Working in Lithuania as a French National: Right to Work, Pay, Tax, Contributions and the Economy

As a citizen of the European Union, a French national takes up employment or self-employment in Lithuania without a work permit or visa. The formalities relate to settling in: the EU residence certificate after three months, valid for up to five years, and the declaration of the place of residence (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry; Lithuanian Migration Department). The page on living in Lithuania details these steps.

Employees are compulsorily affiliated to health insurance and their entitlement to benefits in kind opens with no minimum affiliation period (CLEISS). A newcomer checks with the employer that the registration with Sodra, the social security body, has been made.

The monthly minimum wage is close to €1,150 gross (Eurostat, CLEISS), well below the French level. The national average wage is close to €2,300 per month (CLEISS). Below the minimum, contributions are calculated on the minimum wage, with the employer paying the employee’s share, with exceptions such as workers under 24 or those already insured through another job.

• Employment contract: the Lithuanian labour code governs working time, leave and notice; the Ministry of Social Security and Labour publishes the rules.
• Levels by sector: the Lithuanian statistics office publishes wages by sector and by region, which are worth consulting before accepting an offer.
• Sickness benefits: the employer pays the first two days and Sodra from the third day, with a daily amount between a minimum and a ceiling revised each year (CLEISS).

CLEISS publishes the rates. Contributions apply to all remuneration, including bonuses, overtime and benefits in kind, with an annual ceiling equal to 60 times the national average wage; the health contribution is not capped.

• Pensions: 8.72% borne by the employee, with no employer share.
• Health and maternity: 6.98%, with 1.99% and 1.81% listed for cash benefits and maternity (CLEISS).
• Unemployment: 1.31% borne by the employer, 2.03% for fixed-term contracts.
• Accidents at work and occupational diseases: 0.14% in the general case, from 0.14% to 1.4% depending on the risk group.
• Guarantee fund and long-term unemployment fund: 0.16% each, borne by the employer.
• Second pension pillar: employees under 40 are enrolled automatically, with 3% of gross salary and State support of 1.5% of the average wage (CLEISS).

The detail of the protection obtained in exchange is set out on the page on the healthcare system in Lithuania.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance, resident income tax applies a rate of 20% up to 36 times the average annual wage, 25% from 36 to 60 times the average wage and 32% above that; certain income (dividends, life insurance benefits and gains on shares held for five years, among others) stays at 15% and does not count towards the brackets. The personal allowance is €747 per month for monthly income at or below the minimum wage in force on 1 January, and falls by €0.49 for each euro of income above that (Lithuanian tax authority). The exact thresholds can be read on the tax authority’s website (VMI).

France and Lithuania signed a convention against double taxation in Paris on 7 July 1997, which entered into force on 1 May 2001 (impots.gouv.fr, the French tax authority’s website). An employee who settles in Lithuania in principle becomes a tax resident there and declares their local income; income that stays in France follows the convention’s rules, to be checked on impots.gouv.fr or with individual advice.

An employee posted by a French employer stays affiliated to the French scheme during the assignment. The A1 form proves it, for 24 months at most, with no registration with the host country’s social security (europa.eu). See posted worker or expatriate and the glossary entry on the A1 form.

An employee on a local contract comes under the Lithuanian scheme; they can top this up by joining the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE, the voluntary social security fund for French nationals abroad), which spares them waiting periods on returning to France (ameli.fr, the website of the French Assurance Maladie, the national health insurance).

A self-employed person pays contributions on 90% of declared income after business expenses: 8.72% for pensions, 6.98% for health with a monthly minimum revised each year, due even with no income, 1.99% for sickness benefits and 1.81% for maternity; the ceiling is revised each year (CLEISS). See also insurance for digital nomads.

Cross-border remote work by an employee can stay attached to their social security scheme if the European framework agreement applies: less than 50% of working time, a single employer, an A1 certificate of three years at most. Lithuania has been party to it since 1 May 2024 (CLEISS); the self-employed are excluded.

The French Treasury (Direction générale du Trésor) ranks Lithuania among the most dynamic economies of the eurozone, with sustained growth driven by household consumption and public investment. The labour market remains tight, with a high level of job vacancies while the labour force is shrinking; the public deficit and debt remain moderate.

The growth sectors cited by the Treasury are industry, mechatronics, robotics and lasers, biotechnology and service centres for Scandinavian banks, which feed fintech. For a French national, opportunities are concentrated in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda; English is enough in many international companies, while Lithuanian opens up more positions. The “Economic indicators” block on this page tracks growth, inflation, unemployment and the exchange rate continuously.