The Lithuanian government on Wednesday approved a new basic Lithuanian language requirement that foreign nationals working in the service sector will have to meet starting next year.
Under the regulation, foreigners who sell goods or provide services will be required to demonstrate A1-level Lithuanian proficiency for their first two years of residence in the country. After two years, they will have to meet the higher A2 level to continue working.
The change follows a proposal from the Education, Science and Sport Ministry, which estimated that about 94,000 people could be affected. Some workers may have to meet even higher proficiency levels if they are employed in state-regulated professions.
The newly introduced A1 category represents a basic level of the language. Speakers at this level can understand and use common everyday expressions, introduce themselves, ask simple personal questions and respond to them. They are expected to communicate in simple terms when others speak slowly and clearly, write short informal notes and complete basic personal information forms.
The requirement will apply to foreign nationals declaring residency in Lithuania and to seasonal workers who serve customers and are required under the Law on the State Language to use Lithuanian in customer service. Foreigners granted temporary protection, including Ukrainians, will remain exempt from language requirements for employment or self-employment. Temporary protection for Ukrainians has been extended until 2027.
Businesses and individual employers will be responsible for ensuring that they or their employees meet the required level of Lithuanian when serving customers.
The regulation will take effect January 1. Currently, Lithuania recognises three proficiency categories – equivalent to A2, B1 and B2 – ranging from upper beginner to advanced.
The ministry acknowledged that the new requirements will create significant pressure on the National Education Agency, the only accredited institution authorised to test foreign nationals. The government instructed the ministry to amend exam administration procedures and expand the pool of examiners.
Plans call for basic-level exams to be offered monthly in schools, with additional sessions organised depending on demand. The ministry estimates that more than 8,000 people will be able to take the state exam each year, and that roughly 16,700 foreign nationals could pass the A1 level in 2026–27.
Implementing the expanded exam system will require €200,000 for infrastructure, funding that is included in the ministry’s 2026–27 budget plan.
Lithuania amended its Law on the State Language in October 2024 to require service-sector workers and their employers to serve customers in Lithuanian starting in 2026. In May, Deputy Education Minister Rolandas Zuoza asked to postpone implementation for a year due to insufficient exam funding and proposed temporarily setting the requirement at the lower A1 level instead of A2. Some universities opposed lowering the bar but offered to assist with language instruction if their certificates were officially recognised.
Employment Service data show that 3,400 people attended state-funded Lithuanian language classes last year, 84% of them Ukrainians. Another 3,800 people began courses in 2023.
At the start of this year, Lithuania had nearly 218,000 foreign nationals with residence permits, including more than 77,000 Ukrainians, according to the Migration Department.
