A valid residence permit is revoked for travelling home too often: by January 2026, 149 people had lost their status this way.
For most newcomers Lithuania is an ordinary EU country with labour migration: a shortage occupations list, online applications, status kept during renewal, 20% income tax. But the entrance is narrowing: since 2025 foreign workers are capped at 1.4% of the population, the 2026 quota is 130 places smaller than last year's, and once it runs out the salary threshold jumps.
The country's main problem is pressure on people who already live there. Citizens of certain states fall under a law on restrictive measures, extended in April 2026 to 31 December 2027: mandatory questionnaires, being declared a threat to national security, refused renewals and cancellation of permits already issued. The numbers run to hundreds and thousands of people a year. The passport section shows exactly who is affected.
Losing status works harshly for everyone. If you do not notify the Migration Department within 10 working days after the employment contract ends, the work permit is cancelled. Since 1 July 2024 an appeal does not stop the cancellation: the permit is invalid once the 14-day appeal period ends, and anyone who has not left by then gets a return decision, followed by deportation and an entry ban. According to summaries of the Migration Department yearbook, 29,673 permits were cancelled in 2024, about 16,000 of them because employment contracts ended.
Since 22 May 2026 a person who loses their job gets 3 months to find a new one (6 if they have held the permit for over two years), provided they notify the Migration Department within 10 working days. Changing employer requires the department's permission and is possible only 6 months after the permit is issued. Rules for residents were tightened three times in two years, with no transition periods.
Day to day, declaring your place of residence is mandatory and needs the property owner's consent. Banks open accounts after enhanced checks and a stated purpose. A spouse works without a separate permit, children go to state school for free, there are no mandatory exams for a temporary permit, and diploma recognition takes 1-4 months.
The index score ignores nationality. This is what changes for citizens of specific countries.
Visa-free short stays (up to 90 days in any 180), as in the rest of the Schengen area. To live there you need the same permit for work, study or business.
No permit needed at all: EU free movement rules give the right to live and work.
Simplified access to residence; descendants of those who emigrated before 1990 may keep their previous citizenship when they become Lithuanian.
EU temporary protection is extended to 4 March 2028. Since 31 July 2026 new applicants must show they left in line with their military obligations; people who already hold the status are not affected.
The restrictive measures law applies until 31 December 2027. Visa applications are suspended, and so are temporary residence applications, except for people who already hold a valid visa, a Lithuanian permit or a permit from another EU country. Since 3 May 2025 permits are cancelled for trips to Russia or Belarus more than once in 3 calendar months; by January 2026, 149 people had lost their status this way. Buying property is banned, a questionnaire has been mandatory since November 2022, and banks close accounts and block payments to Russia.
The same law: visa applications are suspended, buying property is banned, the questionnaire is mandatory. The rule on trips home does not apply to Belarusian citizens, but in 2025, 1,634 people were declared a security threat, 391 were refused a first permit, 1,023 a renewal, and 214 valid permits were cancelled.
The place interval 54-69 shows where the country lands when the data is nudged and the index is recalculated. One place of difference in the table means nothing; a difference of a league means something.
The thin mark on each bar is the average across 97 countries
The strongest category here is Family rights: 85 out of 100, against a 97-state average of 72.2. The weakest is Pressure on newcomers: 23 against 65.2. Above the world average: 2 out of 7.
All 97 states are calculated for one applicant: 35 years old, income of $2,500 and $3,856 a month before tax, passport not counted, the most accessible route that is actually in use.
Your passport, your income and your family do not change the table. They change which of its lines apply to you. A different income makes entry read differently, a family makes the family category read differently, and your passport makes everything read differently.
2 months by law, 1 month for a double fee. In practice 45-90 days, plus a few weeks' wait for a biometrics appointment.
Hardly: there is no digital nomad visa and no route for the self-employed. What remains is study, business and a start-up visa for innovative projects approved by a committee.
The standard state fee is €120, the fast track twice that, and the card is extra. You also need to prove means of subsistence: €1,153 a month in 2026.
Yes. If you do not notify the Migration Department within 10 working days after the contract ends, the permit is cancelled; an appeal does not stop this, and you have 14 days to leave. Since 22 May 2026 you get 3 months to find a new job (6 if you have held the permit for over two years), if you notify the Migration Department in time.
Permanent residence after 5 years with exams in Lithuanian and the Constitution. Citizenship after 10 years, giving up your previous citizenship.
For most newcomers it works like an ordinary EU country, but quotas are shrinking and rules for residents were tightened three times in two years. Citizens of certain countries face a special law that revokes status; see the passport section.
97 states, 26 indicators, seven categories, 2,522 scores. Every score has a source and a source class: primary means the texts of laws and government portals; reliable secondary means reports by international organisations, tax reviews by audit firms and specialist legal publications; weak means community posts and single secondary sources. The classes add up to a confidence level for the country, and a country with low confidence gets neither a score nor a place.
Every indicator is scored against a fixed ruler, not against its neighbours. Adding new countries therefore does not move the old ones, and a change in a score means a change in policy and nothing else.
A high place does not mean a good country. It means one thing: the state machine treats newcomers predictably and by the rules. Living there may be expensive, dull or hot; that is not our question.
Checked 01/10/2026. Facts come from the country's index card and official websites.
We make mistakes and we will go on making them: policy changes faster than any database. Our answer is not a pose of infallibility but a visible trail of corrections. Every correction is published: what it was, what it became, the source and the reason for the error. The corrections log opens with the second issue, together with the first block of changes.