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Starting a Business in Lithuania

Lithuania became a member of European Union in 2004; it’s a member of the Eurozone, Schengen Agreement and NATO. Lithuania’s economic freedom score is 75.3, making its economy the 19th place from 180 countries around the world in the 2018 Index.

Lithuanians are easy-going, business customs are similar to those in Western Europe, so there are no misunderstandings. Most Europeans have little understanding of the specificity of Lithuania's cultural heritage and the complexity of its history, and indeed many assume that Lithuanians speak Russian. This can be offensive to Lithuanians, who have a sense of nation and see themselves as Western Europeans. Show interest in the culture and history and avoid taking sides in any historical debates involving Polish or Russian conquests or territorial claims.

Lithuania is a business-friendly country, not only for young entrepreneurs and skilled professionals, but it is also trusted high calibre companies. This country, full of young highly educated people, who also is ambition, energy, skill, and talent, is equipped with Europe’s fastest internet connection and rapidly growing startups. The specialist mostly speaks few different languages besides native. One of the strongest areas of Lithuania's knowledge-based economy – the laser industry. The most advanced field of production in the country encompasses biotechnology, information technology (IT) and mechatronics. To add more Lithuania has shown that it aims to become one of the centre locations for FinTech companies. The Lithuanian Parliament adopted the Law on Crowdfunding, that aims at transforming Lithuania into a welcoming background for hybrid crowdfunding platforms with ambitions of global expansion.

Corporate tax in a country is 15% and is one of the lowest in the EU. The state has attracted significant inflows of foreign investment, due to its stable economy, low inflation, low labour costs and liberal business environment.

For every business, Lithuania is a good choice to invest or start your company. Global companies are in search of finding the best framework conditions for doing business. Here you will find the low operations cost, competitive tax system, infrastructure and excellent working power. The government pursues an active policy to support business and welcomes international companies and foreign capital. After entering EU zone country attract lots of new international business companies like Barclays, Western Union, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danske Bank, Booking.com and more. Providing new employment opportunities is a priority for this country.

Capital: Vilnius

Population: 2,9 million people

Area: 65, 300 km2

Currency: Euro

Time Zone: UTC +2 – UTC +3 because of the time change twice a year.

Labour and workforce:

8 hours per 7 consecutive days, or 12 hours per 7 consecutive days if the employee expresses his/her consent in writing;

Average maximum 48 working hours (including basic time and overtime) per week calculated over accounting period of up to 3 months;

Maximum 180 hours within a year (unless extended in the collective agreement).

Overtime and night work is paid at least 1,5 times of the employee’s wage;

Annual leave minimum annual leave shall be 20 working days.

Remote work is available on request of the employee or under an agreement of the parties.

There are nine types of employment contracts specified in new Labour Code. The Labour Code stipulates a probationary period for the employee to assess if the employee has the necessary knowledge, abilities, suitable skills and personal characteristics to perform the work agreed on in the employment contract or to access the suitability of work for the employee.

At the beginning of 2018 unemployment rate in Lithuania were 7,3% and steady decreasing.

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