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Contents
In brief
The country
- 3
2.9 million people, output per head at 87% of the EU average
- 4
Deaths outnumber births; net migration sets the change
Where the market is now
- 5
Permits more than doubled in 2023, then eased
- 6
Third in the EU per resident, fourth with Portugal's 2025 count
- 7
Belarus leads, Uzbekistan and the Philippines are rising
- 8
Permits for Central Asia rose, those for Ukraine fell
- 9
Quota used up, 181,000 fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041
The outlook
- 10
About 41,800 permits in 2026, between 25,800 and 63,400
- 11
Origin shares after the filing closure, and the drivers
- 11
What could change this
Method and sources
- 12
How to read this report
- 12
Sources, photographs and flags
Cover: Vilnius at sunset, with Gediminas Tower above the old town. Photograph by Gantas Vaičiulėnas, Pexels.
Lithuania issues far more first residence permits for work for its size than Latvia and Estonia. In 2025 it issued 42,030 to citizens of countries outside the EU, 6.1 percent fewer than in 2024 but more than twice the 18,395 of 2019: 24.2 for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64, the third highest rate in the EU, or fourth with Portugal's 2025 count after its series break, against 4.9 across the EU and 3.9 in Latvia. The seven sourcing centres of Werklist received 33.3 percent. The quota of temporary residence permits for work, 24,830 in 2025, was used up on 2 December; the 2026 quota of 24,706 on 7 September. From 1 November 2026 applications can no longer be filed in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, whose citizens received 13,218 permits in 2025. We expect about 41,800 permits in 2026; for 2027 the range is too wide for a yearly number, and the direction is flat. In 2031 the central line holds near 41,800 a year and the line Filing closed gives 28,700, both lines on stated assumptions.
First residence permits for work issued in 2025
Permits in 2026, between 25,800 and 63,400
Permits a year in 2031, the central line, a stated assumption; filing closed 28,700
Fewer people aged 20 to 64 by 2041
2.9 million people, output per head at 87% of the EU average
Lithuania has 2.9 million people, 39,052 fewer than in 2015. Deaths outnumber births, and more people arrived than left in every year since 2019; the population grew in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and fell by 3,072 in 2025. Counting lower prices at home, output per head rose from 75 to 87 percent of the EU average. On Eurostat's 2025 projection the number of people aged 20 to 64 falls 10.5 percent by 2041.
People living in Lithuania on 1 January 2026
1.3 percent fewer than in 2015, and 0.6 percent of the EU's 452.0 million. People aged 65 and over were 20.9 percent of the population in 2025.
GDP in 2025, billion euro at current prices
0.4 percent of the EU economy.
GDP per head in 2025
70 percent of the EU average of 41,700 euro in 2025. Counting lower prices at home, 87 percent, up from 75 percent in 2015.
Real growth in 2025
Against 1.4 percent across the EU. Over 2021 to 2025 the economy grew 16.4 percent in all, the EU grew 13.7 percent (our estimate from the yearly rates).
People aged 20 to 64 in work, 2025
Against 76.1 percent across the EU.
The quota runs out earlier
Sources: Eurostat, demo_gind (population, updated 21 July 2026), nama_10_gdp and nama_10_pc (GDP, updated 21 September 2026), tec00114 (price adjusted GDP per head), tec00115 (growth), lfsi_emp_a (employment), demo_pjanbroad (age). All retrieved 27 September 2026. Figures for 2025 GDP, GDP per head and growth are provisional. Key dates: Migration Department of Lithuania, notices of 2 December 2025 and 7 September 2026.
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Belarus
Uzbekistan
Tajikistan
India
Kyrgyzstan
The Philippines
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan
Türkiye
Bangladesh
Nepal
Vietnam
IndonesiaWhat this report answers
How many first residence permits for work has Lithuania issued each year since 2019?
42,030 in 2025, 6.1% fewer than the 44,742 of 2024 but more than twice the 18,395 of 2019. Permits more than doubled in 2023, to 46,920, then eased.
Which countries do the new hires come from, and which are growing?
Belarus leads with 9,395 permits in 2025, down from 13,548, ahead of Uzbekistan with 7,960, which is rising. The Philippines rose from 394 to 2,344 and India to 3,296, while Ukraine fell to less than half its 2024 number.
How does Lithuania compare with its neighbours per resident?
24.2 first residence permits for work for every 1,000 residents aged 20 to 64 in 2025, the third highest rate in the EU, or fourth with Portugal's 2025 count after its series break: five times the EU's 4.9, against 3.9 in Latvia and 1.4 in Estonia.
Which rules apply to employers who hire from abroad?
A yearly quota of temporary residence permits for work, 24,706 for 2026, used up on 7 September. Since then a permit needs a monthly wage of at least 1.2 times the latest yearly average gross wage, and from 1 November 2026 applications can no longer be filed in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
How is the working age population changing?
Eurostat projects 1,724,294 people aged 20 to 64 in 2026 and 1,543,135 in 2041: about 181,000 fewer, a fall of 10.5 percent.
How many first residence permits for work do we expect Lithuania to issue in 2026, and what comes after?
About 41,800 in 2026, between 25,800 and 63,400, with the 2026 quota of 24,706 used up on 7 September. For 2027 the direction is flat. In 2031 the central line holds near 41,800 a year and the line Filing closed gives 28,700, both lines on stated assumptions.
The full report answers each question with its figures, charts and sources. Request the full report