the test result is negative).
• The COVID-19 test should be obtained 48 hours prior to entering Lithuania, or 24 hours after arriving in Lithuania (in the latter case, please call the Coronavirus Hotline (1808) or a laboratory performing tests for COVID-19 and register for the test).
• The self-isolation period can be reduced to 10 days if no earlier than on the 10th day of self-isolation the person performs a COVID-19 test at their own expense and receives a negative result.

• Exemptions from self-isolation requirements are possible. However, these exemptions can only be applied when the person’s stay in Lithuania is related to the performance of essential work functions. All persons benefiting from the self-isolation exemptions will be required to have documentation demonstrating the intended exemption, which might be requested by the National Center for Public Health to verify compliance with the self-isolation requirements.

All persons, arriving to Lithuania by air or naval transport, are obligated to register with the National Public Health Center and show proof of registration; all persons, arriving to Lithuania by land, are obligated to register with the National Public Health Center within 12 hours of arrival.

Before boarding a plane, ferry, bus, or train, the traveller will have to fill in a form on the website of the National Public Health Centre, and present the received confirmation (QR code) at the time of boarding.

Personal protective equipment covering the nose and mouth (masks) is mandatory in all indoor and outdoor public places. 

List of private laboratories in Lithuania performing testing for COVID-19 can be found here. 

(Please note that self-isolation requirements might change depending on the COVID-19 virus spread in Belarus) 

Highly skilled employees can be granted permission to leave their place of isolation during their 14 days of self-isolation on the grounds of performing business related activities. Please note that an official negative COVID-19 test must be provided in order for an individual to be eligible for such permits.

Once the legal entity of your company is established in Lithuania, your employees can apply for the EU Blue Card.

Important information about the EU Blue Card:

• The EU Blue Card is a residence and work permit specifically designated for highly skilled non-EU citizens.
• Applicants for the EU Blue Card can start working as soon as their application for the EU Blue Card has been submitted.
• The application for the EU Blue Card should be physically submitted at the Migration Department
• An EU Blue Card is valid for up to 3 years and can be extended for up to 3 years afterwards.
• EU Blue Card holders have the ability to bring their family members.
• EU Blue Card holders are eligible for permanent residence after 5 years.

Main criteria for the EU Blue Card:

• The employee possesses a higher education degree (they hold a diploma or have at least five years of professional experience equivalent to a higher education degree)
• Their Salary is not less than 1.5X the average monthly gross salary in Lithuania (~2,000 Eur)
• They have an employment contract is not shorter than 1 year

Note: An EU Blue Card can also be issued to the Director of the company, but additional documents must be provided.

Timeline: 15 days (fast track) or 1 month (standard).

State fee: €240 (fast track) or €120 (standard).

More information can be found here: eubluecard.lt

We know relocation can be difficult for many reasons. To make it easier, city agencies (Go Vilnius, Kaunas In and Klaipėda ID) have appointed dedicated persons to consult newcomers on all relocation matters. You can reach out to them with all your questions regarding kindergartens / schools, housing, self-isolation upon arrival and any other aspect of life in Lithuania:

• Go Vilnius: Erika Fedorenčikaitė, erika@govilnius.lt
• Kaunas IN: Laura Baltkojytė, laura@kaunasin.lt
• Klaipėda ID: Kristina Pastornak, kristina@klaipedaid.lt

In addition to having these dedicated consultants, the city agencies are also preparing induction workshops for relocating employees. The workshops will touch upon a number of topics, including opening a bank account, getting health insurance, receiving social support, registering a car, finding a place to live, and more. You can find more about the workshops by contacting the responsible person in the relevant city agency.

Additional advice can be found in the closed Facebook group of Belarusians in Lithuania.