Lithuania bars Schengen visa holders from switching to residence permits in-country

Lithuania has tightened who may lodge a residence permit application from inside the country, a change that affects foreign nationals — including workers and students from India — who arrive on short-stay visas and then find employment or a study place. The revised rules were set out by Lithuania's Migration Department. The source does not state when the change takes effect.

Key facts

• Who is affected: foreigners holding Schengen visas issued by Lithuania or another Schengen country, and national visas issued by other countries.
• What changes: they cannot apply for a residence permit from inside Lithuania after landing a job or admission to a bachelor's degree programme.
• Extra hurdle: nationals of Ghana, India, Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Mongolia have no eligible overseas route for standard work-based residence permits.
• Application centres closed: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with effect from 1 November 2026.
• How to apply from abroad: submit documents through Lithuania's online immigration system, MIGRIS, before booking an appointment at an authorised VFS Global centre.

What is changing?

Under the revised rules, a person who entered Lithuania on a Schengen visa or on a national visa issued by another country cannot switch to a residence permit from within Lithuania after securing a job or a place in a bachelor's degree programme. The restriction covers Schengen visas whether they were issued by Lithuania or by another Schengen state.

Who is exempt?

The restrictions do not apply to everyone. Foreign nationals holding a valid Lithuanian residence permit, a Lithuanian national visa or a residence permit issued by another European Union (EU) or Schengen country may still submit applications from inside Lithuania. Highly qualified workers, including eligible applicants for the EU Blue Card, are also exempt, and foreigners already employed in Lithuania can continue to renew their residence permits through the established procedures.

Why are Indian nationals particularly affected?

The revised rules apply across nationalities, but citizens of Ghana, India, Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Mongolia face a separate problem: they currently have no eligible overseas application route for standard Lithuanian work-based residence permits. An analysis published by Deloitte Lithuania on 7 October 2026 said nationals of these five countries generally need an existing qualifying Lithuanian visa, or a residence permit from Lithuania or another EU or Schengen country, to lodge a standard employment-based application within Lithuania.

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

How do overseas applications work?

Lithuania expanded its overseas application services in October 2025, when new VFS Global centres opened in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Bosnia and Herzegovina. South Africa already offered Lithuanian application services, alongside India, the Philippines and several other countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Having a centre in a country does not mean every type of application is accepted there. Ghanaian nationals, for example, can use their centre for family reunification, highly skilled employment and approved higher education programmes — ordinary work-based residence permit applications are not accepted through that route.

Lithuania closed its external application centres in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 November 2026. Eligible applicants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan can instead use designated services in Azerbaijan, while Belarusian nationals applying for employment-based residence permits can submit applications through centres in Armenia and Georgia.

What this means for travellers

Indian workers and students planning to move to Lithuania should check their visa status and the applicable application route before travelling, since entering on a Schengen or foreign national visa may no longer allow a residence permit application from inside the country. Employers recruiting overseas workers need to confirm whether candidates qualify to apply within Lithuania or have access to an authorised overseas application centre.

Applicants required to apply from abroad must first file their documents through MIGRIS before booking an appointment at an authorised VFS Global centre. The source gives no start date for the residence permit restrictions themselves.