Temporary residence permit (EU Blue Card) for an alien intending to perform highly qualified work
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Leidimo laikinai gyventi (Europos Sąjungos mėlynosios kortelės) išdavimas užsieniečiui, kuris ketina dirbti aukštos profesinės kvalifikacijos reikalaujantį darbą (44-1 straipsnis) as of 2026-07-01[4] Wording of the article (and, where given, the clause) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens that creates the ground. |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Temporary residence permit (EU Blue Card) for an alien intending to perform highly qualified work as of 2026-07-01[4] |
| Legal basis | Law on the Legal Status of Aliens No. IX-2206, art. 44-1, with the grounds provision at art. 40(1)(4-1) and the general conditions at art. 26 as of 2026-07-01[4] Consolidated text in force from 1 July 2026. Art. 44-1(1)(1), (1)(3), (2), (5), (5-1) and (5-2) were amended or inserted by law No. XV-945 of 14 May 2026. |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-07-01[4] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-07-01[4] Chapter IV of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens governs residence permits for third-country nationals. Citizens of EU, EEA and EFTA member states and their family members exercising the EU free-movement right reside under the Law's separate free-movement regime, so this ground is not open to them. |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | Not established from a qualifying source No minimum age is stated for this ground in the sources read. |
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 3 years as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(4): the permit is issued or changed for 3 years, or – where the employment contract is concluded for a shorter period – for the contract period plus a further 3 months. |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(1) and (4) provide for issue or change on the same conditions. |
| Renewal duration | 3 years as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(4). |
| Maximum total duration | Not established from a qualifying source No aggregate ceiling is stated in art. 44-1. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(5) and art. 62(4): within the first 12 months from first issue the holder must obtain a Migration Department decision (given within 14 calendar days) to change employer; after 12 months no such request is needed. The holder may also perform another work function for the employer that undertook to employ him, and may work for another employer provided that undertaking employer is not changed. Art. 44-1(2): a lawfully present alien may start the highly qualified work from the day the application is lodged. Art. 62(5)'s pay rule does not apply to this ground. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(1)(1): an employer undertaking to employ the alien for not less than 6 months under an employment contract must be submitted. |
|---|---|
| Salary threshold |
|
| Labour-market test | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Qualification requirement | degree, regulated profession, equivalent experience as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(1)(2): a document confirming that the alien meets the conditions for pursuing the regulated professional activity named in the employment contract, or – where the activity is not regulated – the employer's information on the alien's high professional qualification related to the work. Art. 44-1(3): the Government sets the procedure for equating professional experience to a higher-education qualification; it applies only to non-regulated professions in main groups 1, 2 or 3 of the Lithuanian classification of occupations and not to an alien intending to work as a legal person's manager or deputy manager. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 44-1(1)(3), as amended by law No. XV-945 of 14 May 2026: where the alien is to be employed as the undertaking's manager, a document must confirm that the employer is an undertaking established in Lithuania whose participant is a foreign undertaking or group of undertakings, and – on a change of permit – that the employer's or its participant's annual income in at least one of the last 3 financial years (or since incorporation, where it has operated for less than 3 years) was not less than EUR 1,000,000. The document is issued by an institution authorised by the Minister of the Economy and Innovation. Art. 44-1(7): under a multi-employer contract the first employer gives the undertaking and names the others. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-07-01[4] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2025-11-02[1] |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees | |
| Quota | |
| Stages |
|
Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-07-01[4] |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 43(1)(2), (5) and (6) provide the family-reunification grounds. Art. 43(6)(2) or 43(6-1) exempts this ground from the two-year prior-residence condition in art. 43(6). Art. 43(6)(2) names the art. 40(1)(4-1) ground. Art. 44-1(6): family members holding another member state's residence permit who arrive together with an intra-EU mobile Blue Card holder must apply within one month of the start of the holder's work in Lithuania. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, minor child, parent as of 2026-07-01[4] Union of the relations art. 43(1) names: spouse or registered partner (art. 43(1)(5)), a minor alien joining a parent or a parent's spouse (art. 43(1)(2)), and a first-degree direct ascendant relative of a permit holder (art. 43(1)(6)). Art. 43(7) requires both spouses or registered partners to be at least 21. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 40(6): a family member arriving to live with an alien who meets the art. 43(6) and 43(6-1) conditions may apply at the same time, the applications are examined together and decided at the same time, and the family member's permit runs for the same period. Art. 43(6)(2) names the art. 40(1)(4-1) ground. Art. 44-1(6): family members holding another member state's residence permit who arrive together with an intra-EU mobile Blue Card holder must apply within one month of the start of the holder's work in Lithuania. |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-07-01[4] Art. 58(1): an alien who holds, or applies to change, a temporary residence permit issued on the art. 40(1)(3) family-reunification ground has the right to work in Lithuania. No separate work permit or employer undertaking is required. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2024-07-11 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-07-01 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Lietuvos Respublikos investicijų įstatymas (Law on Investments) No. VIII-1312, consolidated text in force from 2 November 2025
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas (e-seimas.lrs.lt consolidated-law service) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-11-02 · Accessed 2026-08-17 · Archived copy - [2] Paskelbti nauji kalendorinių metų darbo užmokesčio dydžiai – new calendar-year average monthly gross wage figures, 12 May 2026
Migracijos departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalų ministerijos · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-05-12 · Accessed 2026-08-17 - [3] Valstybės rinkliavų sąrašas – Leidimai gyventi (state fee schedule for residence permits)
Migracijos departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalų ministerijos · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2024-07-11 · Accessed 2026-08-22 · Archived copy - [4] Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymas dėl užsieniečių teisinės padėties (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens) No. IX-2206, consolidated text in force 1 July 2026 – 31 October 2026
Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas (e-seimas.lrs.lt consolidated-law service) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-07-01 · Accessed 2026-08-17