Whether you need to buy anything at all depends on whether state PSD already covers you. If you're employed or self-employed in Lithuania, you're automatically in the state PSD system. If you're not yet working — including most non-EU students and new arrivals — you need private health insurance for your residence permit. The law sets no minimum sum insured for that permit: it sets a test of what the policy must do. The €30,000.00 you have read about elsewhere belongs to the Schengen short-stay visa.
Table of Contents
- Which insurers sell to foreigners
- Names that are not answers
- What the law actually requires
- Which applies to you
- How state PSD works
- Who is covered by PSD
- Paying PSD yourself
- When you need private insurance
- What these policies exclude
- Your certificate, and what it must say
- Choosing private cover
- Common mistakes
- FAQ
Which Insurers Sell to Foreigners
Nothing on this page is paid placement and no provider pays to appear. Where one runs an affiliate programme we may earn a commission if you sign up through our link; where one does not, we link to them anyway. Ordering reflects published terms and how well each option works for someone arriving from abroad — never what it pays.
Most Lithuanian insurers write for Lithuanian residents — people who already have an asmens kodas. A few sell a named product to foreigners, and the difference that matters is not price but whether you can buy at all without a Lithuanian personal code and a phone call in Lithuanian.
All of these are on the Bank of Lithuania register of insurers — Lietuvos draudimas and Compensa as Lithuanian companies, ERGO, BTA, Balcia and If as Lithuanian branches of EEA insurers.
The options, side by side
Five insurers sell something a permit applicant can use. They are ordered by how usable they are for someone who does not yet live here and does not read Lithuanian — not by price, because none of them publishes one.
Feather
Best for: buying before a personal code
Key highlights
Key features
- No Lithuanian personal code
- Instant documents
- English throughout, support included
- Written for permit applicants
Policy details
- personal code
- Not needed
- buying
- Fully online
- language
- English
Summary
- No Lithuanian personal code
- Instant documents
- English throughout, support included
- Written for permit applicants
- 31-day waiting period
- You pay clinics and claim back
- New conditions only
- Not a Lithuanian insurer
ERGO
Best for: English with a Lithuanian insurer
Key highlights
Key features
- Full English product page
- Terms published in English
- Repatriation stated explicitly
- Sum insured set to your case
Policy details
- terms
- English, No. 043
- personal code
- Not needed
- price
- Quote only
Summary
- Full English product page
- Terms published in English
- Repatriation stated explicitly
- Sum insured set to your case
- No published price
- Excludes conditions treated within 6 months
- Excludes manual work and extreme sports
- Email reply, not instant cover
Lietuvos draudimas
Best for: a certificate no official queries
Key highlights
Key features
- Purpose-built foreigner product
- Repatriation and remains covered
- Lithuanian company, not a branch
- Phone line for callers abroad
Policy details
- page language
- Lithuanian
- from abroad
- +370 5 266 6612
- price
- Quote only
Summary
- Purpose-built foreigner product
- Repatriation and remains covered
- Lithuanian company, not a branch
- Phone line for callers abroad
- Product page is Lithuanian only
- Not in the English section
- Quote only, by contact form
- No limits published beyond dental
Balcia
Best for: asking for the product by name
Key highlights
Key features
- Named foreigner policy exists
- Terms in both languages
- Full English site
- International line, around the clock
Policy details
- terms
- LT and EN
- support
- 24/7
- price
- Not published
Summary
- Named foreigner policy exists
- Terms in both languages
- Full English site
- International line, around the clock
- No sales page for it
- Link lands on travel cover
- Limits not published
- Easy to be sold wrong product
BTA
Best for: a Schengen visa sum you pick
Key highlights
Key features
- Live English calculator
- Price shown immediately
- Full English page
- Assistance line around the clock
Policy details
- page language
- English
- buying
- Calculator
- assistance
- English and Russian
Summary
- Live English calculator
- Price shown immediately
- Full English page
- Assistance line around the clock
- Not a permit-specific product
- Repatriation not stated on page
- Assistance number is Latvian
- Check wording before relying on it
Compensa
Best for: readers who manage some Lithuanian
Key highlights
Key features
- Calculator loads and quotes
- Lithuanian company on the register
- No phone call needed
Policy details
- page language
- Lithuanian
- buying
- Calculator
- price
- Shown on screen
Summary
- Calculator loads and quotes
- Lithuanian company on the register
- No phone call needed
- No working English path
- Main product page broken
- Travel cover, not permit product
- Over-75s treated as a special case
What the cards leave out. Feather breaks the loop the Lithuanian market creates — you need insurance to get the permit, and the permit to get the code. Sign-up is in English, the documents come back in about two minutes and the certificate is downloadable immediately, with no personal code and no residence card. It is an EEA insurer passported in rather than a Lithuanian one; pre-existing conditions are not covered, you pay the clinic and then claim the money back, and the first 31 days run on reduced cover. ERGO is the only Lithuanian insurer here with an English product page, English terms and an English quote form that never asks for a personal code. Its Terms and Conditions No. 043 have been in force since 1 August 2023 and are published in Lithuanian, English and Russian; medical expenses and repatriation sit in the base cover, accident and personal liability are add-ons, no price is published, and you buy by requesting an offer.
