Lithuania · Business & founder
Temporary Residence Permit for Company Shareholders and Managers
Open. This is a genuine operating-business test, not a residence product you can simply buy. The Migration Department actively checks for real substance.
Lithuania has deliberately built the opposite of a golden visa. You cannot buy your way in. You have to employ people. For a founder who is genuinely building something in the Baltics, that is a feature, not a drawback. The permit rests on real activity, which makes it durable. For a passive investor, though, this route simply is not available.
Qualifying routes
Company equity of at least EUR 28,000, of which at least EUR 14,000 must be the applicant's own invested funds; applicant must be the manager or hold at least one third of authorised capital
An investment of at least EUR 260,000, paired with five full-time employees, qualifies the applicant for a three-year permit rather than the standard two-year one.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €28k
- Total landed cost
- EUR 28k in equity is only the floor. The real cost sits in payroll. The business must employ three full-time EU/EEA staff whose combined gross wages equal at least twice the Lithuanian average gross wage. In practice that means EUR 60-90k a year in salary alone.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 2–6 months (Applications are filed through MIGRIS. The applicant must appear in person for biometrics within four months.)
- Physical presence
- The applicant is expected to be substantively involved in managing the company. The business must be genuinely operating, not just registered.
- Family
- SpouseMinor children
- Permanent residency
- 5 years of continuous legal residence
- Citizenship
- 10 years of permanent residence, along with language and Constitution exams and the renunciation of any prior citizenship
- Language test
- A state language exam, plus a test on the Constitution
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- Company operating legally for at least six monthsThree full-time EU/EEA employees meeting the combined wage testApplicant is manager or holds at least one third of capitalClean criminal record
- The company must have operated legally for at least six months before the permit application. You cannot incorporate one week and apply the next.
- Three full-time employees are required, each a Lithuanian, EU or EFTA citizen or permanent resident, with combined gross wages of at least twice the national average. This is the real threshold, and it dwarfs the EUR 28,000 headline figure.
- Shelf companies and nominee structures do not survive scrutiny here. The Migration Department checks for real substance, and renewal is where thin structures tend to collapse.
- Citizenship requires renouncing your existing passport. The Article 7 dual exception does not extend to naturalised persons.
- Russian citizens: TRP applications are suspended, save for narrow exceptions.