Republic of Lithuania vs Kingdom of the Netherlands
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Republic of Lithuania and Kingdom of the Netherlands government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Migration Department
Migration Department (Ministry of the Interior, Lithuania) - verified
- Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND) - verified
- Migration Department - I am a highly skilled employee
Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior (Lithuania) - verified
- IND — Highly Skilled Migrant
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) - verified
Republic of Lithuania
Lithuania - an EU and Schengen member - administers third-country residence through the Migration Department. Headline routes include the temporary residence permit for employment (highly-qualified workers are processed outside the annual quota), the EU Blue Card, a fast Startup Visa, business and family routes, and EU long-term residence after five years. A 2025 reform cut quotas and prioritised highly-qualified workers; there is no dedicated digital-nomad visa.
- Official portal
- Migration Department (Ministry of the Interior, Lithuania)
- Languages
- Lithuanian
- Currency
- Euro
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Netherlands operates the IND-administered Highly Skilled Migrant scheme via recognised sponsors, the EU Blue Card, the orientation year for recent international graduates, and a self-employed route under various treaties including DAFT for US nationals.
- Official portal
- Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND)
- Languages
- Dutch
- Currency
- Euro
How Republic of Lithuania and Kingdom of the Netherlands differ
| Dimension | Republic of Lithuania | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 7 | 7 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 4 | 3 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 5 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Arrival → PR and citizenship eligibility parallel at 5 years. |
| Dominant skilled visa | Temporary Residence Permit for Employment (Lithuania) | Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | €5,942/month |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | IND — Decision periods does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | The Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant route has a EUR 423 IND application fee for the employee when the Dutch employer is already an IND-recognised sponsor. |
| Official languages | Lithuanian | Dutch |
| Currency | Euro | Euro |
| Primary regulator | LAT | NOvA |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 1 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Republic of Lithuania
Temporary Residence Permit for Employment (Lithuania)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant)
- Salary minimum
- €5,942/month
- Government fees
- The Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant route has a EUR 423 IND application fee for the employee when the Dutch employer is already an IND-recognised sponsor.
- Processing time
- IND — Decision periods does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to Republic of Lithuania
Routes unique to Kingdom of the Netherlands
Visa routes side by side
Republic of Lithuania (7)
Temporary Residence Permit for Employment (Lithuania)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Commonly issued for up to two years, and up to three years for highly qualified workers, renewable while you keep the job - confirm current validity on the official page.
EU Blue Card (Lithuania)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Commonly issued for up to about three years where the contract allows, and renewable - confirm current validity on the official page.
Startup Visa (Lithuania)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Commonly issued for one year first and extendable while the startup progresses - confirm current validity on the official page.
Temporary Residence for Business or Self-Employment (Lithuania)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Commonly issued for up to two years and renewable while the business stays genuine and active - confirm current validity on the official page.
Temporary Residence for Family Reunification (Lithuania)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Generally aligned to the sponsor's permit and renewable - confirm current validity on the official page.
Temporary Residence for Study (Lithuania)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Tied to your course and renewable while you stay enrolled - confirm current validity on the official page.
Permanent Residence / EU Long-Term Resident Status (Lithuania)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Longer-term status, subject to conditions on continued residence - confirm current rules on the official page.
Kingdom of the Netherlands (7)
Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Matches contract, up to 5 years; renewable.
Orientation year (Zoekjaar)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · 1 year, non-renewable as Zoekjaar.
EU Blue Card (Netherlands)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Matches contract, up to 4 years plus 3 months; renewable.
Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) entrepreneur
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 2 years, renewable for 5; leads to permanent residence.
Startup Visa (Netherlands)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · 1 year, non-renewable as Startup Visa; transitions to self-employment route.
Dutch Student residence permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length.
Partner residence (Dutch national or resident sponsor)
Family sponsor; no employer sponsor · Leads to settlement · Depends on the sponsor: it normally ends with a temporary sponsor's permit, while a Dutch or permanent-resident sponsor can support a permit valid for up to 5 years.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Republic of Lithuania or Kingdom of the Netherlands?+
Republic of Lithuania’s Temporary Residence Permit for Employment (Lithuania) is the dominant skilled route; Kingdom of the Netherlands’s Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) requires €5,942/month. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Does Republic of Lithuania or Kingdom of the Netherlands have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Republic of Lithuania has more: 4 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 3 for Kingdom of the Netherlands. No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Republic of Lithuania vs Kingdom of the Netherlands immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/lithuania/vs/netherlands. Last verified 2 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons