The United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union. The post-Brexit transition period, which had been set to last until the end of 2020, ended on 31 December 2020. From the start of 2021, citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) in Lithuania will be considered as third-country nationals and divided into two categories:

• Persons who obtained the right to reside in Lithuania by 31 December 2020 (those holding an EU Residence Certificate);
• Persons who did not obtain the right to reside in Lithuania by 31 December 2020 (not holding an EU Residence Certificate).

EU Residence Certificates issued to UK citizens and their family members by 31 December 2020 are valid until their date of expiration; however, as of 1 January 2021, such certificates will not grant the right of free movement of persons in the Schengen area. UK citizens who obtained EU Residence Certificates by 31 December 2020 can continue to live and work in Lithuania without work permits or additional documents and employers are not required to terminate employment contracts with said persons. However, UK citizens who have been granted the right to reside in Lithuania as EU citizens and intend to continue to reside in Lithuania and travel in the Schengen area are recommended to apply, from 1 January 2021 onwards, for another document at the Migration Department, i.e. a temporary or permanent Lithuanian residence permit. UK citizens’ family members who are not EU citizens are required to do this within 3 months, i.e. by the end of March 2021.

The situation is more complicated when a Lithuanian employer only intends to hire a UK citizen who did not obtain the right to reside in Lithuania by 31 December 2020 (does not hold an EU Residence Certificate). In such cases, the employer ought to be aware that a UK citizen can be employed only when said person obtains a national visa (D) or a temporary Lithuanian residence permit. Until one of the aforementioned documents is obtained, a UK citizen’s employment in Lithuania is considered illegal, with fines payable by the employer. UK citizens do not need to obtain work permits for Lithuania and open job vacancies do not need to be registered with the Employment Services.

It should be noted that both UK citizens and their family members who want to change their EU Residence Certificate into temporary Lithuanian residence permits as well as UK citizens who do not hold an EU Residence Certificate but intend to work in Lithuania are required to contact the Migration Department via MIGRIS electronic migration service and fill out an application form for a temporary Lithuanian residence permit. MIGRIS application forms can be filled out either in Lithuanian or in English at www.migracija.lt. Once the application form is filled out and all required documents are attached, the system allows the applicant to submit the form and select a specific date and time for the UK citizen’s and/or their family member’s appointment with the Migration Department at a specified location in Lithuania.

However, certain subtleties must be known when filling out the application form on the Migration Department website and foreigners’ applications with errors are rejected; therefore, foreigners are recommended to seek advice from legal professionals or knowledgeable representatives of their employer, who can help them to fill out the form without errors. Upon arrival at the migration institution at the specified time, foreigners are being photographed and must give their fingerprints, so they ought to be physically present at said institution themselves. Migration officials inspect all document originals, which means that applicants should bring those with them.

Temporary residence permits for UK citizens and their family members are issued on a preferential basis compared with other third-country nationals (e.g. Ukraine or Belarus citizens). UK citizens and their family members are regarded as citizens of the so-called advanced economies (G7), along with citizens of Australia, Japan, the United States of America, Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand, which is why temporary Lithuanian residence permits for them or their family members are issued in an expedited and simplified manner and remain valid for a longer period of time. For UK citizens and their family members: temporary residence permits will be granted free of charge; temporary residence permits will be issued within 1 month; temporary residence permits will remain valid for 5 years, instead of 3 years.