To start individual activity under a certificate or to obtain a business licence, one shall provide application form to the State Tax Inspectorate. A foreign national, who is not a resident of the European Union member state or a family member of a resident thereof, must submit a temporary residence permit to live in the Republic of Lithuania.
While establishing a company, it must be registered in the Register of Legal Entities.
More information:
Business without establishing a company — individual activity
To start individual activity under a certificate, one shall provide the State Tax Inspectorate (hereinafter — STI) with the following documents:
- Completed application form REG812;
- Identity papers (passport, identity card);
- Power of attorney is required when the application is submitted by an authorized person.
The certificate is issued for an unlimited period of time.
To obtain a business licence, submit the following documents to the county STI:
- Application for a business licence;
- identity paper (passport, identity card);
Other documents, if required.
When a foreign national, who is not a resident of the European Union member state, European Free Trade Association or a family member of a resident thereof, wants to apply for an individual activity certificate or a business licence, a temporary residence permit to live in the Republic of Lithuania must be submitted.
Documents may be submitted electronically via the State Tax Inspectorate, My STI area, or in person.
Business by establishing a company
A business entity — legal entity (hereinafter — LE) must be entered in the Register of Legal Entities.
Company registration covers the following stages, regardless of the legal form:
- Draft a Memorandum of Association (in case of more than 1 founder) or an establishment act (when there is only one founder). This document sets out the conditions for establishment of a legal entity.
- Choose a name for your legal entity and apply to the Register of Legal Entities with a 6-month reservation request.
- Prepare statutes/regulations. This is a document that establishes objectives and tasks of activities, management bodies, their competences, rights of shareholders, positions, etc.
- Choose a registered office. A consent of the owner of the premises is required, if the owner of the premises for a registered office is not the founder of the company. Companies specialising in business registration may help you to find premises for registered office.
- Form an authorized capital, determine contributions of stakeholders/members, deposit cash contributions into the bank account of legal entity (if required by the legal form).
Submit documents to the notary and the Register of Legal Entities (this may be performed electronically via the website of the State Enterprise Centre of Registers. Submitting documents electronically helps to avoid expenses for document preparation and notarisation).
More information
Business without establishing a company — individual activity
In Lithuania there are 2 ways of conducting individual activity:
- under a business licence;
- under an individual activity
The key difference: person working under a business licence shall pay a fixed fee in advance and may only engage in strictly defined activities. An individual activity certificate allows engaging in a variety of activities; income tax shall be paid from the actual income.
To start individual activity under a certificate, one shall provide the State Tax Inspectorate (hereinafter — STI) with the following documents:
- Completed application form REG812;
- Identity papers (passport, identity card);
- Power of attorney is required when the application is submitted by an authorized person.
The certificate is issued for an unlimited period of time.
To obtain a business licence, submit the following documents to the county STI:
- Application for a business licence;
- identity paper (passport, identity card);
Other documents, if required.
When a foreign national, who is not a resident of the European Union member state, European Free Trade Association or a family member of a resident thereof, wants to apply for an individual activity certificate or a business licence, a temporary residence permit to live in the Republic of Lithuania must be submitted.
Documents may be submitted electronically via the State Tax Inspectorate, My STI area (https://sso.vmi.lt/sso/login?TARGET=https%3a%2f%2fwww.vmi.lt%2fmanovmi%2flt%2fManoVMIep.aspx&locale=en), or in person.
For more information, please visit the STI website (http://www.vmi.lt/index.jsp?lang=en) or call 1882.
Business by establishing a company
A business entity — legal entity (hereinafter — LE) must be entered in the Register of Legal Entities (http://www.registrucentras.lt/jar/index_en.php).
Company registration covers the following stages, regardless of the legal form:
- Draft a Memorandum of Association (in case of more than 1 founder) or an establishment act (when there is only one founder). This document sets out the conditions for establishment of a legal entity.
- Choose a name for your legal entity and apply to the Register of Legal Entities with a 6-month reservation request.
- Prepare statutes/regulations. This is a document that establishes objectives and tasks of activities, management bodies, their competences, rights of shareholders, positions, etc.
- Choose a registered office. A consent of the owner of the premises is required, if the owner of the premises for a registered office is not the founder of the company. Companies specialising in business registration may help you to find premises for registered office.
- Form an authorized capital, determine contributions of stakeholders/members, deposit cash contributions into the bank account of legal entity (if required by the legal form).
- Submit documents to the notary and the Register of Legal Entities (this may be performed electronically via the website of the State Enterprise Centre of Registers. Submitting documents electronically helps to avoid expenses for document preparation and notarisation).
The most common legal entities:
Private limited liability company — UAB.
Private limited liability company’s authorised capital must be at least EUR 2500. It must be formed of initial contributions of founders.
- Private limited liability company may have from 1 to 250 founders.
- Private limited liability company must have a head of the company. Collegiate management body — the Board — may be formed.
- Two mandatory employees: director and accountant or an accounting company.
Individual enterprise — IĮ.
- The individual enterprise shall be established by a sole legally capable citizen of the Republic of Lithuania.
- The owner of the individual enterprise shall not be the owner of another individual enterprise.
- IĮ shall be managed by the owner or a person appointed by the owner.
- Owner of the individual enterprise may as well be the only employee of the IĮ. Family members may help the IĮ owner without any employment contracts.
- IĮ is not subject to a minimum initial authorised capital. Contributions are the personal property of the owner of an individual enterprise, property transferred to the IĮ and property acquired on behalf of the company.
Important: The individual enterprise is a private legal entity of unlimited liability. This means that the owner of individual enterprise covers his liabilities with his own assets, i.e. the assets of the company are not separated from the assets of the owner of the company.
Small partnership — MB.
- MB founders may only be natural persons.
- MB may have from 1 to 10 founders.
- Members may work for small partnership, but no employment contracts are concluded. Employment contracts can only be concluded with employees who work for the small partnership, but who are not members of the MB.
- Minimum initial authorised capital is not required, but members must pay contributions (amount thereof and payment procedure is determined by the meeting of members).
- Accumulation account in bank is not required.
- Two management bodies of the small partnership are possible:
- Meeting of members only. One of the members is appointed as the MB representative who basically is the head of the MB;
- Meeting of members of a small partnership and the single-person management body — head of the MB (civil agreement is required).
- guide “Establishment of Legal Entities”: http://www.registrucentras.lt/jar/e-gidas_en/
More information about establishment of legal entities: http://www.registrucentras.lt/jar/index_en.php
State Enterprise Centre of Registers Help Desk tel. No. (+370 5) 268 8262.