All information in one place
On this page you will find the most important information for war refugees from Ukraine arriving in Lithuania. The material has been prepared and is regularly updated by the Vilnius University Legal Clinic, which provides free legal assistance. You can contact us using the contact details below.
Last updated: 2022-09-01
Free legal aid
Vilnius University Legal Clinic
Vilnius University Legal Clinic provides free legal assistance to all war refugees from Ukraine. Consultations are available in Lithuanian, English and Russian:
- By email – ask a question using the form on the right or write to us at info@teisesklinika.lt
- By phone, WhatsApp and Viber – call the hotline for Ukrainians: +370 623 26 041 (weekdays 10:00-18:00)
- In-person, at our office at Vilniaus g. 25, Vilnius (with prior registration) – registration form: https://teisesklinika.lt/registracija/
For more information about legal assistance at the VU Law Clinic, click here.
State-guaranteed legal aid
Primary legal aid in Lithuania is also provided by municipal specialists. You can find information about primary legal aid in different cities on the municipalities’ websites. Secondary legal aid is administered by the State Guaranteed Legal Aid Service (appointing a free lawyer, mediation procedures). Link to the website of the service.
Legal aid is also provided free of charge (pro bono) by some lawyers and legal assistants.
Ask us a question
Arrival and registration
Pick-up from Poland
Volunteers from the organisation „Strong Together“ can provide free transport from the Lithuanian-Polish border. If you need their help, please fill in the form here.
Information for Ukrainian citizens is available on the Migration Department’s hotline +370 5 271 7112 every working day and at weekends from 7.30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Registration
- If you do not have a place to stay when you arrive in Lithuania, you should go immediately to a registration centre (open 24 hours a day, contact details for registration centres here)
- If you have a place to stay when you arrive in Lithuania, you can visit any Migration Department office during office hours. Contact details here. In this case, you do not need to go to a registration centre
Temporary residence permit
You will be issued with a registration card at the registration centre or at a Migration Department office. Once you have registered, you will fill in an application for a temporary residence permit (for 1 year) in Lithuania. Application form here. Application steps: For foreigners (choose your nationality) ▸ I want to get a residence permit in Lithuania ▸ I want to get a temporary residence permit ▸ Other ▸ I am unable to leave Lithuania due to humanitarian reasons ▸ Submit an application for a permit/change. Please submit your personal documents with your application.
Visa
You do not need a visa to enter and stay in Lithuania and the whole Schengen area for 90 days within a 180-day period.
More information here.
Accommodation
Accommodation in municipal premises
If you don’t have a place to stay in Lithuania, you can stay free of charge in municipal accommodation (schools, dormitories). Information about accommodation will be available at the registration centres (open 24 hours a day, contact details here).
Accommodation in apartments, houses offered by people
Temporary accommodation (up to 3 months) is available free of charge in apartments, houses and farmhouses offered by people in Lithuania. Temporary accommodation is provided by the organisation „Strong Together“. The organisation’s hotline is +370 677 22 222 (24 hours a day), more information here.
Rent
- Short-term accommodation offers (paid) are available on AirBnB, Booking.com, trumpam.lt.
- Long-term rental offers (paid) can be found on the following main classifieds portals: Aruodas, Domoplius, alio.lt, skelbiu.lt.
- You can also search for rental offers in Facebook groups.
Food, clothing, medicines
The following organisations can help you with food, clothing and medicine:
- Lithuanian Red Cross (humanitarian aid, information, restoration of family ties): 10A Juozapavičiaus St., Vilnius, tel. +370 5 21 27 322, email info@redcross.lt. You can find the contact details of this and other organisations providing humanitarian aid in individual municipalities at the following link: www.redcross.lt
- Vilnius Caritas (humanitarian aid): Kalvarijų g. 39, Vilnius, tel. +370 673 24 225, email kulturunamai@vilnius.caritas.lt
- Ordin of Malta Relief Service (humanitarian aid): Gedimino per. 56B, Vilnius, tel. 8 600 23 220, www.maltieciai.lt
- „Maisto bankas (food donation): Vytenio g. 54, Vilnius, tel. +370 686 44244, e-mail: info@maistobankas.lt, www.maistobankas.lt
- „Save the Children“ (help for children and pregnant women): Vilniaus g. 39, Vilnius, tel. +370 5 261 0815, email: informacija@savethechildren.org
Financial support
Information on financial support is available from the city’s social services centres and social benefits offices (Vilnius: 8 700 35545). Some benefits are provided by municipalities, others by the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA).
