Visas

Visas

Types of Visas

Before applying for a Schengen visa to Lithuania, you should check if you need a visa See the list of Schengen visa exempted nationalities

Important - following European Convention 2004/38, the foreign spouse or family member of an EU national may enter Schengen area without a visa if they are in possession of:

• a valid travel document;
• a valid residency permit with the endorsement "4EUFam" (this endorsement is compulsory in order to be visa exempted).

If you do not fall under these categories and do need a visa, you should decide the visa type under which you wish to lodge your application.

Schengen visas

• Short-stay visa– a visa valid for transit through or an intended stay in the territory of the Schengen Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Airport transit visa– a visa valid for transit through the international transit areas of one or more airports of the Schengen Member States.

National visa (D) – a visa allows to enter the Republic of Lithuania and stay in it for a period longer than 90 days:

• A single-entry national visacan be issued to a foreigner who has been granted a temporary or permanent residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania
• A multiple-entry national visa can be issued to a foreigner whose purpose is long term stay in the Republic of Lithuania.

Schengen visa

Visa authority competent for examining and deciding on applications

Decisions on the issuance or refusal to issue a visa, annulment and revocation of a visa are made by diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, assigned to perform functions related to the issuance of visas by order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (further – visa authorities).

1. Visa authorities of the Republic of Lithuania are competent for examining and deciding on an application for a uniform visa if:
   
   a) Lithuanian territory constitutes the sole destination of the visit(s);
   b) if the visit includes more than one destination, or if several separate visits are to be carried out within a period of two months, Lithuanian territory shall constitute the main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length of stay, counted in days, or the purpose of stay; or
   c) if no main destination can be determined, Lithuanian external border should be first the applicant intends to cross in order to enter the territory of Schengen Member States.
    
2. Visa authorities of the Republic of Lithuania are competent for examining and deciding on an application for a uniform visa for the purpose of transit if:

         a) in the case of transit through Lithuania only; or
         b) in the case of transit through the several Schengen Member States, Lithuanian external border should be first the applicant intends to cross to start the transit.

In Ireland, the examination of applications and interviews with applicants, the decision on applications and the printing and affixing of visa stickers shall be carried out only by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Ireland.

For Schengen visas, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Ireland is competent to examine and decide on applications submitted by applicants legally residing in Ireland.

National visa

If you intend to stay in the Republic of Lithuania for more than 90 days within 180 days, you must acquire National visa (D).

For more information on National visa types and documents to be submitted upon lodging a National visa application, please follow the link https://www.migracija.lt/home?lang=lt

Lodging an application

In Ireland, applications must be submitted at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Ireland, address: 47 Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04P224.

In order to make an appointment at the Embassy please contact us by e-mail: consul.ie@mfa.lt

At the time of submission, the applicant is required to appear in person.

Applications shall be lodged no more than six (6) months, and for seafarers in the performance of their duties no more than nine (9) months, before the start of the intended visit, and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before the start of the intended visit. In justified individual cases of urgency, the visa authority of the Republic of Lithuania or the central authorities may allow the lodging of applications later than 15 calendar days before the start of the intended visit.

Criteria for an application to be considered admissible

The application shall be admissible if the following conditions have been fulfilled:

1. 1. The application shall be lodged within the period referred above.
   2. Each applicant must complete an application form online at https://www.migracija.lt/. The application form shall be signed. Persons included in the applicant’s travel document shall submit a separate application form. Minors shall submit an application form signed by a person exercising permanent or temporary parental authority or legal guardianship.
   3. The applicant shall present a valid travel document satisfying the following criteria:
      • its validity shall extend at least three (3) months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States or, in the case of several visits, after the last intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. However, in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived; 
      • it shall contain at least two blank pages;
      • it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years.
   4. The following biometric identifiers of the applicant shall be collected:
      • a photograph (according to this sample), scanned or taken at the time of application, and 
      • 10 fingerprints taken flat and collected digitally.
        Where fingerprints as part of an earlier application were collected for the first time less than 59 months before the date of the new application, they shall be copied to the subsequent application. If at the time when the application is lodged, it cannot be immediately confirmed that the fingerprints were collected within the period of 59 months, the applicant may request that they are collected.
      • The following applicants shall be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints:
        -   children under the age of 12;
        -   persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible. If the fingerprinting of fewer than 10 fingers is possible, the maximum number of fingerprints shall be taken. However, should the impossibility be temporary, the applicant shall be required to give the fingerprints at the following application;
        -    heads of State or government and members of a national government with accompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when they are invited by Schengen Member States’ governments or by international organisations for an official purpose;
        -    sovereigns and other senior members of a royal family, when they are invited by Schengen Member States’ governments or by international organisations for an official purpose.
        However, where there is reasonable doubt regarding the identity of the applicant, the visa authority of the Republic of Lithuania shall collect fingerprints within the period of 59 months.
   5. Applicants shall pay a visa fee.