Lietuvos draudimas sells a product built for foreigners rather than adapted from holiday cover, from the country's largest insurer. It covers essential medical expenses, repatriation and transport of remains home, with dental care limited to €50. No price is published, the product page is Lithuanian, and callers from abroad use +370 5 266 6612. Balcia publishes its Foreigner Medical Expense Insurance as its own terms document, alongside travel terms No. LT-003.04 valid from 26 August 2024, both in English and Lithuanian — but there is no page that sells the foreigner policy, so the link lands on general travel cover, no price is published and residence permits are never named. Ask for the policy by name.
BTA is one of only two here that shows a price without a phone call, but it is standard travel cover and the page never mentions permits or residence permits at all. It covers medical expenses, accidents, liability and luggage, with luggage cover up to €150 per piece and COVID-19 inpatient care capped at €40,000; the assistance line, +371 26 121 212, is Latvian. Compensa — ADB Compensa Vienna Insurance Group on the Lithuanian register — sells through an online calculator at eshop.compensa.lt that works and reaches a price, while the product page it belongs to currently returns a redirect loop, so our link goes straight past it. Nothing is published about residence permits, and over-75s are treated as a special case.
Nothing on this page is paid placement — see our editorial guidelines.
Names That Come Up and Are Not Answers
Four names turn up constantly in forum threads and older guides. None of them is a route to permit cover today, and knowing why saves a wasted week of emails.
| Name | What it actually is | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Seesam | Not an independent insurer. Merged into Compensa on 1 July 2020 and survives as a Compensa product brand. Its Bank of Lithuania entity page returns 404 | Stop looking for a Seesam quote. Ask Compensa |
| Lamantinas | Does not sell this class of insurance at all. Its only line is customs-procedure liability, a B2B product | Nothing here for a permit applicant |
| Gjensidige | Mid-merger into ERGO. Its travel page now redirects to ergo.lt | Advice naming it predates the merger. Ask ERGO |
| Allianz Lietuva | Life insurance only. No health, no travel | Not a route to permit cover |
Nobody publishes a price. Every insurer here ends the journey in a contact form, because premiums are set individually on your age, your dates and where you are going — so the number does not exist until you ask for it. Any "a typical Lithuanian policy costs €X" figure you find online was invented by someone who also could not get a quote.
The €30,000 works the same way. It is a sum you ask for when you buy, not a feature baked into a named product, and it lives in the terms document rather than on the product page. So do not shop by product name: say what sum insured you need, and when the certificate comes back, check it names that sum, repatriation, and your dates.
Why You Can Trust This Guide
What the Law Actually Requires
Almost every English-language guide tells residence-permit applicants they need €30,000 of medical cover. That figure exists in law. It applies to a different application.
| What you are applying for | Sum insured set by law | Where the rule lives | What the policy must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schengen short-stay visa (type C) | €30,000 | EU law — Visa Code, Regulation 810/2009, Art. 15 | Cover emergency medical care and repatriation, valid across the Schengen area for the whole visit |
| Residence permit (temporary or permanent) | No figure | Lithuanian law — Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Art. 6¹ | Cover necessary medical assistance and repatriation on health grounds, valid for the entire period of residence |
Article 6¹ of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, the operative sentence:
Užsieniečio sveikatos draudimas ... turi garantuoti būtinosios medicinos pagalbos, kaip ji apibrėžiama Lietuvos Respublikos sveikatos sistemos įstatyme, išlaidų ir išlaidų, galinčių atsirasti dėl užsieniečio grąžinimo į užsienio valstybę dėl sveikatos priežasčių (transportavimo, įskaitant asmens sveikatos priežiūros specialisto (specialistų) palydą), apmokėjimą ir galioti visą užsieniečio buvimo ar gyvenimo Lietuvos Respublikoje laikotarpį.
