The employer's mediation letter, explained

Everything in a Lithuanian work-permit file waits on one document, and most employers have never heard of it before their first international hire. The mediation letter — tarpininkavimo raštas — is the employer's formal statement to the Migration Department that this named person is coming to work for this company on these terms. Until it is filed and accepted, the worker cannot usefully apply for anything.

What it is and what it is not

It is not a work permit. Since the 2025 reform there is no separate Employment Service decision to wait for; the mediation letter is the employer's part of the process, filed electronically through the Migration Department's MIGRIS system.

It is a commitment. In it the employer identifies itself, identifies the worker, and states the job, the working conditions and the pay. Those details are then the basis on which the residence permit is assessed. They are not a wish list to be tidied up later — they are what the state will hold you to.

What goes in it

The employer's registration details; the worker's identity and passport details; the job title and a description that matches what the person will actually do; the working time; and the gross salary. For roles where the annual quota matters, the salary is the field that decides whether the application proceeds normally or needs to clear the higher threshold.

Two practical points. First, the job description should describe the real job. "Driver" is not enough — the vehicle category, the routes and the pattern of work belong in it. Second, the salary should be the salary. Understating it to look conservative causes problems at permit assessment; overstating it commits you to paying it.

Who can file one

The company must be genuinely operating and in good standing. The Migration Department checks the employer as well as the worker, and unpaid taxes or social insurance contributions will stop a file that is otherwise perfect. If your company has an outstanding liability, resolve it before you start recruiting rather than discovering it in week six.

What happens next

Once the letter is accepted, the worker applies for the temporary residence permit, normally through the Lithuanian consulate in their home country, and in most cases applies for a national (D) visa at the same appointment. The visa comes through in a few weeks and lets them travel and start; the permit follows within its statutory period, typically six to ten weeks.

This sequencing is the single biggest lever on your start date. Filing the mediation letter promptly, and having the worker attend one consular appointment for both applications, routinely saves four to six weeks against doing it in series.

Where files get stuck

Details that do not match. The name on the passport, the name on the letter and the name on the contract must be identical, including middle names and transliteration. Mismatches are the most common cause of delay and the easiest to avoid.

A job description that does not fit the salary or the licence. A file that describes a supervisory role at an operative's wage invites questions.

Employer standing. As above.

Consular capacity. The letter can be accepted quickly and the worker still waits weeks for an appointment slot. Book early; in some source countries this is the real bottleneck.

Who should do it

The employer files it, but nothing stops the employer's agent preparing it. We prepare and file mediation letters for our clients as a matter of course, because we do it weekly and a company doing it twice a year will spend a day learning MIGRIS each time.

What we will not do is file one for a job that does not match the worker we assessed. If the description and the person diverge, that shows up later at a worse moment.

If you are about to file your first, send us the role and we will tell you what the letter needs to say.