Hiring Nurses from Abroad in Lithuania: Employer Guide (2026)

7 min

Healthcare Staffing in Lithuania: Shortages, Regulations, and Reality

Lithuanian healthcare institutions, long-term care facilities, and private nursing homes face a persistent shortage of nursing staff. The deficit is particularly acute in major urban centers like Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaip&dotb;da, as well as in regional municipal hospitals (palaikomojo gydymo ir slaugos ligonin&dotb;s). However, employers considering non-EU recruitment must understand one critical barrier immediately: practicing as a licensed general practice nurse (bendrosios praktikos slaugytojas) in Lithuania requires state registration and proof of Lithuanian language proficiency at the C1 level. Because of this requirement, direct offshore hiring of fully autonomous non-EU nurses is rare and legally complex unless the candidate already possesses intermediate or advanced language skills.

To overcome this hurdle, realistic employers in Lithuania typically adopt a two-tier hiring strategy:

The Nursing Assistant Route: Candidates are recruited into lower-tier roles such as nursing assistant (slaugytojo pad&dotb;j&dotb;jas) or personal care worker (individualios prieži&umacron;ros darbuotojas). These roles have far lower regulatory entry barriers and allow immediate employment while candidates adjust to the workplace.
The Sponsored Upskilling Route: Employers hire foreign-trained nurses under assistant titles and sponsor intensive Lithuanian language classes alongside their shifts. Once the worker passes the required language exam and obtains diploma recognition from national authorities, they transition to full nursing roles.

If your facility requires immediate, independent nursing cover from day one without language preparation, non-EU recruitment will likely fail to meet your operational timelines. If you can accommodate an integration period, non-EU sourcing offers a sustainable talent pipeline for your staffing needs.

Legal Routes and Licensing: MIGRIS, Užimtumo Tarnyba, and Recognition

Immigration and professional licensing in Lithuania involve distinct government entities. You must ensure regulatory compliance across both tracks before an employee begins work.

The primary state authorities involved are:

Migracijos departamentas (Migration Department): Manages all visa and residency applications via the online MIGRIS system (migris.lt).
Užimtumo tarnyba (Employment Service): Oversees local labour market testing and issues work decisions when applicable.
VASPVT (Valstybin&dotb; akreditavimo sveikatos prieži&umacron;ros veiklai tarnyba): The State Health Care Accreditation Agency, which licenses healthcare professionals in Lithuania.
SKVC (Studij&umacron; kokyb&dotb;s vertinimo centras): The Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education, responsible for academic qualification recognition.

The immigration route depends on whether the requested position appears on the national shortage list (Tr&umacron;kstam&umacron; profesij&umacron; sąrašas), updated periodically by Užimtumo tarnyba. When a healthcare role is included on this list, the employer is exempt from performing a local labour market test. If the role is not listed, you must post the job opening on the Užimtumo tarnyba portal for a minimum specified period to demonstrate that no qualified Lithuanian or EU citizen is available to fill it.

Once local recruitment prerequisites are met, the employer submits an electronic mediation letter (tarpininkavimo raštas) through MIGRIS. The candidate then applies for a Temporary Residence Permit (Leidimas laikinai gyventi - TRP) based on employment. The worker must book an appointment at an authorized offshore VFS Global center or external service provider to present physical documents and register biometrics.

Timeline: From Job Offer to First Shift

A realistic hiring plan must account for qualification evaluation, visa processing, and relocation setup. The entire sequence usually spans 3 to 9 months depending on the position level and legal route.

The typical timeline proceeds as follows:

Qualification and Document Preparation (1 to 2 months): Collecting academic transcripts, police clearance certificates, and medical records. All official foreign documents must be apostilled or legalized and translated into Lithuanian by a certified translator.
Labour Market Clearance (1 to 3 weeks): If a labour market test is required, the vacancy must remain posted with Užimtumo tarnyba before filing immigration paperwork. If the title is on the shortage list, this step is bypassed.
MIGRIS Processing (1 to 2 months): The standard processing window for a Temporary Residence Permit is up to 2 months. An expedited procedure is available for an additional state fee, reducing processing time to approximately 1 month.
Consular Appointment and Travel (2 to 4 weeks): The candidate submits biometric data abroad, awaits permit approval, and arranges travel to Lithuania.
Onboarding and Workplace Registration (1 to 2 weeks): Upon arrival, the worker collects their physical TRP card, registers their residential address, undergoes mandatory workplace health checks, and registers with SoDra (the State Social Insurance Fund Board).

