Despite this being a relatively high quota, it remains below those of previous years. This is because the authorities decided to support a proposal from the Ministry of Social Security and Labour to set a lower quota for foreigners than in previous years.

The decision to lower the number of people who will be permitted to enter the territory of Lithuania for work purposes was made after assessing the labour market needs. This means that the shortages in the country are not as deep as they used to be and that Lithuania does not have to attract as many workers as in the last few years.

Lithuania’s 2025 Foreign Worker Quota Must Not Exceed 1.4% of Permanent Population, Ministry Says

This year, Lithuania decided to tighten the requirements for third-country nationals wanting to come to the country and employers offering jobs to them.

Following the tightening of the measures, the Ministry of Interior of Lithuania stresses that from 2025, the foreign worker quota must not exceed 1.4 per cent of the permanent population of the country.

The Ministry further explained that the quota will not be divided by the economic activity sector starting next year.

It also emphasised that once the entire quota is used up, Lithuanian employers will be able to bring foreign workers to the country only if they agree to pay them more than 1.2 times the average national wage and professionals needed in sectors dealing with shortages the average national wage.

Switzerland has also set its 2025 foreign worker quota, but only for skilled foreigners. The Swiss authorities announced earlier in November that next year, the country will permit the recruitment of 8,500 qualified workers from third countries.