EURES adviser Ginta Ališevičiūtė Lithuanian Labour Exchange LITHUANIA EURES adviser Ginta Ališevičiūtė

Location Lithuania is located at the western end of the East European Plain, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. It borders: Latvia to the north (576 km); Belarus to the east and south (660 km); Russian Federation, Kaliningrad district to the south west and south (273 km).

Geographic centre of Europe In 1989, scientists of National Geographic Institute of France gave the description of the European geographic centre and appointed that this centre is located in Lithuania, north from Vilnius (26 km).

General information Full country name: Republic of Lithuania Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992 Lithuania is a parliamentary republic Area: 65,300 sq km Population: approx. 3.36 million Capital city: Vilnius (pop. over 544,000) Official language: Lithuanian Currency: Lithuanian Litas (LTL) Ethnic groups: 84.6 % Lithuanian, 6.3% Polish, 5.1% Russian Religion: 79% Roman Catholic, 4.1% Orthodox Independence Day: 16 February Lithuanian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Central and Eastern Europe with the private sector now producing about 80 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Labour market situation

Labour market situation Opportunities for specialists: sales, marketing, tourism and commerce managers; physicians; accountants; engineers; insurance agents; computer equipment operators; technicians of construction engineering. Opportunities for service employees and qualified workers: shop assistants; carpenters- builders and joiners; bricklayers; painters; drivers; tailors; welders; wood processing machine and equipment operators.

Moving to Lithuania Residence permit If EU citizen is intending to: start working or carry out other legal activity in Lithuania; stay in Lithuania longer than 3 months; study in Lithuania He’she must declare his/her place of residence with Migration authority and apply for so called “residence certificate” * The family members of an EU citizen who are not citizen of EU/EEA country have to obtain a European residence permit if they wish to come and live at the same time or at a later stage.

Moving to Lithuania residence permit European residence permit has to be issued within 1 month after applying for it. Residence certificates are issued for up to 5 years, except in the case of students, whose residence certificates are issued for 1 year of study. Migration Department www.migracija.lt

Moving to Lithuania finding accomodation Rent prices of flats in the capital may vary from 1000 LTL (289 €) to 8000 LTL (2319 €). Rent for a house costs from 2500 LTL (723 €) to 14,000 LTL (4058 €) per month; Sometimes foreigners are overcharged! When buying or renting a real estate, it is important to organise all legal documents properly. You can contact real estate agents or the offices of notaries for assistance.

Moving to Lithuania finding accomodation Possible ways to find an accommodation are: real estate agencies (www.on.lt/hfinans.htm); personal contacts; ads in the newspapers (www.aliovakarai.lt) on the Internet: www.noriunt.lt www.bustonuoma.net; www.aruodas.lt; www.butunuoma.lt; www.bustas.info; www.skelbiu.lt;

Working conditions work permit Work permits are not required for EU citizens and their family members intending to work under the employment contract in Lithuania. EU citizens enjoy the same rights as Lithuanian citizens with regards to salary, working conditions, professional training and social insurance.

Working conditions looking for work Note that Lithuanian employers usually require good knowledge of Lithuanian language! Exception – international companies. Make a representative CV.

Working conditions looking for a work If you intend to look for work in Lithuania: you can get registered at local labour exchange (www.ldb.lt); go to private recruitment agencies or contact companies directly (yellow pages: www.visalietuva.lt; www.infolietuva.lt ; www.imones.lt look for job ads in the newspapers such as www.lrytas.lt; search the Internet: www.cvonline.lt; www.cvbankas.lt; www.cv.lt; www.cvmarket.lt; use personal contacts.

Key foreign investors Investments from Sweden build up 11.7 per cent of total Foreign direct investments.The major investor is Poland (18 per cent) and Denmark (12.9 per cent). Data source: Lithuanian developement agency

Working conditions looking for a work – making a CV Typed CVs are common in Lithuania; There are no strict rules for CVs in Lithuania, but your CV shouldn’t exceed 2 pages; Make it look professional; Do not list all the facts about yourself, highlight only those that may seem useful to an employer; Many now have a scanned photo in the top right hand corner; If you have got written references, just mention that references are available upon request.

Working conditions employment contract You should always have a written employment contract whether your post is permanent or temporary. The employment contract must be concluded in writing according to a standard format. Written contracts are drawn up in duplicate. One of the signed copies is given to the employee, the other remains with the employer. The employer is responsible for the proper conclusion of the employment contract.

Working conditions working time Normal working week consists of 40 hours (5 days x 8 hours) per week. It is said by law that working hours should not exceed 8 hours per day and the maximum number of working hours over 7 days, including overtime, should not exceed 48 hours. The minimum annual leave is 28 calendar days. Institution for questions regarding the labour law – Public Labour Inspection www.vdi.lt .

Living conditions taxes and charges on labour An employer is obligated to deduct, immediately, each month, the amount of tax and national insurance due from a salaried worker. A salaried employee's income that is derived mainly from a Lithuanian company is taxable at 24%. Each month 320 Lt is non-taxable. Social security contribution is 34% (31% is paid by the employer and 3% by the employee).

Working conditions remuneration Average monthly net salary in Lithuania is 2052 LTL (the 2nd quarter 2008 est.) i.e. approx. 595 EUR The Government of the Republic of Lithuania sets a minimum hourly rate and a minimum monthly salary. The current minimum monthly salary is 800 LTL (~232 €), while the minimum hourly rate is 4.85 LTL/hour (1.4 €).

Cost of living prices (€) 1 Ltr of milk – 0.58 1 l of petrol – 1.1 1 cinema ticket – 4.6 1 loaf of bread - 0.87 1 public transport ticket – 0.43 1 kg of potatoes – 0.43 1 dish of the day – 5.14 1 kg of coffee – 8.7 0.5 l beer in a pub – 1.7

Social security unemployment benefits Conditions for entitlement – have to have 18 months work experience during 36 months; duration of benefits – from 6 to 9 months (depending on work experience); The unemployment benefit’s amount varies from 285 Lt (82,46 €) to 1414 Lt (409,14 €) depending on work experience and previous earnings.

Staring up business Contact Business info centres (located in every town)- www.utenosvic.lt , www.vicrokiskis.lt , www.jonavosvic.lt , www.vicanyksciai.lt , www.eic-vilnius.lt , www.vn.lt, www.urvic.lt etc. Contact Centre of Registers www.kada.lt. Contact business councellors (www.partnerinlithuania.com) Lithuanian developement agency www.lda.lt

Thank you for your attention! For more detailed information write to: Ginta.Ališevičiūtė@ldb.lt