You can get Lithuanian residence by starting a business, and there are two ways to do it. The startup visa is for founders with an idea and no company. The company-owner permit is for people whose business already operates here. One asks for potential, the other for history, and choosing wrong costs months.
One route is for an idea, the other for a company that already exists. The startup visa suits founders building an innovative company. It sets no capital minimum, decides within a month, and grants a permit for 2 years. The company-owner permit needs a firm that has operated here 6 months, holds €28,000 in equity — €14,000 of it yours — and pays local staff at least two average monthly wages between them.
Both stay open all year. Lithuania limits how many foreigners may move here to take a job, and that limit was reached for 2026 — but it applies only to people arriving as employees, so neither business route is affected.
Table of Contents
The Two Routes Compared
Where you already stand decides this. With an idea and a pitch deck, the startup visa is your only option. With a company that has done business here half a year, the owner permit is faster and less subjective.
You cannot use the owner permit to start a business from abroad. It demands six months of operation first, which is why the startup visa exists.
| 🚀Startup visa | 🏢Company owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Article 45¹ | Article 45(1)(1)–(2) |
| Company needed first? | ✗ | Yes — 6 months |
| Capital required | None | €28,000 equity €14,000 of it yours |
| Staff required | None | Local staff on 2× average wage |
| Judged on | Innovation potential | Documents and accounts |
| Decision deadline | 1 month | 3 months |
| Permit length | 2 years, then 3 | Standard renewal |
| State fee | €160 (€320 urgent) | €160 (€320 urgent) |
| Blocked when the employee limit fills? | ✗ | ✗ |
The Startup Visa
Lithuanian law has no startup visa. It has a temporary residence permit under Article 45¹ of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, for a foreigner who intends to found a startup here and run it. Startup Lithuania, part of the state Innovation Agency, runs the programme around it and charges applicants nothing.
What you must show. That you hold the qualifications, the financing and a business plan. That your presence in Lithuania is necessary to the startup. And that the business has "large and innovation-based business development potential", which an institution the Ministry of Economy and Innovation authorises will judge. A startup here means a micro or small company registered within the last five years, or ten if it does research and development.
No more than four foreigners may hold a stake in the startup. A five-founder team from outside the EU does not fit.
How it runs. You apply online with a pitch deck, which is mandatory. A committee of public and private sector members interviews you by video for 30 to 60 minutes, and evaluation takes up to 15 days. You then carry the confirmation letter to the Migration Department. That letter is not a permit.
Once the permit issues, you have 120 days to found the startup and begin operating, or 60 days to join one that already exists. The permit runs for 2 years and can be changed to 3. The state fee is €160, or €320 to rush it.
Your family need not wait. A sponsor normally must live here two years before bringing family. Startup permit holders are exempt, and their family members get permits lasting as long as theirs.
Permit as a Company Owner
This is the main business route, under Article 45. The company must:
- have operated in Lithuania, following a business plan, for at least the six months before you apply
- employ full-time citizens of Lithuania, another EU state or an EFTA state, or foreigners with permanent residence here, whose salaries together reach at least twice the last published average monthly gross wage
- hold equity of at least €28,000, of which €14,000 must be money or assets you put in
You must also either run the company as its manager or own shares worth at least a third of its share capital.
The employee rule changed in 2022
Until 1 August 2022 this route required three Lithuanian or EU employees. Law No. XIV-1277 replaced that headcount with a payroll test. Your local staff must now be paid at least two average monthly wages between them, whether that is one person or five.
€28,000 is equity, not share capital. A UAB's minimum share capital is €1,000. The €28,000 is nuosavas kapitalas, the company's own capital on its balance sheet. Different numbers, different jobs.
The payroll test multiplies the average monthly gross wage by two. The Migration Department put that wage at €2,411.40 in its 2026 quota notice but does not publish the doubled figure, so confirm the current number before you build a payroll around it.
Two higher-investment variants
Invest at a larger scale and two other points of Article 45 apply. Both are decided in one month rather than three.
| Variant | Investment | Jobs | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article 45(1)(2¹) | €260,000 from you | 5 full-time local jobs | 1 month |
| Article 45(1)(2²) | €500,000 company equity | 10 full-time jobs | 1 month |
The fictitious-company test
Every application on this ground is assessed for whether the company is fictitious. The statute defines that as a company "established or acquired not in order to carry out the activity stated in its constitutional documents in Lithuania, but in order to obtain a residence permit for a foreigner." A finding of fictitiousness refuses the application on its own.
The statute points to two things as evidence of real activity: the business plan and the local payroll. A company with neither, existing only to support one application, is what the test looks for.
