Student visa guide
Lithuania student visa 2026: cost, requirements and how to apply
The Temporary residence permit for studies costs $92 in fees nobody can skip, up to $144 if every situational extra applies.
By Global Admissions Editorial · Checked against 6 official sources
How much does a Lithuania student visa cost in 2026?
Applying for a student visa in Lithuania on the Temporary residence permit for studies costs $92 in fees you cannot skip: Temporary residence permit for studies, state fee ($92). Situational extras (external service provider fee, re-personalizing the card during its validity and health insurance with EUR 6,000 of cover) add up to $52 more. Tuition, living costs and proof-of-funds sit outside this total. All amounts are US dollars, last checked September 2026.
Temporary residence permit for studies cost breakdown
Every line the Lithuania application puts on your card, in US dollars, as of September 2026.
Amounts are US dollars. Lithuania bills in its own currency, so the exact charge moves with the exchange rate. The native figures are in the notes column where the fee schedule publishes them.
Things to watch
- Lithuania charges no visa fee to degree students because it issues them no visa: the EUR 140 national visa fee applies to exchange students and other categories, and the residence permit replaces it.
- The state fee is waived once for the post-study job-search permit, so a graduate who stays pays nothing to the department for that step.
- Euro figures convert at USD 1 = EUR 0.871, the ExchangeRate-API rate on 18 September 2026.
How much bank balance do you need for a Lithuania student visa?
For the Temporary residence permit for studies, Lithuania asks you to show EUR 6,918 (about $7,946). The accepted form is Bank statement or proof of regular income, held for a year, and it covers Twelve months at half the minimum monthly wage, EUR 576.50 a month in 2026. This is money you show, not money you pay, so it never appears in the fee table above. The figure comes from Migration Department: Means of subsistence a foreigner must declare (half the minimum wage for students), checked September 2026.
Migration Department: Means of subsistence a foreigner must declare (half the minimum wage for students) · checked September 2026
Lithuania student visa requirements and documents checklist
7 documents every applicant provides.
| Document | Who needs it | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| A mediation letter filed by your university in MIGRIS | everyone | The higher education institution fills in and submits an electronic mediation letter, and your application quotes its number. Without that letter there is nothing for the Migration Department to examine. source |
| A residence permit application, not a national visa | everyone | Since 1 July 2023 national visas are no longer issued to full-time students coming to study at Lithuanian higher education institutions. Degree students apply straight for a temporary residence permit, from abroad through the Migration Department's external service provider or, where they are legally in Lithuania, at the department itself. source |
| Funds at half the minimum wage for every month of the first year | everyone | A student proves EUR 576.50 a month in 2026, which is 0.5 of the EUR 1,153 minimum monthly wage. The means have to be sufficient for one year, so the first permit needs EUR 6,918 in evidence. source |
| Health insurance with EUR 6,000 of cover | everyone | The residence permit file needs a document confirming health insurance for at least EUR 6,000. The EUR 30,000 policy belongs to the national visa route that students no longer use. source |
| Somewhere to live, on paper | everyone | You submit a document confirming accommodation where you intend to declare your place of residence, and once the permit is issued you have to make that declaration. source |
| Criminal record certificates for the last two years, on the first permit | everyone | A first temporary residence permit needs certificates from the competent authorities of the countries you have lived in during the last two years confirming whether you were convicted there, together with a list of your trips and stays abroad. source |
| Biometrics: two fingerprints and a facial image | everyone | The card is personalized from two fingerprints and a facial image taken when you submit the file, and a minor adds the consent of a parent, guardian or other legal representative. source |
How to apply for a Lithuania student visa
- Get admitted and wait for the university's mediation letter
The institution submits the mediation letter electronically through MIGRIS. Your own application, filled in on migracija.lt, refers to its number.
source - Book the external service provider abroad and submit the file
Foreigners outside Lithuania submit temporary residence permit applications through VFS Global centers chosen by the Migration Department. From 1 November 2026 a foreigner inside Lithuania on a Schengen visa or another state's national visa can no longer file a study permit at the department and has to use those centers too.
source - Pay the EUR 80 state fee
A foreigner admitted to a study program or a doctoral program at a Lithuanian research and study institution pays EUR 80 for the examination and issue of the permit, half the EUR 160 general rate. Students coming under international agreements pay nothing.
source - Allow up to three months for the decision
The decision on a temporary residence permit is taken within three months at the latest. If you are abroad when it is positive you are issued a single-entry national visa to travel and collect the permit at the department's central office.
source - Collect the card, declare your address, and report changes within ten working days
Holders declare their place of residence once the permit is granted, and since 22 May 2026 have ten working days, up from seven, to notify a new passport, a change of family status where the permit rests on it, or a move to an equivalent program at another institution.
source - Renew two to four months before the permit ends
The first permit runs two years or the length of the studies if shorter, and in the final year it is issued for three months beyond the expected end. A renewal in the general order is filed at least two months and at most four months before expiry, and decided within two months.
source
Lithuania student visa processing time
A temporary residence permit is decided within three months at the latest. A renewal is decided within two months, or one month on the urgent track that carries a higher fee.
EU Immigration Portal: Student in Lithuania · checked September 2026
Lithuania student visa work rights, dependants and what comes after
Work rights
Amendments in force since 22 May 2026 cap first- and second-year bachelor's students at 20 hours a week, with holidays and course placements outside the count. Third- and fourth-year undergraduates, master's students, doctoral students and residents keep the 40-hour week that applied before.
sourcecompare all countriesDependants
Since 22 May 2026 master's, doctoral and residency students can bring family members immediately, as can graduates applying for or holding a job-search permit. Other students can only do so after two years in Lithuania with a permit valid for at least a year and reasonable prospects of permanent residence.
sourceAfter graduation
After completing studies a graduate can apply for a twelve-month temporary residence permit to look for work or start a business, and the Migration Department waives the state fee for that permit once. Graduates who take a job within five years of finishing are outside the annual quota for foreign workers.
sourcecompare all countriesFAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Lithuania student visa fee?
How much bank balance is required for a Lithuania student visa?
Can you work on a Lithuania student visa?
How long does a Lithuania student visa take?
Can you bring your family on a Lithuania student visa?
What's not included in the Temporary residence permit for studies fee?
When are these fees due?
Official sources
- Migration Department: State fees, residence permits · read September 2026
- Migration Department: The procedure for issuing national visas is being changed · read September 2026
- Migration Department, MIGRIS: Key changes to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens from 22 May 2026 · read September 2026
- Migration Department: Means of subsistence a foreigner must declare (half the minimum wage for students) · read September 2026
- Ministry of Social Security and Labour: Minimum monthly wage · read September 2026
- EU Immigration Portal: Student in Lithuania · read September 2026
Last verified September 2026.