Lithuania
Generally speaking, Lithuania is a Ukrainian-friendly country. Ukrainian refugees are provided with different allowances, social rights, and access to the emergency health care and education systems. It is easier for children and young people to integrate because Lithuania has different educational institutions, where the curriculum is in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, or German. Ukrainians can look for a job even without passing any language exams, and once they get a job, they are automatically insured by the state, which gives them access to even more medical services. Homosexuality is legal, gender change is legal, although complicated, and only foreign same-sex marriages are recognised, so a Ukrainian same-sex couple will not be able to get married or adopt a child in Lithuania.
Description
As of 4 March, temporary protection in Lithuania is available for Ukrainians fleeing the war, as well as Ukrainians legally residing in Lithuania before the military aggression began, in line with the EU's Temporary Protection Directive. Temporary protection status can be extended for an additional year.
Ukrainian citizens with a biometric passport can enter and stay in Lithuania without a visa for up to 90 days. During these 90 days, Ukrainians can apply to the migration service and will be issued a national visa or residence and work permit in Lithuania, which will be valid for travel within the EU. Ukrainians are allowed to legally stay on the EU member states' territory until the end of the war. Medical insurance and children's education services will be available immediately after registration for a residence permit at a registration centre in Lithuania. There, Ukrainian refugees and their families who do not have a valid passport will be issued a foreign registration certificate until their legal situation is resolved. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that Ukrainian embassies and consulates abroad are renewing Ukrainian citizens' passports and entering data about Ukrainian children in the parents' passports.
There are 5 registration centres in Lithuania:
- in Vilnius, street Minties 3 (Joachim Lelevel Gymnasium);
- city Alytus, str. Pramones 1B;
- the city of Mariupol, street Park 9;
- city Klaipeda str. Paryziaus Kominos 16A;
- Siauliai city, street Jablonskio 16.
The registration centres provide temporary housing (up to three days), food, and primary health care. Those in need will then be taken to long-term housing. If you are already in Vilnius, you can enquire about housing at www.sylnirazom.lt or call +370 677 22222.
Ukrainians who have received temporary protection will be entitled to social assistance: all child benefits, including a child money allowance (foster children will also be provided with care benefits), one-time accommodation allowance, compensation for part of the rent, and other social benefits. They will also be entitled to social services.
Ukrainians will also be able to receive monthly compensation for the costs of pre-school education and targeted compensation for nursing and care costs. Retired people living in Lithuania and receiving pensions from Ukraine will also receive social assistance pensions.
Ukrainians who have received temporary protection in Lithuania and have no income will be entitled to social benefits, including compensation for heating, drinking and hot water.
If Ukrainian citizens have been granted asylum or temporary protection in Lithuania, they can receive sickness, maternity, paternity, childcare, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational disease benefits only after they are covered by an insurance (get a job which provides insurance, or, if self-employed, have access to insurance by paying taxes, etc.) and start meeting the requirements of other regulations concerning benefits.
During registration upon arrival, Ukrainians are provided with a registration card, indicating their personal code of electronic health history (ESI). This ESI code should be presented at the hospital or pharmacy to receive medical services and prescribed medicines.
After receiving a temporary residence permit, Ukrainians will be insured by the state health insurance. If you find a job, you will also contribute to health insurance through taxes and be automatically insured.
If you have not been issued a residence permit and do not yet have a job, you will have to buy private insurance. A list of private insurances can be found here. If you do not have health insurance, but you need urgent medical care, services will be provided free of charge to Ukrainian citizens. Emergency medical care includes first aid and any other emergency medical care provided at medical institutions (providing both inpatient and outpatient services).
Other free services for Ukrainian citizens:
- Vaccination against COVID-19
- Services for children
- Services for expectant mothers
- Rehabilitation for war victims (emotional and psychological support, mental health services)
For more information on all available services and clinic contacts, see here.
The Ministry of Health and the State Health Insurance Fund have prepared this guide about health care services in Lithuania.
Short-term accommodation can be found at the registration centres in Vilnius, Alytus or Marijampole. AirBnb and Booking.com are the main platforms for finding short-term housing. You can find a house or flat on the following platforms: Aruodas, Domoplius, Rebaltic, or use the Shelter site.
Help with temporary shelter-free housing here.
There is 24/7 accommodation hotline +370 677 22222.
There is also a one-time settlement allowance for Ukrainians to cover the cost of basic necessities for the place they rent on their own: it is available to people over the age of 18 who are employed or self-employed, registered with the Employment service, studying under a general education programme, or under a formal vocational training programme and studying at a higher education institution, people of retirement age, pregnant women and single parents raising children under the age of 3, carers, grandparents, and people with disabilities who are unable to work. A prerequisite for receiving the installation allowance is an officially registered lease covering a period of at least 6 months.
The amount of the allowance depends on the number of people enjoying temporary protection while living together. A one-time settlement allowance can also be used to pay a deposit for rent.
To receive a one-time settlement allowance, Ukrainians must submit an application in the prescribed form to their local municipality, which will make a decision within 5 business days.
https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/socialine-integracija/informatsiia-dlia-gromadian-ukrayini-1/sotsialna-pidtrimka
EL*C has created a lesbian hosting network of individuals who have made their flats and spare rooms available to Ukrainian refugees. Please notice that EL*C can provide you with a temporary solution (up to a few months). Contact the relocation team at: +48 571 944 400 and info@lesbiangenius.org.
