Permanent residence in Lithuania

The main ground is lawful residence in Lithuania for the five years immediately before the application, with a temporary residence permit or a national visa. Absences do not break the period if each is shorter than six consecutive months and they total no more than ten months in five years; business trips do not count as absences if your permanent home stays in Lithuania. Short stays for temporary, non-continuous activities are not counted, and time served in prison interrupts the period.

Only half of the time spent on a study permit counts, unless you completed a Lithuanian higher education degree. EU Blue Card holders and their family members qualify after five years of residence in EU states with at least two continuous years in Lithuania; for them absences of under 12 consecutive months and up to 18 months in total are allowed.

On the five-year ground a permit is issued only if you have passed an examination in the Lithuanian state language and an examination on the fundamentals of the Constitution of Lithuania, under a procedure set by the Government. People aged 75 or over, people with a very low work capacity or special needs, people with severe chronic mental disorders and children are exempt. Lithuanian language proficiency exams are organised by the National Education Agency; the basic category I exam, covering levels A1 to A2, costs EUR 52.

You must also meet the entry conditions of the Schengen Borders Code, hold health insurance and have sufficient means of subsistence. Other grounds give permanent residence without five years, for example refugee status, Lithuanian descent, the right to restore citizenship, or being a minor child of a Lithuanian citizen.

You fill in the permanent residence application in MIGRIS and lodge it with the Migration Department in Lithuania. The state fee is EUR 160 in the general procedure or EUR 320 urgent. The law sets three months for the decision; the time limit pauses while the Migration Department waits for documents it has requested. The permit card is personalised for five years and renewed afterwards for EUR 45 (EUR 90 urgent), with renewal decided within one month.

Permanent residents can work for any employer without a work permit and are no longer tied to the ground of their earlier permit. Their family members can join on family reunification permits valid for two years and then four. The permit can be withdrawn after long absences from Lithuania or the EU set out in the law, so keep track of time spent abroad.