What does it mean – a critical profession in Lithuania?
Critical professions list is established by Order V-255 from 10 July 2020. It includes a wife list of professions related jobs on construction and in industry fields such as Concrete worker, Welder, Gas welder, Steel structure fitter, Electrician, Steel structure fitter, General machinist, Butcher, Tailor, Knitwear worker, International commercial vehicle driver (Categories C, CE).
You can get a national visa if you come to work (not for a job requiring high professional qualifications) and have a profession that is included in the list of critical skills in the Republic of Lithuania by type of economic activity.
You must submit the following documents for your national visa:
1. a request for the issue of a national visa, completed by electronic means for completing the application.
The application must be completed in Latin characters, printed and submitted together with the documents for a visa. You can fill in the application on the website: https://visa.vrm.lt/epm.
2. valid travel document;
A valid travel document must meet the following requirements:
- must be issued in the last ten years;
- must contain at least two blank pages;
- Travel document validity term must be at least 3 months longer than the requested visa validity term.
3. 1 colour photo (35×45 mm);
4. employer’s electronic mediation letter (the number of mediation letter must be indicated for the visa service);
The mediation letter is provided through the Information system of public services related to the issue of personal and other documents, consultations for citizens in the Republic of Lithuania and aliens (EPIS).
5. contract of employment;
6. a document certifying your qualifications;
This document must be legalized or certified by Apostille in accordance with the law, except for the document issued in Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, or Moldova.
7. Document on sufficient means of subsistence (e.g., relevant statement from bank account or employment contract);
Subsistence means the amount of 1 minimum monthly salary for one month, the amount for return to the country of origin or a foreign country to which you have the right to travel, the amount of funds – 1 minimum monthly salary.
8. Health insurance document, valid during the stay in Lithuania and in all the Schengen countries(if a mediation letter is submited no health insurance document is needed. VISA services has right to require submiting this document).
Health insurance must guarantee the reimbursement of the necessary medical expenses, as defined in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Health, and expenses that may arise due to the return of the alien to a foreign state for health reasons (transportation, including escort of a personal health care specialist (specialists)). The sum insured must be at least EUR 30,000.
9. copy of valid temporary or permanent residence permit in Ukraine, refugee certificate or certificate of a person in need for complementary (subsidiary) protection;
10. documents confirming ties with Ukraine (documents confirming marital status, certificate of employment, certificate of educational institution, documents on the activities of an individual company, etc.);
You have to pay a fee – EUR 120.
If you are exempt from this fee in the cases provided by law, you must provide documents confirming these circumstances.
For the issue of a national visa, you must apply to the Lithuanian Visa Service in a foreign country or through an external service provider’s visa application centre.
The decision to issue a national visa is made within 15 calendar days from the date of the request. This period may be extended by up to 45 calendar days.
Important:
the national visa is issued for a maximum of one year;
the national visa is issued for a period of at least 91 days;
if you have been issued with a multiple-entry national visa for one year, you may be issued with another multiple-entry national visa if more than 180 days had expired from your previous visa or the total validity period of all visas you had. The total period of validity of several multiple-entry national visas must be counted from the date of issue of the previous multiple-entry national visa, if less than 180 days have elapsed since the expiry of its validity;
if you are holding a multiple-entry national visa, valid for 1 year or several multiple-entry national visas with a total validity of 1 year, and intending to apply for a temporary residence permit, in order to stay in Lithuania during the consideration of the application will have to submit this application in advance – 2 to 4 months before the expiry of the actual national visa.