"A foreigner's health insurance ... must guarantee payment of the costs of necessary medical assistance, as defined in the Law on the Health System of the Republic of Lithuania, and of costs that may arise from the foreigner's return to a foreign state on health grounds (transport, including the accompaniment of a healthcare professional or professionals), and must be valid for the entire period of the foreigner's stay or residence in the Republic of Lithuania."
That is the whole test. Three parts, no euro figure:
- Necessary medical assistance — the cost of it, using the definition in the Law on the Health System.
- Repatriation on health grounds — transport home, and where your condition requires it, an escorting healthcare professional. The escort is in the statute. Most policy summaries never mention it.
- The entire period of your stay or residence.
What to do with this. Stop shopping for a number and start reading wording. A certificate stating €30,000 that says nothing about repatriation is a weaker answer to Article 6¹ than a smaller policy that names repatriation and runs to the end of your permit. Buying more cover than the law asks for is never a mistake. Buying the wrong kind of cover is.
Two figures in wide circulation that the article does not contain. The first is a €10,000 residence-permit minimum. Article 6¹ sets no euro figure at all, so ask any source that gives you one which article it comes from. The second is a one-year minimum validity. The article requires the entire period of your stay or residence, which for most first permits is shorter than a year and for some is five.
Statute read in the consolidated text on e-seimas, 11 August 2026.
Which Applies to You
Lithuania has a state compulsory health insurance system called PSD. Whether you're in it, and whether you also need private cover, depends entirely on your status. Find your row.
| Your situation | State PSD? | Private insurance? |
|---|---|---|
| Employed in Lithuania | (any nationality) Yes — 6.98% comes off your gross pay | Optional top-up only |
| Self-employed | (individuali veikla) Yes — you pay | Optional top-up only |
| Non-EU student, not working | No | Required |
| Non-EU, applying for first permit | Not yet | Required |
| Permanent residence holder | Yes | Optional |
| EU/EEA citizen, short stay | Via EHIC | Recommended top-up |
| Not working, not studying, not state-covered | Only if self-paid | Alternative to self-paid PSD |
The pattern for most new arrivals is a sequence: buy private insurance to satisfy the residence permit requirement, start working, employer PSD contributions begin, and state coverage takes over — at which point the private policy may become unnecessary. Where you sit in that sequence tells you what you need.
How State PSD Works
PSD stands for privalomasis sveikatos draudimas — compulsory health insurance. It funds Lithuania's public healthcare system, and it's administered alongside Sodra, the social insurance authority.
If you're employed, PSD is simply part of the deductions from your gross salary:
The 6.98% sits inside the total 19.5% employee social contribution — it isn't an extra deduction on top. Our salary calculator shows exactly how it comes off a gross figure, and what is Sodra breaks down the full contribution structure.
What PSD buys you is access to the public system: state clinics and hospitals, subsidised prescriptions, emergency care and referrals to specialists. It's a genuine national health service, not an insurance policy you claim against.
Who Is Covered by PSD
Coverage follows status, not residence. You're generally covered if you are:
- Employed in Lithuania, with your employer paying contributions
- Self-employed and paying your own contributions
- A holder of a permanent residence permit
- Within a state-insured category — there are 24 of them, covering groups such as children, pensioners and the registered unemployed, and the National Health Insurance Fund lists all 24 in full (updated 6 January 2026)
You are generally not covered if you are:
- A non-EU student on a temporary study permit who isn't working
- A new arrival who hasn't yet started employment
- Living in Lithuania without working, studying or being registered as unemployed
Paying PSD Yourself
If you're resident in Lithuania but not covered through employment or a state category, you can pay PSD contributions yourself to get into the public system.
The rate is 6.98% of the minimum monthly wage. With the MMA at €1,153 in 2026, that comes to €80.48 per month — around €966 a year. (For comparison, it was €72.45 per month in 2025.)
Worth it if you're living here long term without employment, you want full public-system access including ongoing treatment, or you have a condition that private policies exclude or price heavily.
Probably not worth it if you're a student who only needs to satisfy the permit condition. Self-paid PSD buys full public-system access, which is more than Article 6¹ asks for. Get a quote for a medical-expenses policy first — no Lithuanian insurer publishes a price, so a quote is the only way to compare it against €966 a year. See health insurance for students.
When You Need Private Insurance
Private health insurance in Lithuania does two quite different jobs, and it's worth being clear which one you're buying.
1. As a legal requirement.
- Required for the non-EU residence permit application
- Required for non-EU students on study permits
- Must satisfy the Article 6¹ test — medical assistance, repatriation, full period
- Not optional — your permit depends on it
2. As a top-up to state cover.
- Faster access to specialists
- Private clinics and English-speaking doctors
- Dental, which state cover treats sparingly
- Optional — and it will not satisfy a permit
The first is compulsory and the reason most readers land on this page. The second is a genuine quality-of-life question once you're settled and in the state system — private clinics in Vilnius and Kaunas are widely used by people who also have PSD, mainly to skip waiting times and see an English-speaking doctor.
