Vilnius

• Startup Lithuania is a one-stop shop for current and future startups in Lithuania! WHAT WE DO: Policy proposals, Advocacy, Analytics, Consulting, Events, Facilitating access to the business ecosystem.
• Go Vilnius – the official development agency of the City of Vilnius – provides relocating startups with everything they need to know about our city. From real estate to residency, to advice on what to see and do, Go Vilnius is here to ensure your landing in Vilnius is smooth, and that your work and life in the city is both rewarding and pleasant.
• TRINITI is a pan-Baltic legal practice with a cross-border team of over 60 professionals. Working together since 2011 TRINITI is among the fastest growing alliances in the region.

The Startup Visa
The Startup Visa provides a streamlined entry process to the Lithuanian startup ecosystem for gifted and ambitious non-EU entrepreneurs who wish to establish a startup in Lithuania. Potential Startup Visa applicants are not subjects to minimum capital requirements or employment commitments if they wish to obtain a residence permit. Startup Lithuania assists Startup Visa applicants throughout the whole process, from the application submission and evaluation by the commission to ensure a certificate from the Migration Department.

Successful and well-prepared startups obtain a temporary residence permit in Lithuania with the possibility to extend it for an additional year. After the first two years, startups must fulfil regular immigration requirements in order to remain in Lithuania.

You can apply for a startup visa here.

Taxes
General information about the tax system in Lithuania you will find here.

National authority responsible for taxes. – Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate

Insurance
Find out more about compulsory health insurance here.

Subsidies Offered by Invega
INVEGA aims to promote the growth and competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) by implementing various financial measures, such as soft loans, loan guarantees, interest rate subsidies, and support for the first job and finance of consultancy expenses.

Subsidies Offered by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania usually offers financial aid in various forms to micro or small companies engaged in economic activities and seeking to reduce social exclusion and fighting poverty in rural areas.

Venture Capital
Lithuanian companies dealing with venture capital belong to Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (LT VCA). Currently, at LT VCA there are 27 active companies/members covering different types of venture capital business activities. These include fund management companies, consulting firms, lawyers, public institutions etc., who support and advise investors and entrepreneurs in the structuring and management of their partnerships.

Source: Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association

Accelerators and Incubators

• Baltic Media Accelerator
• Startup.lt
• StartupHighway

Angels
Business Angels Networks

Startup Jobs
With its new Job Offers section, the Go Vilnius website is the place to stay up-to-date with the latest and greatest career opportunities at international companies operating in the city.

Education
As the capital, Vilnius is a city of science and technology and home to 14 colleges and universities, 13 research institutes, and 5 science and tech parks. It is a place where world-class science and technological innovations are being developed. Experts in laser technologies, medicine, information, and biotechnologies, as well as architects and artists, have been promoting Lithuania abroad for quite some time now. For instance, the Lithuanian biochemist and Vilnius University Professor Virginijus Šikšnys was among the Nobel Prize candidates in Chemistry in 2016.

More detailed information about Vilnius’ higher education institutions can be found here.

Moreover, Vilnius is a place of various makerspaces, where science meets creativity, and where innovative ideas are growing:

• The Technarium
• Padirbtuvės

HR
The following human resource recruitment companies can help you in finding talents in Vilnius:

• Alliance for Recruitment
• Manpower
• Strategic Staffing Solutions

Business Registration
Businesses can be up and running in just three days, thanks to a streamlined registration process. Here’s how it works:

STEP 1
Open a bank account, which costs €30 and takes one day. Your bank card will arrive within 5 working days. You can find all of the banks that are operating in Lithuania here.

STEP 2
Have your company documents notarised, which takes one day. Find a notary online here.

STEP 3
Register your company at the Centre of Registers – it can be done online or in person. The Centre will help you make your business legally recognised by the state, which takes 3 days.

Accounting
Questions related to accounting are regulated by the Republic of Lithuania Accounting Law, which defines the organisation of accounting, accounting documents, and registers as well as their storage, correction of mistakes, responsibility for the organisation of accounting, and storage of accounting documents.

More information on the requirements for financial statements of entities is available here.

Opening a bank account
Opening a bank account is quite easy in general – just go to your preferred bank and sign a bank account contract. This can be done by any individual, a Lithuanian citizen, and someone from another country by providing one of the following documents:

• For EU citizens – Identity card of an EU citizen;
• For third country nationals – Permission to stay for a short or long-term period in Lithuania and identification document (passport for non-EU).

Source: The official webpage of the Bank of Lithuania

Business Location
Over the last couple of years, Vilnius has witnessed more offices opened for startups, more working spaces for freelancers and foreign specialists, and most importantly, a more concentrated and collaborative startup community.

• Vilnius Tech Park
• Rise Vilnius
• Technopolis

Legal – The Lithuanian Legal System
The Lithuanian legal system is principally based on the legal traditions of continental Europe. During the last decade, the state’s central priority was harmonisation of the Lithuanian law with the European Union law. From 1 May 2004, all of the European Union’s legal acts (directives, regulations) are also a constituent part of Lithuanian law. Official access to all legal acts of the European Law is provided here.

Law Firms in Vilnius
There are multiple law firms that operate in different areas of law in Vilnius. A list of the best law firms in Vilnius operating within specific fields of activity is available here.