Lithuania: Different Procedure on Issuing Work Permits for Foreign Nationals Announced
Email contactCategory: Legal Update
Created: Feb 12 2010 - 13:55
Updated: Feb 12 2010 - 13:55
On 14 August 2009, the Minister of Social Security and Labour approved the record of conditions and procedure for issuing work permits for non-EU foreign nationals (the Record) which replaced the previously effective records.
Amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens (the Law) adopted on 22 July 2009 led to certain changes in the Record. Since 4 August 2009, when the Law came into effect, a co-owner of a c ompany registered in Lithuania is required to hold at least LTL 50,000 (approx EUR 14,500) of the share capital (until now 10% of the share capital or voting rights of the company were enough) to legally undertake business in Lithuania without a work permit
Certain requirements for issuing a work permit have also changed in the Record. The major changes affect the former requirement of three-year work experience in the sphere of the professional qualification which is now substituted by two-year documented experience. Employers wishing to hire a non-EU foreign national who comes for temporary work and whose permanent place of employment remains in a foreign state (on a business trip) will no longer need to register vacant jobs at the Labour Exchange.
Requirements concerning citizens of EU Member States are not affected by these amendments. As before, they are allowed to work in Lithuania without obtaining a work permit.
The Record came into effect on 19 August 2009.
