What is an e-resident?
Republic of Lithuania Law on the Legal Status of Aliens (hereinafter – the Law) Article 2 (141) provides the definition of this term. Electronic resident of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – e. resident) – an alien who seeks to use the administrative, public or commercial services provided by electronic (remote) means in the Republic of Lithuania and who has been granted an e. resident status.
An alien may take advantage of the possibilities offered by resident status when:
1) he or she has been granted an e. resident status and
2) an electronic identification and electronic signature tool has been issued.
In addition to the Law, the granting of e. resident status, submission of required documents and other aspects are regulated in detail by the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania October 29, 2020, order no. 1V-1106 on the approval of the Description of the Procedure for Granting the Status of an Electronic Resident of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - the Description).
Currently the e. resident services are not fully functional.
The first services offered to e. residents (from 21/06/2021) – possibility to connect to the Electronic Government Gateway and sign documents by e-signature, as well as to connect to the Lithuanian Migration Information System (hereinafter – MIGRIS) through the Electronic Government Gateway. The range of services provided to e-residents will be gradually expanded in order to enable e-residents ways to develop business relations, establish and manage a company, perform financial operations, receive other services relevant to aliens by digital means.
How to obtain the e. resident status?
An alien must apply for such status. Article 1402 (1) of the Law establishes that the alien's request to grand the e. resident status is submitted to the Migration Department. An alien staying abroad submits the application through the chosen external service provider, and an alien staying legally in the Republic of Lithuania – personally to the Migration Department.
Currently, the selected external service provider with whom the Ministry of Foreign Affairs[1] of the Republic of Lithuania has concluded an agreement is VF Services (UK) Ltd[2].
Point 6 of the Description provides that an alien who seeks to acquire the status of an e. resident, the application in Lithuanian or English shall be submitted through MIGRIS[3], submitting the data specified in the Annex to the Description. The alien must attach a digital copy of the personal data sheet of a valid travel document to the application.
Digital applications will be submitted through MIGRIS at www.migracija.lt. The application form has not yet been posted in Migration Department. In the application, the alien's name (s) and surname (s) shall be written in capital letters in Latin characters without side (diacritic) signs, ligatures and other modifications of the letters of the Latin alphabet according to the Latin entries in the travel document. An alien may write his / her name (s) and surname (s) according to the Latin entries of the travel document in those Latin characters with diacritics that are in the Lithuanian alphabet: ą, ę, į, ų, ū, ė, č, š, ž. The following characters may be used when writing the name (s) and surname (s): “.”, “’” and “()” (Description, p. 7).
Decision on the granting of e. resident status will be accepted immediately upon the alien's physical arrival at the Migration Department (in Lithuania). During the visit, production of a e. resident card shall be ordered (the card is produced within 5 days). Currently (June 21, 2021) it will be possible to withdraw the card only in the branches of the Migration Department in Lithuania. Card fee: 90 euros.
In 2022, it is planned to provide the e. resident service to persons living abroad as well (external service centers will not be operational yet).
From the 21st of June, 2021, only foreigners legally present in Lithuania will be able to submit a request to the Migration Department in order to obtain the e-resident status (foreigners who are not physically legally present in Lithuania will be able to apply only from 2022).
Other details regarding the formal procedures of the submission of the request, the grounds of rejection of the application and other related questions shall be discussed individually with the person who wishes to obtain the e-resident status.
ILAW LEXTAL consults and provides assistance in acquiring the e-resident status.
