How to Hire Foreign Security Guards in Lithuania (2026)

6 min

The shortage reality and regulatory obstacles in Lithuania

Industrial parks, logistics terminals, and commercial developments across Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipeda face a persistent deficit of physical security personnel. Expanding distribution centers near the A1 and A2 corridors require around-the-clock site monitoring, asset protection, and access control. However, before considering non-EU recruitment to fill these slots, Lithuanian employers must understand a critical legal distinction in national law.

In Lithuania, formal security personnel are governed by the Law on Security of Persons and Property (Apsaugos darbuotoju ir turto saugos istatymas). To act as an official, licensed security guard (apsaugos darbuotojas) with legal powers to detain trespassers, carry weapons, or manage regulated security systems, an individual must hold a official license issued by the Police Department (Policijos departamentas). Securing this license requires passing an examination conducted exclusively in the Lithuanian language, along with demonstrating state language proficiency. For a non-EU candidate arriving directly from abroad without prior Lithuanian language skills, obtaining a formal guard license from the outset is practically impossible.

Because of this barrier, direct foreign hiring for licensed security guard roles in Lithuania is very rare. Employers who recruit non-EU personnel for security operations generally do so under non-regulated titles, such as facility watchmen, gatekeepers, industrial site monitors, or yard controllers. These workers perform static observation, manage entry barriers, log vehicle movements, and report incidents to licensed mobile response teams or emergency services, but they do not exercise statutory security powers or carry firearms. If your operation requires fully licensed, armed, or certified security guards immediately upon arrival, you must source them locally or hire EU citizens. If your operational model allows for uncertified facility watchers, non-EU recruitment becomes a viable legal option.

The legal route: MIGRIS, Employment Service, and Police clearance

To employ a non-EU worker in Lithuania for site monitoring or security support, the employer must submit applications through the Lithuanian Migration Information System (MIGRIS), which is managed by the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior (Migracijos departamentas).

The legal process involves several mandatory steps and regulatory bodies:

Labor market test with the Employment Service: Before hiring a non-EU worker, you must report the vacancy to the Employment Service (Uzimtumo tarnyba). The position must remain open to Lithuanian and EU citizens for a mandatory period (typically 5 to 7 business days). If no suitable local candidate applies, you request a decision confirming that the hiring meets national labor market needs. If the specific job title appears on Lithuania's list of shortage occupations (trukstamu profesiju sarasas) published periodically by Uzimtumo tarnyba, the labor market test is waived. You must confirm current shortage listings directly with Uzimtumo tarnyba prior to recruiting.
Employer mediation letter: The employer creates and submits an electronic mediation letter (tarpininkavimo rastas) directly through the MIGRIS portal. This document specifies the candidate's personal details, job title, duties, proposed salary, and workplace location.
Temporary Residence Permit (TRP): The worker applies for a Temporary Residence Permit for employment purposes. Applications can be submitted at a VFS Global visa center abroad or directly at a Migration Department branch if the worker is legally present in Lithuania.
Police background check: Because security and asset protection roles involve property access, candidates must submit a certified, legalized, or apostilled police clearance certificate (pazyma del teistumo) from their home country covering the past several years. The Migration Department evaluates background checks closely for any history of criminal convictions.

Timeline from job offer to arrival on site

Planning foreign recruitment requires realistic lead times. You cannot bring a non-EU site watcher to Lithuania in a few weeks. The realistic timeline spans three to six months from the day you sign an employment offer to the day the worker begins their first shift.

Step 1: Vacancy posting and Uzimtumo tarnyba clearance (2 to 3 weeks): Drafting job descriptions, posting the position on the Employment Service system, waiting for the mandatory notification period, and receiving the decision on labor market conformity.
Step 2: MIGRIS submission and document preparation (2 to 4 weeks): Gathering sworn translations, apostilles on background checks, passport copies, and submitting the electronic mediation letter on MIGRIS.
Step 3: Biometrics and TRP processing (2 to 3 months): The worker books an appointment at an external service provider abroad (such as VFS Global) to submit biometric data. Standard processing for a Temporary Residence Permit by Migracijos departamentas takes up to 2 months, though an expedited 1-month processing option is available for an extra statutory fee.
Step 4: Arrival, registration, and onboarding (1 to 2 weeks): Upon arrival in Lithuania, the worker registers their place of residence, completes mandatory occupational safety and health (DSS) training, receives site-specific instructions, and begins work.

