Obtainment of Temporary Residence Permits While Being Abroad and in Lithuania

From the beginning of 2023, a new service has come into effect together with the amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners – issuance of temporary residence permits in Lithuania through the external service provider VFS Global.

VFS Global offices in the specified countries accept applications of individuals for issuance of temporary residence permits. Foreigners can submit not only documents, but also biometric data, that is transferred to the decision-making specialists of the Migration Department. It should be noted that the list and requirements of the necessary documents which are submitted together with the applications remain the same.

When applying through VFS Global, the foreigner may select a place of collecting the produced temporary residence permit card – at a division of the Migration Department in Lithuania or upon arrival at a division of the external service provider while being abroad.

By choosing a collection through VFS Global office, foreigners will no longer need to apply for visa, but sending the document to a foreign state and obtaining it may take longer.

Those foreigners who do not need visas to arrive to Lithuania (as they have a valid visa or use the visa-free regime), will be able to order a temporary residence permit card in a foreign state and collect it in Lithuania if they prefer to come earlier. It is noteworthy that in such a case a residence permit may be collected only by the foreigner personally, and his/her stay in Lithuania must be legitimate.

If the application for issuance of a temporary residence permit was submitted at the division of the Migration Department in Lithuania, the document may be collected in three ways: upon personal arrival at the division of the Migration Department; by courier (then the document is delivered to the address specified by the foreigner throughout Lithuania and is delivered personally; this service is paid – delivery of one document costs EUR 9.99), or after giving powers of attorney to the employer or other person to collect the document which has already been produced.

Remarks:

-VSF Global services are not available in Belarus, Russia, and China. VFS Global offices operate in the following countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Moldova, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Republic of South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

-Foreigners may apply to VFS Global offices, irrespective of whether they reside in that country.

-Russian nationals cannot apply for issuance of temporary residence permits through VFS Global. Russian nationals may submit applications only in Lithuania and only if they have a valid Schengen or national visa issued by Lithuania or a residence permit in Lithuania, or if they are holders of a temporary residence permit issued by another EU member state.

MIGRATION LAW CENTER