Lithuania details employer-change checks for work-permit holders

Third-country nationals who hold a Lithuanian employment-based temporary residence permit and lose their job now work under a two-track employer-change regime.E TAR The amended procedure separates workers who already hold permission to change employer from workers who notify an intended changeE TAR, and it writes the statutory unemployment ceilings directly into the Migration Department's checks.

A worker whose employment contract has ended but who was already allowed to change employer is checked against the requirements of Article 44(10) of the Law on the Legal Status of AliensE TAR: the authorised officer verifies in the VSDFV IS whether the employer was changed in compliance with those requirementsE TAR, and a non-compliant change triggers the permit-revocation procedure of point 130 of the Procedure DescriptionE TAR. A worker who notifies an intended employer change under Article 44(8) is checked on two pointsE TAR. First, whether the notification under Article 36(1)(3) reached the Migration Department within the 10-working-day statutory termE TAR; a late notification triggers the point-130 procedureE TAR. Second, where the notification was timely, whether continuous unemployment during the permit's validity exceeds 3 monthsE TAR for a worker who held the Article 44(1)(2) or (3) permit for less than 2 years on the day the employment ended, or 6 months for a worker who held it for more than 2 yearsE TAR; exceeding the ceiling likewise triggers the point-130 procedureE TAR.

The early-employment check in point 129(2) is restated around the same notification. Where a permit was issued or changed on Article 44(1)(2) or (3) or Article 44(1) grounds, or the Department has authorised an employer changeE TAR, the officer looks 2 months after the permit's issuance or the authorisation decision for VSDFV IS records of employmentE TAR. Absent employment data, the point-130 procedure follows — except where the foreigner filed the Article 44(8) intended-change notification within the Article 36(1) termE TAR.

Notifications move into MIGRIS on a new standard form. Article 44(1)(2) and (3) permit holders file the Article 36(1)(3) notification through MIGRIS with the data in new Annex 10, while other foreigners use Annex 8 or 9. Annex 10 collects the foreigner's personal data — Lithuanian personal code, name, date of birth, citizenship and current permit details — the chosen ground, and an acknowledgement that after employment ends the worker may apply for an employer change within 3 months where the permit had been held for less than 2 years, or within 6 months where it had been held for 2 years or moreE TAR.

The statutory backbone is the May 2026 restatement of Articles 36, 44 and 50 of the Law on the Legal Status of AliensE TAR: the 10-working-day notification dutyE TAR, the 3- and 6-month windows to seek an employer changeE TAR, and the revocation ground where the contract ends without a timely notification or unemployment exceeds those ceilingsE TAR. Point 130 itself requires the Department, once a revocation ground under Article 50(1)(1)–(13) or (15)–(21) or Article 106 emerges with supporting material, to examine the fileE TAR and adopt a reasoned decision to revoke or not within 14 calendar daysE TAR, extending a linked family member's revocation unless that member holds another legal basis for residenceE TAR.

Legal basis: Order No. 1V-757E TAR of 12 October 2026E TAR amending Order No. 1V-329E TAR approving the Description of the Procedure for Issuing Temporary Residence Permits to Aliens in the Republic of LithuaniaE TAR, implementing Articles 28(5), 34(1)(4), 43(4) and 45(5) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens (Leidimų laikinai gyventi Lietuvos Respublikoje užsieniečiams išdavimo tvarkos aprašas, points 128, 128(1), 129(2), 145 and Annex 10).