Decisions are currently being taken to ensure that Ukrainian citizens have at least the minimum needs and subsistence in the Republic of Lithuania and the right to social assistance.
Some information about financial support can be found here (in Lithuanian).
The information will be updated.
Currency exchange, opening bank account
Opening a bank account
SEB Bank, Citadele Bank, Luminor Bank, Šiaulių Bankas publicly announce that you can open a bank account free of charge with these banks.
- You can register for a visit to a SEB Bank branch online or by phone +370 5 268 2800 (I-V 8.00-20.00). More information here (in Lithuanian).
- You can register for a visit to a Citadele Bank branch by phone +370 5 221 9091. More information here (in Lithuanian).
- For information on opening a Luminor Bank account for Ukrainians, click here.
- You can register for a visit to a Šiaulių Bankas branch by calling 1813 or online by selecting the nearest branch. More information here (in Lithuanian).
Currency exchange
You can exchange your hryvnia to euro at the best exchange rate at Florinus.lt currency exchange (40 hryvnia / 1 euro). The exchange rate is currently limited to €300 per person. Please bring proof of identity.
Top Exchange and Valiuta24 also exchange hryvnia. Please note that the value of the hryvnia is significantly reduced. We recommend that you call any exchange office before you go and ask them if they buy hryvnia.
Employment
Work permit
You don’t need to get a work permit to work in Lithuania. Information on employment is provided by the Employment Service. The Employment Service provides training support, mobility support and subsidies for employment. Contact us on 1883 and +370 661 10 885. Read more here (in Lithuanian).
Employees’ rights
The State Labour Inspectorate provides key information on starting work in Lithuania: see its guide to working in Lithuania.
Healthcare
Free medical care
When you arrive in Lithuania and register at the registration centre or at the Migration Department, you can get free emergency medical care.
Emergency medical care includes emergency medical care, pregnancy care, help with childbirth and other essential health services. You can also get essential prescription medicines. To get a prescription, go to any medical facility.
More information here.
The telephone number of the State Patients’ Fund is +370 523 22 222. Contacts for regional sickness funds.
Free dental services
You may be able to get emergency dental care free of charge. You can register for a dental appointment here.
Universities, schools, kindergartens
Child education
Ukrainian children are enrolled in schools and kindergartens in Lithuania. Your children’s education is handled by the municipalities, see the link for basic information.
Studies
You can continue or start your studies in Lithuania. General information here, as well as on university websites. Information about continuing and starting studies at Vilnius University.
Communications and transport
SIM cards
Communications companies give you SIM cards and free mobile internet (information from Tele2, Bitė Lietuva), free text messages and calls to and from Ukraine (for a certain period). The cards are distributed at the registration centres.
- More information about the SIM cards provided by Telia here (in Lithuanian). They can be collected not only at registration centres but also at Telia showrooms. A list of them is available here.
- For more information on SIM cards provided by Bitė Lietuva, click here (in Lithuanian).
- For more information on SIM cards provided by Tele2, click here.
Free train travel
You can travel by trains in Lithuania for free. A passport or ID card and a registration card provided by the Migration Department are required. For children, a birth certificate and a registration card issued by the Migration Department. The free travel will be available for three months from the date of issue of the registration card, i.e. less than three months must have elapsed since the date of issue of the card when traveling by train. The additional services shall be provided under the normal conditions common to all passengers, i.e. subject to payment in accordance with approved pricing.
Other
Pets
You can come to Lithuania with your pets. Pets arriving in Lithuania from Ukraine are temporarily accepted untagged, unvaccinated against rabies, without proper veterinary documentation and without rabies antibody titres. Additional conditions apply. More information here (in Lithuanian).