Lithuania family reunification permit

The ground covers, among others: a spouse or registered partner of a Lithuanian citizen or of a foreigner with a residence permit; minor children of a parent living in Lithuania with citizenship or a residence permit; parents whose child is a Lithuanian citizen; parents of a permit holder (first-degree relatives in the ascending line); and parents of a permanent resident who cannot work because of pension age or disability. Both spouses or partners must be at least 21, unless the sponsor holds long-term resident status in another EU country.

Marriages, partnerships and adoptions are checked for signs of convenience. Asylum applicants still waiting for a decision and people with temporary protection cannot sponsor family reunification.

A foreign sponsor who holds a temporary residence permit must have lived in Lithuania for the preceding two years, hold a permit valid for at least one more year and have reasonable prospects of obtaining permanent residence. This does not apply to people granted asylum, to holders of permits as Blue Card holders, intra-corporate transferees, start-up founders, teachers and researchers, persons of Lithuanian descent or with the right to restore citizenship, nationals of Australia, Japan, the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand or South Korea, business owners and managers under the lawful activities ground, and master’s or doctoral students and graduates.

The family member must meet the general conditions, health insurance, means of subsistence and a home with at least 7 square metres per adult, or the sponsor must ensure them. Since 1 July 2024 family members of working foreigners with a temporary residence permit are covered by compulsory health insurance.

You start in MIGRIS (migracija.lt): choose your citizenship, the permit you want and the ground, fill in the form and upload scans. When asked where to lodge, choose the external service provider and then book a visit separately with VFS Global. Since 1 December 2024 a VFS branch accepts residence permit and national visa applications from citizens of the country where it is located, and from other nationals only on a few grounds such as family reunification, highly qualified work or studies. VFS charges its own service fee, which includes delivery of the finished card to the centre.

Every applicant must meet the general conditions of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners: health insurance (at least EUR 5,792 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rules, unless you are covered by compulsory insurance as an employee), sufficient means of subsistence, a written pledge to declare your residence at a home with at least 7 square metres per adult, a list of the countries you visited or lived in, and a detailed questionnaire on your ties with people in Lithuania and with foreign security or military bodies. Children from the age of two attend in person. Your passport must be valid three months longer than the permit, or the card will be issued for a shorter period.

The Migration Department decides. Its standard time is three months in the general procedure and 1.5 months in the urgent one, with shorter legal limits for some grounds. The approved card is sent to VFS, and you travel to Lithuania with the card itself, so no separate visa is needed. Within one month of collecting the permit you declare your place of residence.

A family member receives a permit for the same period as the sponsor. When joining a Lithuanian citizen or a foreigner with permanent residence, the first permit is valid for two years and the renewal for four years. Family members of Blue Card holders, ICT staff, start-up founders and similar categories can lodge applications together with the sponsor, so that decisions are taken at the same time.

A renewal is applied for in MIGRIS and lodged at the Migration Department in Lithuania. Since 16 November 2024 the application may be filed no earlier than six months before the current permit expires, and the Migration Department advises lodging it at least four months ahead; the legal time limit for a renewal decision is two months. A pending application does not let you stay or work once the old permit has expired. The family permit is renewed in line with the sponsor’s permit.

If particularly difficult circumstances arise after a divorce, the end of a registered partnership or the death of a family member, a one-year permit can be granted; the application must be lodged within six months of the event if you already held a family permit. A refusal or withdrawal can be appealed to the regional administrative court within 14 days of receiving the decision; since 1 July 2024 an appeal no longer automatically suspends a withdrawal.