Relocation package for employees from non Shengen zone

Employee relocation is when a company chooses to move an existing employee, new hire or intern to a new location for work purposes. It allows the company as the employer to source some of the best candidates from outside of their country, increasing the talent pool, staffing business with the people they need.

Information for Ukrainian citizens residing in Lithuania

As tensions ramped up in Ukraine in recent days, Lithuania have been putting emergency plans in place to offer various forms of assistance to citizens of Ukraine to ensure their safety.

The Migration Department informs that:

citizens of Ukraine who hold biometric passports and whose national visas or temporary residence permits expire in the Republic of Lithuania may start using 90 day visa-free regime immediately after the expiry of these documents;
At present, there will be no return or expulsion decisions for Ukrainian citizens and their family members;
Citizens of Ukraine and their family members whose decisions to return them to Ukraina, may remain in the Republic of Lithuania. The Migration Department will publish additional information on what actions these individuals will need to take;
National visas and temporary residence permits will not be revoked for Ukrainian citizens and their family members;
Applications for a temporary residence permit or visa will be accepted from illegally in Lithuania staying Ukrainian citizens and their family members.

Simplified employment procedures for people from Ukraine from 1 March 2022

On 1 March this year, the Order of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – Order) by which are simplifying the procedures for employing citizens of the Republic of Ukraine.

What has changed?

Ukrainians enjoying a visa-free regime (biometric passports) or holding a valid Schengen visa:

– have the right to work and

– are exempted from the obligation to obtain a work permit.

Ukrainians holding a national visa issued on the grounds that they cannot leave the Republic of Lithuania due to force majeure circumstances:

– have the right to work and

– are exempted from the obligation to obtain a work permit.

Ukrainians who have applied for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania on the grounds that they intend to work or intend to work in a job requiring high professional qualification:

– have the right to work and

– are exempted from the obligation to obtain a decision of the Employment Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania on the compliance of the foreigner’s work with the needs of the labour market of the Republic of Lithuania.

Ukrainians who have applied for asylum in Lithuania:

– have the right to work from the date of registration of the application for asylum in the Lithuanian Migration Information System.

Important:

The requirement for employers who have concluded employment contracts with foreigners to submit the LDU notification in the prescribed form via the SODRA information system EDAS remains in force.

The notification must be submitted at least 1 working day before the date of the employment.

Citizens of the Republic of Ukraine are exempted from the state fee

Ukrainian citizens will not have to pay for the examination of an application for a national visa, or for the reception and examination of an application for a temporary residence permit where the visa or residence permit is requested on grounds of force majeure.

Information for non-Shengen zone citizens how to move to Lithuania

Employee relocation packages cover an employee’s moving and other work-related expenses, including the processing of residence permit formalities for employees and members of their families.

In Lithuania relocation package allow a relocation of businesses from non-EU countries to EU countries under simplified conditions and the relocation of non- Shengen zone employees.

Lithuania offers several ways to obtain a residence permit in Lithuania, depending on the qualification of the employee, the amount of salary and the job position. Lithuania also provides the urgent procedure for applications.

For example:

In some cases the Employment Service will not assess the qualifications or work experience of such employees – the investor himself will decide on the employee’s suitability for work in the company;
the employee’s family members will not be assessed on their suitability for the labor market – they will have the right to work in Lithuania and apply for the residence permit of the same duration;
The duration of the residence permit is minimum 6 months till 3 years;
For employee with high education a simplified procedure applies.

Actions to be taken:

have an employer or set up a company in Lithuania;
gather the necessary documents on qualifications, education, working conditions and non-crime records;
submit online the application to the Migration Department.

Prepared by attorney at law Loreta Andziulytė and a head of employment practice Brigida Bacienė