The two are sold under similar names and are not interchangeable
BTA publishes prices for voluntary private health insurance for residents — €28, €44 and €55 a month by tier, with ambulatory cover €3,000, hospitalisation €3,000, critical illness €2,000 and medications €50. Those are the only published health insurance prices in this market, so they are the numbers people find. It is supplementary cover for people already inside PSD, and it will not satisfy a permit.
What These Policies Exclude
Exclusions decide whether a policy is any use to you. They are also the part insurers publish least. ERGO is the exception: its Terms No. 043 for foreigners exist in English, which makes them the clearest window into what this class of product does not cover.
From ERGO's Terms No. 043:
| Excluded | What that means in practice |
|---|---|
| Chronic illness | Defined as a condition that existed, or was treated, in the previous six months. If you were treated for something before you moved, assume it is outside the policy |
| Extreme and combat sports | Not a niche exclusion. Check it before you join a club here |
| Manual-labour occupations | Cover can fall away because of the work you do, not the accident you had. This matters if your permit is on employment grounds in construction, logistics or agriculture |
| Mental-health conditions | Excluded outright. Nothing in the permit requirement forces an insurer to cover them |
| Pregnancy, except emergencies | Routine antenatal care is not covered. Emergencies are |
Three of those five will decide something for someone reading this page. If you take a job in manual work, if you have any ongoing condition, or if you rely on mental-health care, the policy that satisfies the Migration Department may cover none of it — and the product page will not tell you. Ask for the terms document by number before you buy, and ask whether an exclusion can be bought out.
These are ERGO's exclusions, from ERGO's own terms. Other insurers do not publish theirs in English, or at all — so treat this list as the shape of the market rather than a statement about every insurer.
Your Certificate, and What It Must Say
The insurance certificate is a documented condition of the residence permit application. It is uploaded with everything else, and it is read against Article 6¹.
Check it for four things:
- Necessary medical assistance — that the policy pays the cost of it, valid for treatment in Lithuania
- Repatriation on health grounds — named explicitly, ideally including the medical escort
- Dates — running the entire period of the stay or residence you are applying for
- Language — a document the Migration Department accepts, usually Lithuanian or English
EU and EFTA citizens and their family members are exempt, as are diplomatic staff and persons covered by international agreements.
Buy it before you submit — and don't assume a visa policy carries over
The certificate is a required document at the point of application, not something to add later. See our residence permit guide.
If your route is a Schengen short-stay visa first, the €30,000 comes first too. That figure is set by Article 15 of the EU Visa Code and it is not optional at the visa stage. It is not a residence permit rule, and a policy bought to satisfy it does not automatically satisfy Article 6¹ — check the dates and the repatriation wording again when you apply for the permit.
Choosing Private Cover
If you're buying to satisfy a permit requirement
- Confirm the certificate answers Article 6¹ — medical assistance, repatriation, the full period
- Confirm it's valid for treatment in Lithuania
- Ask for the terms document by number and read the exclusions, not the product page
- Buy from a licensed insurer — the authoritative list is the Bank of Lithuania register. Draudikai.lt is often cited for this, but it is a voluntary trade association with 11 non-life members, not a complete list
- Expect to request a quote rather than buy online. That is normal here, not a sign you have found the wrong page
If you're buying a top-up alongside PSD
- Direct billing with the private clinics you'd actually use
- English-speaking doctors and support
- Outpatient and diagnostics, where waiting times bite hardest
- Dental, which state cover addresses only narrowly
- Mental health — worth checking, and excluded from the one set of terms published in English
Common Mistakes
Buying to a €30,000 target for a residence permit
That figure is the Schengen short-stay visa standard from the EU Visa Code. Article 6¹ names no sum. Buy the wording, not the number.
Assuming residence means coverage
PSD follows employment and status, not the mere fact of living here. Plenty of legal residents aren't covered.
Buying supplementary resident cover by mistake
BTA's €28-a-month tier is the only published price in this market, so it is the one people find. It is a top-up for people already in PSD and will not satisfy a permit.
Cancelling private cover the day you start a job
PSD coverage may not activate immediately. Overlap the two.
Buying a home-country policy that doesn't name Lithuania
Check the policy wording covers treatment here for your full stay — not just the marketing page.