Pay, Working Conditions, and Sector Standards

Employment terms in Lithuania must comply strictly with the Labour Code (Darbo kodeksas) and applicable sector-level collective agreements (Sveikatos apsaugos šakos kolektyvin&dotb; sutartis). Foreign workers must receive equal pay and working conditions compared to local employees performing identical duties.

Current gross monthly pay standards in the Lithuanian healthcare sector generally fall within these ranges:

Licensed General Practice Nurse: €1,700 to €2,600 gross per month, depending on specialized experience, facility location, and night shift duties.
Nursing Assistant / Personal Care Worker: €1,150 to €1,500 gross per month for entry-level floor roles.

Salaries are subject to mandatory surcharges under the Labour Code for night shifts (minimum 1.5 times the base hourly rate), overtime (minimum 1.5 times base rate), and work on statutory holidays (double rate). Standard full-time work schedules are 40 hours per week, with shift patterns structured around 12-hour or 24-hour rotations common in inpatient facilities.

Employers are not legally obligated to provide permanent free housing. However, because foreign arrivals face administrative hurdles when attempting to rent privately without a Lithuanian credit history or personal identification number (asmens kodas), employers routinely provide temporary employer-sponsored housing for the first 1 to 3 months or offer a temporary relocation allowance.

What This Costs You, Roughly

Budgeting for non-EU healthcare recruitment involves several fixed administrative fees and variable operational costs per worker:

MIGRIS Mediation and TRP Processing Fees: €160 (standard) to €320 (urgent processing fee paid to the Migration Department).
Užimtumo Tarnyba Decision Fee (if applicable): Approximately €30 to €60 when market testing applies.
Document Translation and Legalization: €150 to €350 per candidate for certified Lithuanian translations and apostilles.
Qualification Recognition (SKVC / VASPVT): €50 to €150 in state administration charges.
Inbound Travel: €300 to €700 for direct flight tickets, depending on origin country.
Initial Housing Support: €300 to €800 per month for short-term initial accommodation or subsidized rent during arrival.

Worker Rights, Fees, and Employer Liability

Under Lithuanian labor legislation and international ethical recruitment standards, job seekers must never be charged fees for recruitment, permit applications, or workplace placements. Legitimate Lithuanian employers cover all administrative processing fees, official translation costs, and legal filing charges directly.

If an agency or intermediary demands payment from a candidate in exchange for a job offer or a Lithuanian residence permit, that candidate is being subjected to unlawful practice. Relying on agencies that charge candidates exposes your institution to severe regulatory sanctions, immediate permit revocations by Migracijos departamentas, and liability under human trafficking and labor exploitation statutes. Employers must verify that their supply chains remain clean, transparent, and fully candidate-funded zero-cost models.

How to Source Candidates on Workuro

If you have decided to recruit international healthcare workers directly, you can browse candidate profiles listed on Workuro. Workuro is a worker registry where healthcare professionals from non-EU regions publish their profiles to indicate their interest in relocating to Europe, including Lithuania.

Workuro operates as a direct contact database, not a recruitment agency. We do not act as an intermediary, we do not participate in employment negotiations, and we never collect per-hire placement fees from employers or job seekers. Your HR team contacts registered candidates directly, conducts independent technical interviews, evaluates qualification documents, and manages the MIGRIS filing internally or via your legal counsel.

Please note that our candidate registry is young and continuously growing. While you will find qualified nursing professionals and care assistants open to employment in Lithuania, profile availability varies by specialty and language skill. You can search the registry today, filter by healthcare background, and initiate contact with candidates directly at no cost to the worker.