Applicants shall submit supporting documents according to the purpose of their travel: 

• Tourist visa
• Business/Family-friends visit/Conference/Study/Medical treatment
• Family members of EU citizens

Visa and service fee

1. Applicants shall pay a Schengen visa fee of EUR 90.
2. Children from the age of six years and below the age of 12 years shall pay a Schengen visa fee of EUR 45.
3. The visa fee shall be waived for applicants belonging to one of the following categories:
   • children under six years;
   • school pupils, students, postgraduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake stays for the purpose of study or educational training;
   • researchers, as defined in point (2) of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8), travelling for the purpose of carrying out scientific research or participating in a scientific seminar or conference;
   • representatives of non-profit organisations aged 25 years or less participating in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural or educational events organised by non-profit organisations;
   • family members of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, European Union or European Free Trade Association.
4. Nationals of countries (Moldova, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), which have concluded a visa facilitation agreement with the European Union, shall pay a Schengen visa fee of EUR 35.

The visa fee will be charged in euros. The visa fee will be collected at the Embassy via credit card. The visa fee is not refundable. 

Prior consultations

On the grounds of a threat to public policy, internal security, international relations or public health, a Schengen Member State may require the central authorities of other Schengen Member States to consult its central authorities during the examination of applications lodged by nationals of specific third countries or specific categories of such nationals. Such consultation shall not apply to applications for airport transit visas. 

Decision on the application

Applications shall be decided on within 15 calendar days of the date of the lodging of an application which is admissible. 

That period may be extended up to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed.

Applicants who have been refused a visa are notified by means of the standard form on the refusal, annulment, or revocation of the visa, stating the reasons for the decision. 

Right to appeal

Applicants have the right to appeal against the decisions to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court (Žygimantų St. 2, LT-01102 Vilnius, tel .: +370 5 264 8703) within 14 days from the date of the delivery of the decision. Information on the procedure to follow can be found on the website of Regional Administrative Court https://administracinis.teismas.lt/en. In accordance with the procedure established by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Legal Status of Aliens and the Law on Administrative Proceedings of the Republic of Lithuania, an appeal must be lodged in Lithuanian, and documents written in other languages must be translated into Lithuanian and approved in accordance with the established procedure. A stamp duty of EUR 30 must be paid for the appeal (if the appeal is lodged to the court only by electronic means, 75 % of the amount of the stamp duty must be paid). 

Rights derived from an issued visa

Mere possession of a uniform visa or a visa with limited territorial validity shall not confer an automatic right of entry. Visa holders at the external border are required to provide evidence that they fulfil the entry conditions as they set in Regulation - 2016/399 - EN - Schengen borders code - EUR-Lex (europa.eu). 

Family members of an EU citizen or a citizen of an EFTA Member State

According to the Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the measures adopted to give them effect. These restrictions and conditions are, among others, set out in Directive 2004/38/EC13 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. If applicants meet the status of a family member of an EU citizen as laid down in the Directive, the visa authority of the Republic of Lithuania will give them every opportunity to obtain the required visa and provide them with the best conditions to obtain it*, including:

• no visa fee;
• visas are issued as soon as possible (the processing of a visa application for more than 15 days can only be exceptional and duly justified), and an appointment should be made on more favourable conditions than for other third-country nationals;
• a limited list of supporting documents (a proof that there is an EU citizen, from whom certain rights are derived, that the visa applicant is a member of the family of such an EU citizen and that the person applying for a visa accompanies the EU citizen in the host Schengen Member State, or joins him or her there).

* The same conditions also apply to family members of a national of an EFTA (European Free Trade Association) Member State. 

Complaints procedure

Applicants may lodge complaints about the conduct of staff at visa authorities of the Republic of Lithuania or the application process. In accordance with Article 2 p. 5 of the 1999 June 17 Law on Public Administration of the Republic of Lithuania No. VIII-1234, a complaint is a written application of a person to a public administration entity, stating that his or her rights or legitimate interests have been violated and asking to defend them. Pursuant to Article 3 p. 8, the complaint shall be lodged to the visa authority of the Republic of Lithuania concerned or directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Complaints are examined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14 and Section 3 of the Law, decisions on appeals shall be taken within 20 working days. Where, for objective reasons, the complaint cannot be dealt with within that period, the period may be extended, but for no longer than ten (10) working days. The person shall be notified in writing of the extension within two (2) working days, and the reasons for the extension shall be indicated. 

