Foreign investors who want to open a company in Lithuania have several choices when it comes to the industries they can operate in. Among these industries, the human resources sector is quite prolific in Lithuania and the requirements for creating employment agencies are not very stringent, therefore investors can easily open a recruitment company in Lithuania.
Below, our company formation agents in Lithuania explain how to create an employment company in this country.
Table of Contents
Registering an employment agency in Lithuania
There are no specific requirements related to opening a staffing company in Lithuania, however, the business must carry out its operations through a legal entity. From this point of view, the limited liability company is the most suitable business form. Our local consultants can help with the company registration procedure for starting an employment agency in Lithuania.
This type of company must follow the same process for company formation in Lithuania as the one applicable to any other type of business activity. Some of the main steps that must be completed by investors are presented in the list below:
- selecting the most suitable legal entity;
- stating the exact objects of activity the company will engage in;
- find a suitable place where the company can have its registered address;
- proposing and registering a trading name;
- signing the statutory documents (the document of incorporation or the memorandum of incorporation);
- opening a corporate bank account (mandatory requirement for all investors who complete the process of Lithuania company formation).
According to the Innovation Agency of Lithuania, investors must abide by other registration requirements, one of which is to address a local notary public, where the company’s documents are notarized.
Services offered by employment companies in Lithuania
The range of services offered by recruitment agencies in Lithuania depend on the size of the company and can include:
- finding candidates and matching them with potential employers in Lithuania;
- offering career orientation services to Lithuanian citizens or foreigners entering the country;
- finding jobs for people submitting their resumes with the employment agency;
- offering human resources services for companies interested in outsourcing this department.
Foreign investors can set up traditional or online employment companies in Lithuania.
Why open a recruitment agency in Lithuania?
Foreign entrepreneurs who want to operate on the Lithuanian market do not need to comply with specific requirements for starting a staffing agency. Also, this type of business does not require a large amount of money to get started.
The employment company can also represent a great idea for bringing foreign employees into Lithuania or sending local employees outside the country.
Foreign employment in Lithuania
One of the activities that can be intermediated by a recruitment company in Lithuania refers to the legal formalities that appear when employing foreign workforce. Considering that foreign employees can arrive from both EU and non-EU regions, different immigration formalities must be addressed.
Thus, those who want to open a Lithuanian company may need to hire personnel who can help these future foreign workers in Lithuania in their visa formalities, as it is the case for all non-EU individuals. In the list below, we invite you to find out some of the key elements concerning foreign employment in Lithuania:
- the country applies a quota system which, for 2024, is capped at 40,250 work permits;
- for the issuance of a work permit, fees are charged (EUR 121 for the work permit, EUR 52, for its renewal);
- the document has a validity of 1 year (the first permit is issued as a temporary residence permit);
- persons who want to arrive here for temporary employment can obtain a seasonal work permit, which has a validity of 6 months (recruitment agencies can also offer temporary recruitment services, designed for temporary work activities);
- starting with 1st of January 2025, Lithuania will apply a stricter quota system to non-highly qualified foreign workers, which will be limited to 1.4% of the total number of Lithuanian permanent residents.
When recruiting foreign employees, employment agencies are required to go through a lengthier process compared to the recruitment of locals, as visas, permits and other documents must be prepared. In most cases, foreigners must notarize and provide official translation to the documents in their home countries.
Of course, this can be a time-consuming process, which can take up to 3 months, but many procedures, such as work interviews, can be facilitated by recruitment specialists, who can put foreign employees in direct contact with companies where they are fit for specific job descriptions.
If you are interested in starting an employment company and need guidance, please feel free to contact our Lithuanian company formation representatives. Our team can guide you through the entire process of company registration in Lithuania.