Pay rates, night differentials, and housing obligations

Employment terms for non-EU workers in Lithuania are monitored by the State Labour Inspectorate (Valstybine darbo inspekcija - VDI) to ensure compliance with the Lithuanian Labour Code (Darbo kodeksas).

Employers must observe strict financial and legal minimums:

Salary requirements: You must pay foreign workers at least the statutory minimum monthly wage (Minimalioji menesine alga - MMA) if the role is unskilled, but standard market rates for facility watchers and site monitors in major hubs range from 1,100 EUR to 1,600 EUR gross per month. Furthermore, Lithuanian law requires that foreign workers be paid a salary not lower than local employees performing equivalent work at the same company.
Night work and overtime premiums: Security shifts frequently run 12 or 24 hours and cover night hours (22:00 to 06:00). Under the Labour Code, work performed at night must be compensated at a minimum of 1.5 times the worker's standard hourly rate. Overtime and holiday shifts carry additional statutory multipliers (1.5 to 2 times the standard rate).
Working and rest time regulations: Shift patterns must strictly abide by statutory maximums. Total working time including overtime cannot exceed 48 hours per seven-day period, or 60 hours in specialized shift regimes, with mandatory continuous daily and weekly rest periods.
Housing obligations: Employers are not legally required to pay for worker housing in this sector, but you must ensure the candidate has a formal declaration of residence (gyvenamosios vietos deklaracija) to complete their MIGRIS registration. In practice, logistics companies and security firms that successfully retain non-EU workers often provide employer-leased apartments or dormitory rooms, deducting a reasonable, documented fee from net pay or providing accommodation as an operational subsidy.

What this costs you, roughly

Recruiting a foreign worker involves non-recoverable administrative and operational overhead. Employers should budget within the following estimated cost lines:

Uzimtumo tarnyba decision fee: 28 EUR to 35 EUR per application (when a labor market test is required).
MIGRIS state fees for Temporary Residence Permit: 160 EUR for standard processing; 320 EUR for expedited processing.
Legalization and sworn translations: 100 EUR to 250 EUR per worker for official translation of police clearances and educational certificates into Lithuanian.
External biometrics provider service fees: 30 EUR to 50 EUR paid at overseas application centers.
Travel costs: 250 EUR to 600 EUR for one-way airfare, depending on the worker's country of origin.
Initial housing setup: 300 EUR to 600 EUR per worker (covering initial rental deposits and basic furnishings).

Protecting your business against recruitment fraud

Under Lithuanian law and international labor standards, a legitimate employer or recruitment partner never requires a worker to pay money to secure a job offer, work permit, or contract. Charging candidates illegal placement fees, charging exorbitant upfront sums for documentation, or requiring kickbacks creates severe legal liabilities for your business.

If a third-party recruiter or agency charges candidates fees to secure employment with your Lithuanian company, those candidates are being defrauded. Workers who arrive carrying heavy personal debt from illegal recruitment fees present severe operational risks, including high turnover, vulnerability to forced labor indicators, and low morale. The State Labour Inspectorate actively inspects workplaces for exploitation practices. Ensure your recruitment pipeline is direct and transparent, and state explicitly in all job offers that employment at your company is completely free of charge to the worker.

How to find security candidates on Workuro

Workuro operates a direct candidate registry where foreign workers, including individuals with backgrounds in site guarding, facility monitoring, military service, and access control, publish their profiles. These candidates explicitly indicate their interest in relocating to Europe for work.

As an employer in Lithuania, you can search the registry using filters for work experience, language abilities, and preferred job roles. You contact workers directly through their profile details to evaluate their background, discuss your specific operational setups, and conduct video interviews. Workuro is not a recruitment agency, does not charge per-hire placement fees, and takes no commission on signed contracts. The employer retains full control over interviewing, background checking, and administrative filings with Migracijos departamentas.

Please note that the Workuro registry is young and still growing. Depending on current candidate availability, you may find candidates immediately ready for site watcher roles or you may need to check back regularly as new profiles are added. Check the current candidate listings directly on Workuro, reach out to applicants who match your requirements, and verify all regulatory and immigration details with the Lithuanian Migration Department before making formal offers.