Information on the Processing of Personal Data in the Schengen Visa Application Procedure

The legal basis for the collection and processing of your personal data is laid down in Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation), Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code), and Council Decision 2008/633/JHA of 23 June 2008 concerning access for consultation of the Visa Information System (VIS) by designated authorities of Member States and by Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and other serious criminal offences.

In order to examine your visa application, it is mandatory to collect the personal data requested in the visa application form, take your photograph and collect your fingerprints. Failure to provide such data will render the application inadmissible.

These data will be shared with the competent authorities of the Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Czechia, Estonia, Poland, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), which will process the data for the purpose of taking a decision on your visa application.

These data, together with data relating to the decision taken on your application or decisions to annul, revoke or extend a visa, will be entered into and stored in the Visa Information System (the Lithuanian National Visa Information System, hereinafter N.VIS, and the Central Visa Information System, hereinafter C.VIS) for a period not exceeding five years. During that period, they will be accessible to visa authorities and competent authorities carrying out visa checks at external borders and within Member States, as well as to immigration and asylum authorities of the Member States, for the purpose of verifying whether the conditions for lawful entry into, stay and residence in the territory of the Member States are fulfilled, identifying persons who do not or no longer fulfil these conditions, examining asylum applications and determining responsibility for examining such applications. Under certain conditions, the data may also be accessible to designated authorities of the Member States and Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and other serious criminal offences.

Your personal data may also be transferred to third countries or international organisations for the purpose of proving the identity of third-country nationals, including for return purposes. Such transfers may take place only under the conditions laid down in Article 31 of the VIS Regulation.

Pursuant to Articles 15–19 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation) and Article 38 of the VIS Regulation, you have the right to obtain access to your personal data, including a copy thereof, and to information on the Member State which transmitted the data. You also have the right to request the rectification or completion of inaccurate or incomplete personal data, the restriction of processing under certain conditions, and the erasure of unlawfully processed personal data.

You have the right to receive information on the processing of your personal data in N.VIS and may submit a request to the controller of N.VIS – the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (Šventaragio St. 2, LT-01510 Vilnius, e-mail: generalsd@vrm.lt) – seeking access to your personal data, rectification of inaccurate data, or erasure of unlawfully processed personal data.

If, after obtaining access to your personal data, you determine that the data are incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate or processed unlawfully, and you submit a written request to the controller of N.VIS, the controller must, without undue delay, ensure the verification of your personal data, the rectification of incorrect or inaccurate data, the completion of incomplete personal data, or the erasure of unlawfully processed data in accordance with the Regulations of the Register of Foreigners approved by Resolution No. 968 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 17 September 2014 and Article 38 of the VIS Regulation.

Where data concerning you have been entered into the C.VIS by another European Union Member State, the right to request rectification, erasure or restriction of processing shall be exercised through the competent authority of that Member State in accordance with Article 38 of the VIS Regulation and the applicable national legislation. In such cases, the controller of N.VIS shall forward your written request to the competent authority of the relevant Member State within 14 calendar days of receipt and shall inform you accordingly.

The controller of N.VIS shall, without undue delay, inform you in writing of any rectification or erasure of personal data carried out at your request, any restriction of processing, and shall inform recipients of C.VIS data to whom inaccurate, incomplete or incorrect data were disclosed of the rectification, erasure or restriction, unless this proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort.

Any refusal by the controller of N.VIS to comply with your request must be duly reasoned. Such refusal must be communicated to you in writing no later than 30 calendar days from the date of your request.

You may lodge a complaint concerning the actions or omissions of the controller of N.VIS with the supervisory authority responsible for monitoring personal data processing in N.VIS – the State Data Protection Inspectorate (L. Sapiegos St. 17, LT-10312 Vilnius, Lithuania, tel. +370 5 271 2804, +370 5 279 1445, e-mail: ada@ada.lt). The actions or omissions of the supervisory authority may be challenged before a court in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Contact details of the Data Protection Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania: J. Tumo-Vaižganto St. 2, LT-01108 Vilnius, Lithuania
E-mail: dap@urm.lt

Template forms for exercising your rights:

• Request for access to your personal data processed in the Visa Information System (VIS);
• Request for correction or deletion of your personal data processed in the VIS;

You will find more detailed information on Schengen Information System (SIS), including request for access to, rectification or deletion of your personal data processed in the Schengen Information System forms here.