Visa & Residence Permit

EU STUDENTS

If you are an EU national, you don't need to obtain any documents to come to Lithuania for studies. You can stay in Lithuania for up to 3 months from the day of arrival without applying for a residence permit. After 3 months, you must obtain a temporary residence certificate (TRC) and declare your place of residence.

NON-EU STUDENTS

The requirements for entry and residence in Lithuania depend on the student‘s duration of stay and citizenship. All other up-to-date relevant information and online application can be found at information for incoming students.

If you want to study at a university/college you need to get a temporary residence permit (TRP) and make it as early as possible. Go to Lithuanian Migration Information System (MIGRIS) fill in the request to issue or renew the residence permit and include digital copies of the documents being added to this request. After filling out the request and booking an appointment time via ‘MIGRIS’, within 4 months from the day of submitting the request via ‘MIGRIS’ you must personally address regards to the issuance (changing) of the temporary residence permit and submit biometric data, and original documents.

Regarding the Long-term residence, You must live in the Republic of Lithuania without interruption for 5 years with a residence permit or national visa. During your stay in Lithuania, you can travel abroad for a short time, but trips from the territory of Lithuania may not last longer than 6 months in succession, and may not exceed 10 months in a consecutive and total period of 5 years.

IMPORTANT! Do not postpone migration questions or the residence permit renewal/issues to the last minute because migration processes take a long time and there are a lot of foreigners studying/working in Lithuania. You must stay legally in Lithuania throughout whole your study term and avoid being forced to return to your home country or be deported.

When applying to the Migration Department, you must connect to an online call organised by Migration. If you are unable to join at the time assigned to you, the Migration Department will send you another time. 
However, if you do not join in both times, The Migration Document application will be postponed, and you will able to submit it only after 4 months.

Please be aware that it is students' personal responsibility to apply for applicable migration documents and present all required documents in a timely manner throughout their studies at Vilnius Academy of Arts. We are not responsible for the activities, or services provided to you by the third-party companies mentioned above.

Services of the Migration Department abroad:

International full-time students in order to legally enter and stay in Lithuania, will have to apply not for obtaining a temporary residence permit (TRP) in Lithuania. It can be obtained not only in Lithuania, upon arrival at the Migration Department, but also in 34 centers of the company “VFS Global” operating in foreign countries.

• The decision to issue TRP— will be within 1-3 months
• It will take additional time to send the document abroad and time during which the external service provider will contact the foreigner to deliver the document to him
• The foreigner will come to Lithuania with TRP (no additional visas will be required)
• However, it is possible to order TRP abroad and pick it up in Lithuania (convenient for those foreigners who do not need visas to enter Lithuania)
• All foreigners can contact the external service provider of the Migration Department in a specific country, regardless of whether they reside in that country or not.

Please watch short video tutorials (English) on how to Book a visit, and Apply/Renew the residence permit online in Lithuania:

1. MIGRIS. How to login to the system for e-resident?

2. MIGRIS. Visit reservation

3. Submitting a request for a  TRP (Temporary Residence Permit) via an External service provider

4. MIGRIS. Apply for a Residence permit

5. HOW TO APPLY FOR TRP OF LITHUANIA 2023 | DETAILED VIDEO | DOCUMENTS NEEDED

These documents shall be added to the request:

• List of documents (to issue a TRP) (download)
• List of documents (to renew a TRP) (download)
• List of documents (for a National Visa)

NON-EU GRADUATES

Students, who have completed their studies in Lithuania can get a temporary residence permit valid for 12 months for job search and employment, or work as a self-employed person. With this permit, the former student (after you graduate) can start working immediately after getting employed.

First of all, when you find the job, you must fill out the request electronically via the Lithuanian Migration Information System (MIGRIS) to issue or change the residence permit and include digital copies of the documents being added to this request.

After filling out the request and booking the visitation time via MIGRIS, within 4 months from the day of filling-out the request via MIGRIS you must personally address in regards to the issuance (changing) of temporary residence permit and submit the biometric data, as well as original documents. 

Then you need to arrive within your pre-booked timeslot at a relevant territorial office of the Migration Department. Upon arriving at the Migration Department at the booked time, your presence in Lithuania must be lawful, so do not postpone that, because the decision and processing usually take up to 2 months.

During the temporary residence permit, you can only work with the employer who has undertaken to employ you.

If You want to change your employer or even if you want to move to a different position with the same employer, you must contact the Migration Department and inform them about these changes.

Read more about the procedures and required documents here.