Hiring a foreign employee in Lithuania: which permit, in what order

For ordinary work in a Lithuanian company, a third-country national usually needs not a work permit but a temporary residence permit on the ground of employment. The Migration Department (Migracijos departamentas) issues it, and the basis is your undertaking, as the employer, to employ the person (Article 44(1)(2) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Legal Status of Aliens (UTPĮ)). A work permit from the Employment Service (Užimtumo tarnyba) is needed in only two cases: seasonal work, and an employee temporarily posted by a company established outside the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Under a temporary residence permit on the ground of employment, work may start only once the permit has been issued. A Schengen visa is not required before a national visa, but from 1 November 2026 the rules change on who may apply from inside Lithuania. For Ukrainian nationals who are entitled to, or have been granted, temporary protection, some conditions do not apply.

How long the permit really takes is covered in Temporary residence permit in Lithuania: how long it really takes. The notifications an employer must file are covered here (in Lithuanian). The exceptions for EU citizens and for nationals of certain countries are in the legalisation of foreign workers FAQ. This article is about which document is needed and in what order to get it.

Step 1: which route applies to you

First, identify your situation. It decides which authority you deal with.

• Seasonal work, or a posting from a company established outside the EU and EFTA. The foreign national must then obtain a work permit (UTPĮ Article 57(1)). The Employment Service issues it (UTPĮ Article 57(3)). The application must be examined within 28 calendar days of receipt (UTPĮ Article 60). A posted worker may start work only after receiving the work permit and holding a national visa (UTPĮ Article 59(4)).
• Ordinary work under an employment contract with your company. A temporary residence permit under UTPĮ Article 44 is then needed (UTPĮ Article 40(1)(4)). More on it below.
• The employee will not come to Lithuania and will work remotely. A foreign national has the right to work if they do not come to Lithuania and intend to work remotely under an employment contract with a company operating in Lithuania (UTPĮ Article 58(17)). This answers the question: can you hire someone while they still live abroad? You can, if they genuinely work from there.

An employer may conclude an employment contract only with a foreign national who holds a seasonal work permit or has the right to work under UTPĮ Article 58 (UTPĮ Article 62(3)).

Step 2: what the employee and the company must meet

A permit on the ground of employment requires the employer’s undertakings and several conditions together:

• the foreign national intends to work for a period of not less than 6 months at full-time working hours, and the employer undertakes to employ them and to pay a salary that meets the statutory requirements (UTPĮ Article 44(1)(2)(a));
• the foreign national has a qualification related to the job or at least 1 year of work experience related to the job in the last 3 years, and the employer confirms this. The alternative is that the employer undertakes to pay not less than the last published annual average monthly gross salary (BDU) (UTPĮ Article 44(1)(2)(b)).

The salary may not be lower than what the same employer pays a Lithuanian, other EU or EFTA national, or a foreign national permanently resident in Lithuania, for the same work. If there is no such employee, it may not be lower than the average salary for the relevant economic activity published by the State Data Agency (UTPĮ Article 62(5)).

Conditions also apply to the company itself. Among other things, it must hold the required licences if the work is licensed. It must have carried on the activity for which it invites the foreign national for at least the last 6 months. There must be no serious grounds to believe the company is fictitious (UTPĮ Article 44(12)). So a company that has carried on this activity for less than 6 months (for example, a newly incorporated one) cannot give such an undertaking straight away. The exception is an employer that has concluded an investment agreement or a large-scale project investment agreement under the Law on Investment. These conditions do not apply to it (UTPĮ Article 44(14)).

The number of permits on this ground is limited by a quota (UTPĮ Article 44(2)), which the Minister of Social Security and Labour approves for each calendar year (UTPĮ Article 57¹(2)). Once the quota is used up, a permit may be issued only if the employer undertakes to pay at least 1.2 times the BDU, or if the occupation is on the list of high value-added occupations in shortage and the employer undertakes to pay at least one BDU, or if an additional quota has been set (UTPĮ Article 44(5)).

Step 3: where to apply, and whether a visa is needed

From abroad, the foreign national may file the application for a temporary residence permit through an external service provider. If lawfully in Lithuania, they file it with the Migration Department. The application itself, however, gives no right to stay in Lithuania until it has been examined and a decision taken (UTPĮ Article 28(2)). The exception is where an existing temporary residence permit expires while an application, filed on time, to change it or to obtain one on another ground is pending. The foreign national then has the right to remain in Lithuania until the decision (UTPĮ Article 22¹(1)(5)).

So it matters on what basis the person is in the country. A person under the visa-free regime may stay in Lithuania and the other Schengen states for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period (UTPĮ Article 11(2)). A Schengen visa holder may stay for the period stated in the visa, but again no more than 90 days in 180 (UTPĮ Article 11(3)). A foreign national holding a residence permit or national visa issued by another Schengen state may, while it is valid, enter and stay in Lithuania without a visa, also for no more than 90 days in 180 (UTPĮ Article 11(5)).