Never reading the exclusions
Chronic conditions, mental health, manual-labour occupations and routine pregnancy care are all outside ERGO's published terms. Ask for the terms document before buying, not after a claim.
Letting cover lapse between permits
Gaps cause problems at renewal, and Article 6¹ asks for the entire period. Diarise expiry dates.
Self-paying PSD as a student without pricing the alternative
€966 a year buys full public-system access — more than the permit condition asks for. Get a quote for a compliant private policy before committing to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What insurance do I need for a Lithuanian residence permit?
A policy that covers the cost of necessary medical assistance as defined in the Law on the Health System, covers repatriation on health grounds including transport and an escorting healthcare professional where needed, and is valid for the entire period of your stay or residence. That is the whole of the test in Article 6-1 of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens.
Is €30,000 of cover required for a residence permit?
No. The €30,000 minimum is set by Article 15 of the EU Visa Code, Regulation 810/2009, and applies to the Schengen short-stay visa. Article 6-1 of the Lithuanian Aliens Law sets no sum insured for a residence permit at all.
How much coverage do I need, then?
The statute does not answer that in euros. It answers it in function: enough to pay for necessary medical assistance and for repatriation on health grounds, for your whole period of residence. Buying more cover is never a problem. Buying cover that omits repatriation is.
How long must the policy be valid?
For the entire period of your stay or residence in Lithuania. That is the wording of the article. The claim that permit insurance must run at least one year appears on relocation portals but not in the statute.
Does the policy have to include repatriation?
Yes, and it is named directly in the article, including transport and the accompaniment of a healthcare professional where needed. Check that the word appears on the certificate itself.
What is PSD?
Privalomasis sveikatos draudimas, compulsory health insurance. It funds public healthcare and is collected alongside Sodra social contributions at 6.98% of gross salary for employees. If you are in it, your permit condition is satisfied.
How much is PSD if I pay it myself?
€80.48 per month in 2026, calculated as 6.98% of the €1,153 minimum monthly wage. That is approximately €966 a year, and it buys full public-system access rather than merely satisfying the permit condition.
Can I buy foreigner health insurance online in Lithuania?
Not the medical-expenses and repatriation product. Lietuvos draudimas and ERGO both end in a contact form. Compensa has an online calculator for travel cover. If has a calculator but it asks for a Lithuanian personal code before showing a price, which shuts out anyone who has not arrived yet.
Which insurers sell cover to foreigners?
Lietuvos draudimas sells Užsieniečių medicininių išlaidų ir repatriacijos draudimas. ERGO sells Užsieniečių kelionių draudimas Lietuvoje under Terms No. 043, published in English. Balcia has a Foreigner Medical Expenses Insurance with bilingual terms. Compensa, BTA and If sell travel cover. Seesam is a Compensa brand rather than an insurer, and Lamantinas does not sell this class of insurance at all.
Why does nobody publish a price?
Because the cover is individually underwritten on your age, your dates and your destination, so the premium does not exist until you request a quote. Seven insurers were re-tested on 11 August 2026 and every relevant product ends in a contact form. The one published health price in this market is BTA's resident supplementary cover at €28, €44 and €55 a month, which will not satisfy a permit.
Are pre-existing conditions covered?
Almost never. ERGO, whose terms are published in English, excludes chronic illness and defines it as a condition that existed or was treated in the previous six months. Other insurers do not publish their exclusions in English, so ask for the terms document by number before buying.
Is mental health covered?
Not under ERGO's published terms for foreigners, which exclude mental-health conditions outright. Nothing in the permit requirement obliges an insurer to cover them. If this matters to you, ask each insurer directly and get the answer in writing.
Do I need private insurance if I am employed?
Not as a legal requirement. Your employer's PSD contributions cover you and satisfy the permit condition. Many people buy top-up private cover anyway, mainly for faster specialist access and English-speaking doctors.
Are non-EU students covered by PSD?
Generally no, unless they are legally employed or hold permanent residence. They must buy private cover, and no insurer publishes a student product or a student price.
Does my EHIC work in Lithuania?
Yes, for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. It covers necessary state healthcare on the same terms as a resident. It does not cover private treatment or repatriation.
What happens if I lose my job?
PSD coverage tied to employment does not continue indefinitely. Registering as unemployed may place you in a state-insured category; otherwise you may need to self-pay or take private cover. Check your position promptly rather than assuming.
Related Guides
General guidance, not insurance or medical advice. Rules, rates and coverage requirements change — confirm with the Migration Department, the National Health Insurance Fund and your insurer before acting. See the terms.
Ready to Get Covered?
The permit test is medical assistance, repatriation and the full period — check any policy against those three before you pay for it.