Work in Lithuania | Everything you need to know

Lithuania is a picturesque country lying by the Baltic Sea in northeastern Europe. Welcoming nationals and an economy open for internationals make it a good place to go and start to live and work abroad. Country of green cities, blue lakes and dense forests with affordable costs of living where expats are respected part of the society. 

If you already would like to know what job opportunities are currently available in Lithuania, check our Job offers in Lithuania. To get to know more about perks related to living and working in Lithuania, read this article. It should answer most of your questions. 

Basic Facts

The Republic of Lithuania is a country with an area of 65,300 km2 . The population of almost 2.8 million people speaks Lithuanian on a daily basis. The capital city is Vilnius, currency, euro (€). Climate is semi-continental, which means that in Lithuania winters are cold and summers are a little bit rainy. 

5 Curiosities about Lithuania

1. Every year for Saint Patrick’s Day the river in Vilnius is dyed bright green! 
2. The most popular sport in Lithuania is basketball. The most famous Lithuanian who has got into the NBA league was Arvydas Sabonis
3. The scent of Lithuania is an aroma with main notes of ginger, wildflowers, raspberry and sandalwood. 
4. Lithuanians celebrate two independence days! One on 16th February and the second, the Day of the Restoration of Independence, on 11th March.
5. When visiting a nationals’ home, bring an odd number of flowers. Even numbers of flowers will bring misfortune to the household. 

Proud Culture in Lithuania 

Lithuania is a country with unique traditions and a rich history. There are many thighs nationals are proud of about their motherland. For example language. Lithuanian is one of the oldest languages in Europe, and as soon as 3 million people know how to speak it. Other aspects Lithuanians care for a lot are family, freedom (there is no wonder, they have two independence days!) and… internet access. In Lithuania, you can enjoy fast, easy and cheap internet access all over the country. It’s 4th Europe fastest network. Talking about Lithuanians culture, we cannot skip basketball. There, it’s something more than just sport. Walking around the city you can see people playing basketball on the streets. Lithuanian national team’s competitive record is really impressive.

Most of the society speaks English, however, it’s still good to learn some basic words or sentences in Lithuanian. It will help you to get around better and feel more like home in a new place. Lithuanians are a beer and sport-loving nation, so if you like doing sport, especially outdoors, they really like nature, or going to the bar in the evening making new friends shouldn’t be a big problem. 

Cuisine in Lithuania  

Talking about the culture you cannot forget about cuisine. No matter if you are going just for a quick holiday, or you plan to stay for longer, you have to try food in Lithuania. Lithuanian cuisine is hardly ever spicy. For seasoning most often used are herbs like e.g. caraway or drill. During your stay, you can taste everything from traditional dishes to modern compositions. Typical ingredients are potatoes, beets or wild mushrooms. The cuisine is very hard-warming with wholesome local ingredients. 

Some of the most popular dishes you can find in local cuisine are

1. Cepelinai (potato dumplings filled with meat)
2. Cold beetroot soup
3. Žirniai su Spirgučiais (peas with cracklings)
4. Kepta duona (fried bread with garlic served live fries)
5. Potato pancakes

Work in Lithuania 

Lithuania is a little country that doesn’t have a huge expat community, but this is due to not many people knowing about the benefits regarding life and work in this beautiful country. The average salary is about €1050 and the cost of living is low. Working hours are 8 hours per day, 5 days a week but the dinner hour is not paid, you get 21 days of paid vacation that must be working days, which means that weekends don’t count, making sure at least 4 weeks of vacation, and if you work 6 days a week, then this increase to 24 days. Lithuanians are open to receiving foreigners especially in work environments because they consider this is a key fact for a growing economy and they are very polite.

Lithuania work culture is focused on politeness, they appreciate you arrive meetings on time and respect each other, they also value business relationships as the very beginning of friendships, they like to take time to know each other and it’s better to avoid awkward questions about salary or family, if you’re honest while building relationships with your colleagues, you’ll succeed in to have a spot in the Lithuanians heart just like that.