From 1 November 2026, an application for a permit on the ground of employment based on the employer’s undertaking (UTPĮ Article 44(1)(2)) may be filed from inside Lithuania only by a foreign national who holds a valid temporary residence permit, a national visa issued by Lithuania, a residence permit issued by another Schengen or EU state, or who meets the visa-free stay conditions (UTPĮ Article 28(2¹), as in force from 1 November 2026). A Schengen visa is not on this list. So a person who is in Lithuania only on a Schengen visa will have either to apply through an external service provider abroad, or to hold another basis on the list, such as a national visa. If you plan to apply around that date, plan ahead.

A national visa is issued to a foreign national whose purpose is a long-term stay in Lithuania, for a period of no more than 12 months (UTPĮ Article 17(1)). The application is filed the same way: from abroad through an external service provider, and when lawfully in Lithuania with the Migration Department (UTPĮ Article 21(1)). UTPĮ Articles 17 and 21 contain no requirement to hold a Schengen visa first. The visa requires health insurance valid in all Schengen states, with cover of no less than the amount set in the law (UTPĮ Article 17(3)).

A residence permit also has general conditions. The foreign national must meet the Schengen Borders Code entry conditions, and have health insurance and sufficient means of subsistence. They provide a written undertaking to declare their place of residence in premises with at least 7 square metres for each adult, a list of trips and stays abroad, and detailed information about themselves and their ties, including with foreign intelligence, security or military bodies (UTPĮ Article 26(1)). If the foreign national does not provide, or refuses to provide, the information about themselves and their ties, the application is not accepted (UTPĮ Article 26(4)).

Step 4: when work may start, and what to report

When a foreign national applies for a permit under Article 44, they may start work only once the temporary residence permit has been issued (UTPĮ Article 44(6)). They may work only for the employer that gave the undertaking and only in that job function, except where a change of employer or function has been permitted (UTPĮ Article 62(4)). The employer reports the hiring and the termination of the contract to the Migration Department, the State Labour Inspectorate and the Employment Service through the information system of Sodra, the State Social Insurance Fund Board (UTPĮ Article 62(8)).

If an employee holding a national visa has not arrived or has not been hired, and more than 10 days have passed since the arrival date you stated, you must inform the Migration Department within 7 days (UTPĮ Article 21¹, point 1). The same duty applies where an employee holding a temporary residence permit has not arrived or has not been hired (UTPĮ Article 36(3)(1)).

What is different for Ukrainian nationals

First, find out whether the employee is entitled to temporary protection or has already been granted it. This shows from the ground of their residence permit, so ask to see the document.

• A foreign national entitled to temporary protection may work or be self-employed until the decision on it, but no longer than the temporary protection period (UTPĮ Article 94(1)(4)). Once they have applied for a permit on the ground of employment or of temporary protection, they may also work under a temporary-agency employment contract (UTPĮ Article 94(1)(5)).
• A foreign national holding a temporary residence permit on the ground of temporary protection has the right to work (UTPĮ Article 58(1), UTPĮ Article 40(1)(10)).
• If such a person applies for a permit on the ground of employment, the quota does not apply (UTPĮ Article 44(4)). Nor do they need to meet the qualification or experience condition (UTPĮ Article 44(3)).
• The general conditions on health insurance, means of subsistence, living space and the list of trips abroad do not apply to them either (UTPĮ Article 26(3)).

If temporary protection does not apply, the general procedure described above applies.

“Extending” the permit, and changing employer

A permit on the ground of employment is issued or changed for the period of work, but for no more than 2 years (UTPĮ Article 44(6)). The law speaks not of extension but of change (keitimas). The permit is changed if the foreign national intends to continue working and meets the conditions (UTPĮ Article 44(7)). The application is filed with the Migration Department (UTPĮ Article 28(3)). It must be examined within 2 months of the date of filing (UTPĮ Article 33(1)(5)), and, at the foreign national’s request, it may be examined under the urgent procedure within half that time (UTPĮ Article 34¹(1)).

Changing employer is possible, but not immediately. The foreign national may apply no earlier than 6 months after the permit was issued, save for the exceptions set in the law. The Migration Department decides within 1 month of the application. The decision is valid for 1 month from the day it is taken. Work for the new employer may start only after the decision (UTPĮ Article 44(10)).

If the employment has ended and the foreign national intends to change employer, they must notify the Migration Department within 10 working days of the end of the employment (UTPĮ Article 36(1)(3), UTPĮ Article 44(9)(2)). Only after giving that notice may they apply for a new employer: within 3 months of the end of the employment if they have held the permit for less than 2 years, or within 6 months if longer (UTPĮ Article 44(8)). If they give no notice or do not apply in time, they must leave, except in the cases set in the law (UTPĮ Article 44(9)).

When the employee or the manager cannot come in person

A residence permit records biometric data – a facial image and fingerprints (UTPĮ Article 24(2)). Biometric data are also taken when applying for a national visa (UTPĮ Article 17(2)). In practice, this means the foreign national must attend in person, at least at the external service provider or the Migration Department.

There is more flexibility on the employer’s side. In our practice, the employer’s undertaking and correspondence with the authorities can be handled by an authorised representative. The representative needs a power of attorney, and for steps in the electronic migration system a Lithuanian electronic signature. Documents signed abroad may need an apostille and a translation – see our separate article.

How to start

Send us the employee’s nationality, where they are now and on what document, the position, working hours, the planned salary, and since when your company has carried on this activity. We will tell you which route applies and in what order to file the documents.

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt

More about this service: legalisation of foreign workers.