Residence PermitsResidence permits in the Republic of Lithuania, types and issue of residence permits
Aliens are issued with the following residence permits in the Republic of Lithuania:
A temporary residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter temporary residence permit) is a document granting an alien the right to reside in the Republic of Lithuania for an indicated period of time. A permanent residence permit is a document granting an alien the right to reside within the Republic of Lithuania and recognizing alien's status as a permanent resident. An alien has the right to choose and change the place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania, exit from the Republic of Lithuania and return to the country while residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania is valid. An alien is obliged to notify his/her borough about the change of place of residence and remember that the Law on Declaration of the Place of Residence requires persons, who leave the Republic of Lithuania for a period of longer than 6 months, must declare their departure. Aliens declare their place of residence with the borough council servicing the part of municipality, where the alien lives. If municipality has not established boroughs or a territory is not administered by a borough council, the declaration should be submitted to the other municipality unit, entrusted with the function of a declaration institution.
An alien in possession of a residence permit, for whom a child is born during the period of his /her residence in the Republic of Lithuania, must within 3 months from the date of the birth of the child, apply to the Migration Service for the issue of a residence permit to a child. A child born during the period of the alien’s residence in the Republic of Lithuania is issued a residence permit of the type held by both or one of its parents. The permit shall be valid for the period of validity of one of the child’s parents.
A temporary residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania is issued to an alien who is not a national of an European Union Member State. As a rule, it is issued for a period of one year, but it can also be issued for a shorter period of time. A temporary residence permit is issued for 5 years to persons of Lithuanian descent and aliens who have retained the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Law on the Legal Status of Aliens that regulates the legal status of aliens, lays down the grounds for the issue of temporary residence permits for aliens. A temporary residence permit may be issued to an alien if: • the alien has retained the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania; • is a person of Lithuanian descent; • in case of family reunification; for example, alien's parents, who are citizens of the Republic fo Lithuania, reside in Lithuania, or his/her child, who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, or a spouse, who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, or an alien, who has a residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania; • the alien intends to take up employment in the Republic of Lithuania; in this case it is necessary to possess a work permit, unless an alien enjoys a waiver from the duty to obtain a work permit, laid down in the legislation; • the alien intends to engage in lawful activities in the Republic of Lithuania; for example, an alien establishes a company in the Republic of Lithuania and registers it in the Registry of Legal Entities ; an alien is appointed as a head or an authorized representative of a company registered in the Republic of Lithuania; an alien arrives to undertake preacher's work in a religious community registered in the Republic of Lithuania; • the alien intends to get education, to study at an educational establishment, to participate in an internship programme, to undergo an in-service training, to take part in vocational training; an alien submits documents from an educational establishment certifying his/her enrolment for study or his/her study; an alien submits a confirmation from an institution that (s)he was admitted for in-service training; • the alien has been put under guardianship/curatorship or he has been appointed guardian/curator; alien may be put under guardianship (curatorship) of a person who is the national of the Republic of Lithuania or an alien has been appointed guardian (curator) of a person who is the national of the Republic of Lithuania;
A temporary residence permit may be also issued to an alien if (s)he has been granted temporary or subsidiary protection, the alien is unable to leave because of the dangerous physical condition and he is in need of immediate medical aid. Also, if an alien cannot be expelled from the Republic of Lithuania, (s)he is or was a victim of human trafficking, cooperates with the pretrial investigation agency or court in fighting human trafficking or crimes related to human trafficking.
An alien must lodge an application to issue the first temporary residence permit and other documents to a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania abroad. If an alien lawfully resides within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, the application should be lodged with the Migration Service within whose service territory an alien plans to reside. However, lodging such application does not grant an alien the right to reside within the Republic of Lithuania until his/her application to issue residence permit will be considered and the decision taken. An alien must submit an application to replace a temporary residence permit (to issue a new one) to the Migration Service.
The decision to issue an alien a temporary residence permit is taken by the Migration Department. Once the Migration Department takes the decision to issue a temporary residence permit, an alien receives the notification of the decision and must approach a local Migration Service branch to register the permit. This decision does not grant an alien the right to be within the Republic of Lithuania without a visa or exceed the period of visa-free stay. When submitting documents to register a temporary residence permit, alien's stay in the Republic of Lithuania must be lawful. Alien's application to issue the first temporary residence permit must be considered not later than within 6 months from the day of lodging the application with a corresponding institution, and in case of aliens, who posses residence permit of long-term resident issued by an European Union Member State, within 4 months from the day of lodging the application with the corresponding institution. An alien’s application to change (i.e. issue a new) temporary residence permit is considered not longer than within 2 months from the day of lodging the application. An alien should lodge such application not later than two months before the expiry date of the current temporary residence permit, but not earlier than 4 months before the expiry date of the current temporary residence permit. The decision to issue (replace) alien's temporary residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania is annulled if an alien does not exercise the permit within 3 months from the date the decision was taken.
An alien who wishes to be issued or replace a temporary residence permit must submit: • standard application form; • a valid travel document; • documents substantiating alien's right to be issued a temporary residence permit. If an alien wishes to obtain a temporary permit on the grounds of family reunion, in addition to documents certifying these circumstances, the applicant must submit a standard invitation for an alien to visit the Republic of Lithuania written by the family member, with whom the applicant plans to stay. This invitation is filled out at a local branch of the Migration Service of the inviting person; • documents substantiating that an alien will have enough of funds for subsistence within the Republic of Lithuania; the size of monthly funds needed to cover the subsistence of an alien in the Republic of Lithuania is laid down by the Minister of Social Security and Labor ; • document substantiating that the alien is in possession of living premises in the Republic of Lithuania or leases living premises or uses them on beneficial grounds, if the contract is concluded for a period not shorter than the duration of a temporary residence permit and is registered in the way prescribed by the legal acts, or submit a guarantee signed by a physical or a legal persons to present an alien with living premises for a period of duration of residence permit; • a document providing evidence of sickness insurance coverage valid during the stay in the Republic of Lithuania; • Documents certifying the payment of state fees or a fee waiver. An alien may be refused the issue or replacement of a temporary residence permit or a decision taken to revoke this permit, if authorities identify reasons indicated in the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens.
