European nation stops foreign workers and students from South Africa, Ghana, India and other countries from applying for residence permits inside the country

The new rules, which took effect on November 1, 2026, prevent foreigners staying in Lithuania on Schengen visas from applying within the country for residence permits based on employment or bachelor’s degree studies.

Instead, affected applicants must complete the process through authorised centres abroad, potentially adding travel costs and delays for those who have already secured jobs or university admission in the European Union country.

According to Lithuania’s Migration Department, the restrictions cover foreigners holding Schengen visas issued by Lithuania or other Schengen countries, as well as national visas issued by other countries.

Under the revised system, foreign nationals who enter Lithuania on the affected visas and subsequently secure employment or admission to bachelor’s degree programmes cannot apply for residence permits while in the country.

However, those holding valid Lithuanian residence permits, Lithuanian national visas or residence permits issued by other EU or Schengen countries can still apply locally.

Highly qualified workers, including eligible EU Blue Card applicants, also remain exempt, while existing workers can renew their permits under established procedures.

While the new rules apply across nationalities, citizens of Ghana, India, Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Mongolia face a separate problem because they currently lack an eligible overseas application route for standard Lithuanian work-based residence permits.

According to an October 7, 2026 analysis by Deloitte Lithuania, nationals of these five countries generally need an existing qualifying Lithuanian visa or residence permit from Lithuania or another EU or Schengen state to submit a standard employment-based application within Lithuania.

“These changes will have a significant practical impact on the recruitment and relocation of certain third-country nationals,” Deloitte said.

The restrictions mean employers seeking to recruit workers from these countries must consider whether prospective employees qualify to apply within Lithuania or have access to an overseas processing centre.

The latest changes follow Lithuania’s October 2025 expansion of its overseas application services, when new VFS Global centres opened in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

South Africa was already among the countries hosting Lithuanian application services, alongside India, the Philippines and several other countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

However, having a centre in a country does not mean all types of applications are accepted there.

Ghanaian nationals can use the Ghana centre for specified purposes, including family reunification, highly skilled employment and approved higher education programmes, but not ordinary work-based residence permit applications.

Lithuania has also closed its external application centres in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, effective November 1, 2026.

Eligible applicants from the three Central Asian countries can instead use designated services in Azerbaijan, while Belarusian nationals seeking employment-based permits can apply through centres in Armenia and Georgia.

Under the revised arrangements, applicants required to apply abroad must submit their documents through Lithuania’s online immigration system, MIGRIS, before booking appointments at authorised VFS Global centres.

For affected workers and students already in Lithuania, the rules change where they can complete their residence permit applications, while employers recruiting internationally must account for the available application routes before arranging relocation.