Work in Vilnius

Vilnius has that youthful energy looking for many expats to live with, also with their security laws about work makes it more attractive to foreigners. The IT technology companies are prompt to hire expats and offer many good benefits, but also as an expat you can find job offers teaching and science and research. There’s a thing with coffee in Lithuania, so especially in Vilnius, you will see many coffee shops to spend your free time between working hours.

Taxes in Lithuania 

Once you are a resident in Lithuania, you need to go to the register in order to obtain your tax identification number, you can check HERE for more information. After this, you’re ready to start making contributions and your salary is registered to pay at the end of the fiscal year around 20% for those amounts not exceeding €90,246.

Finding accommodation in Lithuania

Most of the accommodation places available for rent in the city are apartment blocks, further on the suburbs more often you can meet detached houses and both types are affordable. Costs of accommodation aren’t high, the same applies to costs of living in general. For a one bedroom apartment in the city centre of the capital city, you would have to pay around €560 – €700.  

You should start to look for a place to stay before you will leave. Of course, you can live in hotels and airbnb’s for a while but it will be a significant part of your budget you will have to think about. To look for an apartment online it’s useful to go through pages like this one: https://m.en.aruodas.lt/butu-nuoma/vilniuje/. You can also join Facebook groups related to finding and renting properties. Sometimes people are looking for a roommate, maybe it’s a good idea to move in with a flatmate. 

Be sure to prepare all documents needed beforehand, and read the lease before you will sign it. Also, don’t pay anybody any money unless you have already signed papers. Finding accommodation remotely is not an easy task, so take your time and look at more than a few offers. 

Living cost in Lithuania

As previously mentioned, living costs in Lithuania are low compared to other European countries. Earnings are also slightly lower, however, while living and working in Lithuania, the balance between income and expenses is nicely kept. Despite low costs of goods and services, the tax rate is the lowest in Europe. 

Below you can see how are the exemplary everyday expenses: 

* Prices can vary depending on the neighbourhood, the number of people living in the apartment and facilities.

**Depends greatly on your diet and which shops you buy food and drinks from.

Expats in Lithuania

Even when the expat community in Lithuania is small, those who choose to live in this beautiful country have fell for its charming energy and peaceful vibe. Lithuania has that wonderful merge between historical places and cosmopolitan cities without the fuss of being always at rush, but don’t get confused, is not boring at all, there’s always something to do in Lithuania, especially if you live in the capital city Vilnius, there are always concerts, art exhibitions, sporting events, opera, ballet, and many things this place has to offer. If you want to find your place in Lithuania, there are several groups and websites about expats there, so allow yourself to be charmed by this country.

Where to Learn Lithuanian?

Despite the fact that most of the society speaks English, in most business environments basic knowledge of the Lithuanian language is required. Buy hey! Even though you would be able to handle everyday life using only the English language, the national language helps you to dive deeper into the culture and traditions of the country you live in. And you can be sure your new Lithuanian friends will help you with pleasure.

After your arrival to Lithuania, you are entitled to take a part in a free language course. If you would like to know more see this website: studyin.lt/learn-lithuanian/. For those who really can’t wait are online courses. You can find both paid and unpaid ones on the internet and start even today.

As with most Slavic languages, the beginning can be a little bit hard, but everyday practice in a grocery store, at work or in the queue will make you more confident. It will also improve your professional skills and open more opportunities in Lithuanian market.

Why Here

Lithuania is a great place to work, open for expats who are treated with respect. With low costs of living, fair earnings and a healthy and clean environment you can develop in an aimed direction. Communication with the rest of Europe is fast and easy, you can fly directly to over 57 airports so the world still would be within reach. Moreover, the English language is commonly known by society. Now when you know what are the biggest advantages of living and working in Lithuania you are welcome to take a look at our Job offers in Vilnius. If you still have any questions, contact us by clicking HERE.