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The Employee Limit, and Why It Misses You
Each year Lithuania sets a ceiling on how many foreigners may move here to take a job. It is called the quota, and the law caps it at 1.4% of the resident population. Once the year's places are gone, they are gone.
The ceiling covers one thing only: permits granted on employment grounds, under Article 44(1)(2) and (3). The two business routes sit under Articles 45 and 45¹, outside it.
That matters this year. The 2026 ceiling is 24,706 places across every profession and sector, and the Migration Department reports them used up. People arriving to take a job now face narrower, higher-paid routes. People arriving to run a business face nothing.
Setting Up the Company
The owner route wants six months of operation, so the company comes first and the permit second.
A UAB needs €1,000 in share capital, down from €2,500 since 1 May 2023. You can form one online through the Registrų centras self-service portal using the model documents the Ministry of Economy and Innovation publishes. That route needs a qualified electronic signature, which is the real obstacle from abroad.
Registrų centras publishes neither its registration fee nor a turnaround time, and whether a foreign founder needs an asmens kodas first is not stated anywhere public. Ring them on +370 5 268 8262 before you plan around either.
Two of our guides cover what comes next: business bank accounts, which a UAB needs for its share capital, and individuali veikla versus a company.
What Is Not a Route
Self-employment will not get you residence. People treat individuali veikla, the certificate-based self-employment regime, as a freelancer visa. It is not one. It appears nowhere among Article 45's grounds, and the State Tax Inspectorate is direct: a third-country national who wants to run individual activity through a fixed base in Lithuania must already hold a temporary or permanent residence permit.
The permit comes before the activity, not after it. If freelancing is your plan, you need another basis to be here.
Common Mistakes
Counting three employees
The headcount rule ended in August 2022. What counts now is combined pay: at least two average monthly wages across your local staff.
Confusing equity with share capital
A UAB's share capital starts at €1,000. The €28,000 is the company's own capital, and €14,000 of it must come from you.
Forming a company to support the application
Every application is tested for fictitiousness, which the statute defines as a company set up to win a permit rather than to do business. The business plan and the local payroll are what that test reads.
Planning the owner route with no company
It demands six months of operation before you apply. Without a company, the startup visa is the route that fits.
Treating self-employment as a way in
Individuali veikla is not a ground for residence. The permit comes first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which route should I use?
With no company in Lithuania yet, the startup visa is your only option, because the owner permit demands six months of operation. If you already run a company here that meets the equity and payroll tests, the owner permit is quicker to assess and far less subjective than pitching to an innovation committee.
How much money do I need for the startup visa?
The law sets no amount. You must show financing that matches your business plan and the qualifications to deliver it. The plan and the pitch carry the weight, not a bank balance.
Is €28,000 the same as share capital?
No. A UAB's minimum share capital is €1,000. The €28,000 is the company's equity, its own capital, and at least €14,000 of that must be money or assets you invested.
How many employees do I need?
No fixed number. Since August 2022 the test is that your full-time local staff — Lithuanian, EU or EFTA citizens, or permanent residents — earn at least twice the average monthly gross wage between them.
How long does a decision take?
One month for the startup route. Three months for the ordinary company-owner route. The two high-investment variants, €260,000 with five jobs or €500,000 equity with ten, are also decided within a month.
Can my family come with me?
Yes, and sooner than on most grounds. Family reunification normally requires the sponsor to have lived here two years. Startup permit holders are exempt, and family members receive permits lasting as long as the sponsor's.
Does the annual limit on foreign workers affect these routes?
No. Lithuania caps how many foreigners may arrive each year to take a job, but that ceiling covers only permits granted on employment grounds under Article 44(1)(2) and (3). The two business routes sit under Articles 45 and 45¹, outside it. That matters in 2026: the 24,706 places are used up while these routes stay open.
Can I move here as a freelancer?
Not directly. Individuali veikla is not a ground for residence. The State Tax Inspectorate requires a temporary or permanent residence permit before you can register it, so you need another basis to be in Lithuania first.
Can I register a company before I move?
You can form a UAB online through Registrų centras using model documents, but that needs a qualified electronic signature, which is hard to obtain from abroad. Whether a foreign founder also needs an asmens kodas is not published — ask Registrų centras directly.
Important disclaimer
Immigration rules, thresholds and fees change, and this route was amended substantially in 2022. This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the Migration Department or a licensed adviser before you act.
Related
Price the company before you commit to the route
The equity and staffing conditions are only part of what the company-owner route costs — formation, notary and accounting bills all start before the permit does. See what setting up runs to, and where the share capital sits.