Political System: Parliamentary Republic

Capital City: Vilnius

Total Area: 65,200 sq. km

Population: 3.2 million

Currency: Litas, pegged to Euro

 

Introduction

 

Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic States. It is situated along the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, across the Baltic Sea to the west are Sweden and Denmark with Latvia to the north.

 

Great importance is placed on agriculture, food and some other basic industries.

 

Lithuania is well positioned geographically as a gateway from east to west. Prior to the global financial crisis of 2007–2010, Lithuania had one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. Lithuania is a member of NATO, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007.

 

We offer the following services in Lithuania

 

  • Representative office in Lithuania
  • Residence Permits for Entrepreneurs Opening a Company
  • Residence Permits for Self-Employment

 

Representative office in Lithuania (tab)

 

A representative office is often used as an interim step before establishing a branch office; it can only be set-up when your company does not already have a subsidiary in Lithuania.

 

A representative office allows company employees to travel to Lithuania in order perform services for clients or negotiate contracts under a national visa. It also allows the company to send employees to work there.

 

To apply for a representative office you must have a formal legally established company in your own country, you will have to include notarised evidence of its legal establishment with your application.

 

You will require a virtual office in in Lithuania and a VoIP line which we will provide you with as part of our service.

 

A representative office will not result in any corporate taxation liability in Lithuania, but one may need to pay personal income and social security taxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Residence Permits for employment (tab)

 

You will usually obtain a residence permit if the following conditions have been met:

 

  • The occupation you wish to take up requires specific qualification and you possess these qualifications and you can show two years’ experience in this profession
  • You can provide proof of a job offer from a local company
  • no local person can fill this position within two months
  • Your employer has permission for this role from the Lithuanian Employment Agency

Job Offer

You will require a formal offer of a job from a local company, and the company employing you must have permission to recruit from the Lithuanian Employment Agency.

 

Lithuanian Employment Agency

The employment of non-EU citizen in normally approved if it has no negative impact on the local labour market, if the position advertised by employer is not filled in two months and the employer can prove that  the that its candidate has the required qualifications.

 

Our Service

Supplying a checklist for any and all documents to be submitted

Confirmation of the office where documents must be submitted

Streamlining supplementary documents

Handling legal questions received from the authorities

General advice/instruction during the application process

 

 

 

 

Residence Permit for Self-Employment / Opening a Business [tab]

 

A visa whether it is for self-employment or opening a business is fundamentally the same only the type of company you have established differs. For a successful application you need to invest €14,6k into a Lithuanian company and prove that your presence in the country is essential for the successful operation of the company.

 

Having established a company one may apply for a temporary residence permit, which is granted for one year and can be renewed annually. After five years of holding a temporary residence permits one gets a permanent residence permit in Lithuania together with an unlimited work permit.

 

The company must pay a salary to the owner together with the related salary taxes and be profitable, that is undertake some trading that generates revenues that exceed costs. In the first year the residence permit is granted almost automatically to every business owner but in the second and subsequent years the renewal may be rejected if the company is found to be dormant.

 

  • Establishing a ready-made company
  • Supplying a checklist for all documents to be submitted to the immigration authorities;
  • Confirmation of the office where documents must be submitted
  • Streamlining supplementary documents
  • Handling legal questions received from the authorities
  • Supplementary letter to convince the authorities to grant your application
  • General advice/instruction during the application process
  • Submitting your application details in advance to local authorities for them to process

 

Timescales

Please note that the time indicated below is estimated, and will depend on the individual.

 

For Visas: In general it will take about one week to for an invitation to be approved by migration authorities from Lithuania. One should plan 2-3 weeks to allow for any delays.

 

For Residency Permits: This will take up to six months, normally it less than 4 months.

 

After successfully working as self-employed or running your business for five years, you will receive a permanent residency permit.