Compensation for preschool education for children under 6 is intended to facilitate the integration of children into pre-school education, thus enabling parents to either work or look for a job.
Ukrainian families raising school-age children who start school in Lithuania are entitled to free school meals and, at the start of the new school year, to assistance for purchasing school supplies.
Ukrainian children can go to preschool institutions: if they only speak Ukrainian or Russian, the study process will be adapted. Access to study is free of charge. To enrol a child to a preschool institution, contact your local coordinator:
https://smsm.lrv.lt/uploads/smsm/documents/files/Ukrain%20Koordinatori%C5%B3%20savivaldyb%C4%97se%20kontaktai%20LT.pdf
Ukrainian schoolchildren are accepted to Lithuanian schools at any point of the school year. They will receive all the required assistance. Lithuanian specialists will decide whether children can study in their respective grades or need to study the Lithuanian language in separate groups first, so you should check the availability of such study groups at your local school. If you don’t want your child to have be educated in Russian, there are Lithuanian schools that offer their curriculum in Belarussian, Polish, and German. School education is free of charge. Schools and preschools can accept children without the need for a temporary residence permit or a visa.
The data of coordinators:
https://smsm.lrv.lt/uploads/smsm/documents/files/Ukrain%20Koordinatori%C5%B3%20savivaldyb%C4%97se%20kontaktai%20LT.pdf
Vocational education
You can continue your vocational education, starting any time. Detailed information can be obtained from the coordinators:
https://smsm.lrv.lt/uploads/smsm/documents/files/
Ukrain%20Koordinatori%C5%B3%20savivaldyb%C4%97se%20kontaktai%20LT.pdf
The list and contacts of vocational schools in Lithuania:
https://smsm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/94cf3e99e74f438eafbf949bb3c456d4
You can also choose your specialty and school here (in Lithuanian):
https://profesinis.lamabpo.lt/programu-sarasas/
Students can continue their study in Lithuania. They are provided with accommodation and may study free of charge. Universities can make their curriculum available in Russian, Ukrainian, and English. Information about studying in Lithuania: https://studyin.lt/
Qualification recognition in Lithuania: https://www.skvc.lt/default/en/60/recognition_lithuania
To find out which documents are required to enter a higher educational institution and what to do if you don’t have them, visit https://www.skvc.lt/default/en/60/apply/documentation_requirements.
Ukrainian citizens in Lithuania can use railway and public transport free of charge by receiving a ticket at the ticket office or showing a form of ID on public transport. More about free public transport in Lithuania at this link.
The Lithuanian Government announced in March that, for the next two years, those arriving in Lithuania after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be exempt from language requirements for certain jobs once granted temporary protection.
https://socmin.lrv.lt/en/news/shcho-vazhlivo-znati-ukrayintsiam-khto-khoche-vlashtuvatisia-na-robotu-chi-na-pochatku-roboti
If you are a Ukrainian citizen and want to work in Lithuania, you do not need to obtain any special permits, because you will automatically be able to work after registering at the migration office and obtaining a temporary residence permit. There are specialised sites that already offer vacancies for Ukrainians in Vilnius and other cities: Scobo, cv.lt (for vacancies that do not require Lithuanian / English). Go Vilnius has a list of the main job search websites, as well as contacts of recruitment agencies.
After completing all relevant documents, Ukrainians can apply to the Employment Service in Shalchininkai, Architect st. 4 by phone 1883 or email info@uzt.lt also:
- +370 658 26 755 in Vilnius
- +370 374 09 882 in Kaunas
- +370 672 28 204 in Jonava
- +370 672 98 949 in Alytus
- +370 658 24 346 in Klaipeda
- +370 610 38 727 in Panevėžys
- +370 616 46 608 in Siauliai
- +370 607 54955 in Marijampolė
More information: www.uzt.lt/ua
The following platforms can also help you find a job:
https://investlithuania.com/guide-for-ukrainians-ru/
http://balticassist.com/career
Homosexuality is legal in Lithuania since 1993, but same-sex marriages and adoption are not recognised by Lithuanian law, except for foreign same-sex marriages. Discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation is outlawed in Lithuania in the areas of housing, employment, and military service. LGBT+ people can adopt as single parents but not as a couple.
In Lithuania, it is legal to change one's legal gender and name without any sex reassignment surgery. However, Lithuania has no procedures in place for legal gender recognition and medical gender reassignment. The Civil Code does establish that “[a]n unmarried natural person of full age enjoys the right to the change of designation of sex in cases when it is feasible from the medical point of view”, but the enabling legislation has never been adopted. The social situation of transgender people in Lithuania remains challenging. https://www.einnetwork.org/ein-voices/2022/5/2/legal-gender-recognition-in-lithuania-steps-towards-ensuring-respect-for-the-private-life-of-transgender-persons
LGL is Lithuania’s biggest LGBTQ group. https://www.lgl.lt/en/
Address: V. Šopeno str. 1-1, LT-03211 Vilnius, Lithuania
Phone: +370 5 2610314
Help from the Lithuanian government: https://socmin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/socialine-integracija/informatsiia-dlia-gromadian-ukrayini-1/sotsialna-pidtrimka
In response to the flow of Ukrainians coming to Lithuania, Hot Line 1808 operating 24/7 has launched on the 20th of June. The operators will offer consultations in Ukrainian, English and Russian.
There is also a helpful booklet for people fleeing Ukraine: https://suukraina.lt/ua/refugee-guide/
