Lithuania

Start-up visa. A temporary residence permit for non-EU founders of an innovative company endorsed by Startup Lithuania; there is no fixed company-capital requirement, only proof you can support yourself. A separate, unbranded ‘business visa’ for shareholders of an operating company (needing €28,000 in company equity) is often confused with this one but is a different option.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Start-up visa

A temporary residence permit, typically issued for up to 1 year initially and renewable while the business operates.

Who qualifies

Get an innovative, scalable business idea endorsed by the Startup Lithuania committee; register the company in Lithuania within 120 days of the residence permit being issued.
Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Art. 45(1)(13), start-up residence permit; Startup Lithuania endorsement criteria
Show subsistence funds of at least Lithuania’s minimum monthly wage, €1,153 a month in 2026 (about $1,268), plus health insurance of at least €30,000; no minimum company capital is required.
Migration Department, subsistence-funds requirement for national visas and residence permits

Whether you keep your U.S. citizenship depends on the option you choose later.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Income: At least $1,268 a month, steady and documented.
Time: 2–3 months for endorsement, then 1–2 months for the permit.
Cost: About $1,000–2,500 in fees and legal costs; no capital investment is required beyond ordinary company-registration costs.
The hard part: Getting Startup Lithuania to endorse the business as innovative and scalable, not a plain trading or services company.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

Citizens by 2038.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
2 years, renewable for 3 years at a time.
2029
Renew the permit
Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 3 years.
2032
Permanent residence
Five years on temporary residence permits. Trips abroad may not last more than 6 months in a row or 10 months in total. Pass the Lithuanian language exam and the exam on the basics of the Constitution.
2037
Apply for citizenship
With a language test and a civics test.
2038
Citizenship

Language: Lithuanian at the state’s first category (about A2), by a test and an interview.
Civics: A written test on the basics of the Lithuanian Constitution.
Time away: Ten years of continuous, lawful residence in Lithuania, holding permanent residence both when you apply and when the decision is made.
Two passports: Usually not: new citizens are asked to give up their other citizenship.

A temporary residence permit, so the years count toward the 5 years for permanent residence.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
This country asks new citizens to give up their other citizenship.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: Tied to actively running the endorsed company in Lithuania; there is no fixed day-count, but the Migration Department checks the business is genuinely operating at renewal.
Tax: Lithuanian tax residence follows the 183-day rule once operating the business there.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Review Startup Lithuania’s eligibility criteria and application steps.Open startuplithuania.com ↗
Gather these documents.
- Proof of steady income: at least $1,268 a month
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health insurance that meets the program’s rules

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The official application forms, submission and recovery specification are not complete. Postern cannot run this application yet.

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