• the alien has retained the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure established by the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship; • the alien is a person of Lithuanian descent; • the alien has entered into the Republic of Lithuania for residence accompanying a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania as the family member; • the alien has lost citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania but is living in the Republic of Lithuania; • the alien is a child under the age of 18 years, was born in the Republic of Lithuania and his parents or one of them holds a permanent residence permit; • the alien has been granted refugee status in the Republic of Lithuania; • the alien has been living in the Republic of Lithuania for a continuous period of the last 5 years holding a temporary residence permit; an alien must pass the exams of state language and foundations of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania; • submits the court decision validating the legal fact of his/her residence in the Republic of Lithuania before July 1, 1993 and an alien currently resides in the Republic of Lithuania.
A permanent residence permit can be replaced at the alien's request if: • the alien has changed his/her personal data; for example, her surname; • the permanent residence permit has become unsuitable for use; • the validity of the permanent residence permit has expired; • there are inaccurate entries in the permanent residence permit; • the permanent residence permit is lost.
An alien may be issued with a permanent residence permit if the following conditions are fulfilled: • an alien has a valid travel document ; • an alien has a valid visa of the Republic of Lithuania, unless provided otherwise by international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, legislation of the European Union or decisions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, or (s)he has a valid temporary residence permit of the Republic of Lithuania; • an alien is not on the list of aliens for whom an alert has been issued for the purpose of refusing entry into the Republic of Lithuania; • the stay of an alien in the Republic of Lithuania does not pose a threat to the national security, public order or health or persons; • an alien is in possession of a document providing evidence of a valid sickness insurance coverage, when (s)he is not insured by compulsory health insurance in cases set forward by the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania, or, in cases laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. According to the official procedure, has an authorized letter of guarantee to cover the cost of health services rendered for him/her during the saty in the Republic of Lithuania, issued by a national or an alien residing in the Republic of Lithuania; • an alien has enough of funds and (or) receives regular income, which is adequate to cover the subsistence costs in the Republic of Lithuania.
The above-mentioned conditions are not applied in regards of aliens replacing their permanent residence permit. To replace a permanent residence permit, an alien should should approach the Migration Service at his/her place of residence.
To obtain a permanent residence permit, an alien must submit to the migration service, which services his place of residence, the following documents: • a written application; • a valid travel document; • documents providing evidence of a valid sickness insurance coverage ; • documents substantiating his/her right to obtain a permanent residence permit; • documents proving that (s)he has enough of funds and (or) receives a regular income that adequately covers the subsistence costs in the Republic of Lithuania.
Alien's application for a permanent residence permit must be considered not later than within 6 months from the date of lodging the application with the migration service, within whose service district an alien has declared his place of residence or intends to declare a place of residence. Alien's permanent residence permit is replaced not later than within 1 month from the date of lodging an application with the Migration Service, within whose service district an alien has declared his place of residence or intends to declare his/her place of residence. The decision to issue an alien with a permanent residence permit is valid for 6 months since the date when the decision was taken. During this period, an alien may apply to register a permanent residence permit. In the case of sickness, or if there are other serious grounds independent of alien's control, the validity of the decision to issue a permanent residence perm it can be extended, but for a period not longer than 3 months, provided that the alien informs the Migration Department about the existence of such grounds in a written form. An alien is issued with a permanent residence permit for a period of 5 years. Upon the expiry of this period, the document is replaced.
Alien's permanent residence permit may be revoked if: • the permit has been obtained by fraud; • the alien's residence in the Republic of Lithuania may constitute a threat to national security or public order; • an alien resides outside of an European Union Member State for a period longer than 12 continuous months.
If alien's permanent residence permit is revoked, permanent residence permits of his/her family members are also revoked, except the cases where they have the right to reside within the Republic of Lithuania on other grounds set forward in the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens.
An alien in possession of a residence permit must inform the Migration Service not later than within 7 days about the change of personal identification or citizenship documents, marital status, the place of residence.
The key legislation detailing the procedure of issuing residence permits of the Republic of Lithuania to aliens are the following: October 12, 2005, Decree of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania No. 1V-329 On Approval of Rules for the Issue of Temporary Residence Permits of the Republic of Lithuania to Aliens and Assessing the Marriage of Convenience (State Gazette, 2005, No. 126-4509, with later amendments); December 21, 2005, Decree of the Minister of interior of the Republic of Lithuania No. 1V-445 On Approval of Rules for the Issue of Permanent Residence Permits of the Republic of Lithuania for Aliens and Assessing the Marriage of Convenience (State Gazette., 2006, No.5-157); August 25, 2004, Decree of the Minister of Social Security and Labor No. A1-203 On Laying Down the Amount of Funds Considered to be Adequate to Cover Subsistence Costs of an Alien Applying for A Residence Permit of the Republic of Lithuania (State Gazette, 2004, No. 133-4817). The provisions of these legal acts are available in “Legislation” section of the Migration Department’s website (http://www.migracija.lt).
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A permanent residence permit can be issued to an alien, if he fulfils one of the these grounds: