Immigration of work

If a citizen of a foreign state wishes to be employed in Lithuania and reside there on this base, he (she) should find a Lithuanian enterprise for employment. An alien wishing to get a job in Lithuania should have a qualification required for the desired position, the evidences of such qualification as well as  (in certain cases) evidences of having at least 1-year experience in the relevant sector of activities within the 2 last years.

The list of documents required for providing a right to work and reside in Lithuania to a person depends on the character of the planned job, the qualification of the alien, the agreed salary and other circumstances.

If an alien plans to be employed as a highly qualified specialist in Lithuania, the principal documents to be submitted by him should include:

1. The evidences of the qualification of the person (such as diplomas, training completion certificates and so on);  
2. The evidences of at least 1-year experience of the alien in the relevant sector of activities within the 2 last years (such as a copy of the Employment Record, a Certificate issued by the Employer).

In such a case, the alien shall be issued a Work Permit or a decision of the Labour Exchange on conformity of the alien to the needs of the labour market of Lithuania. Prior to submission of the required documents to the Labour Exchange, the Lithuanian enterprise that plans to engage the alien should publish an announcement on a vacancy accessible for other pretenders as well (the announcement should be valid for at least 1 month before the date of submission of the documents to the Labour Exchange). If another likely candidate is not found, the alien may submit the documents for issue a Work Permit or a certificate on conformity of the alien to the needs of the labour market of Lithuania to the Labour Exchange. When the Work Permit is obtained, the alien may apply for issue a national visa D that provides a right to work and reside in Lithuania for a period up to 1 year to an alien. After expiry of the 1-year period, a Residence Permit may be issued to the person. If the Labour Exchange issues a certificate on conformity of the alien to the needs of the labour market of Lithuania, the alien may apply for issue a Residence Permit. The term for making a decision on issue a national visa D: up to 15 days. The term for making a decision on issue a Residence Permit: up to 2-4 months.

If an alien is a highly qualified specialist and his (her) agreed salary in Lithuania will be no less than double average gross salary of employees of the sector of national economy according to the recent data published by Lithuanian Department of Statistics, the principal document to be submitted by the alien shall be a diploma of higher education. Prior to applying to competent institutions for issue the documents providing a right to work and reside in Lithuania, the  diploma of higher education issued in an educational institution of a foreign state should passed a procedure of its recognition in Lithuania. In addition, the alien should obtain a decision of the Labour Exchange on conformity of his (her) qualification to the needs of the labour market of Lithuania. Prior to this, a vacancy at the Lithuanian enterprise that plans to engage the alien should be registered and a search for an employee in Lithuania should be carried out. If another likely candidate is not found, the alien may submit the documents for issue the above-mentioned decision to the Labour Exchange. When the said decision is obtained, the alien shall apply to competent institutions for issue a Residence Permit. The BLUE CARD issued to a person shall provide him (her) a right to work and reside in any European Union Member State, not only in Lithuania.

If an alien is a highly qualified specialist and his (her) agreed salary in Lithuania will be no less than 3 average gross salaries of employees of the sector of national economy according to the recent data published by Lithuanian Department of Statistics, he (she) may apply for issue the BLUE CARD according to the simplified procedure (where applying to the Labour Exchange is eliminated). The principal document to be submitted by such alien, in addition to other mandatory documents, shall be a diploma of higher education issued in an educational institution of a foreign state having been recognized in Lithuania.