What it really costs to hire a third-country worker

We are asked for a price on the first call and we usually decline to give one, which frustrates people. It is not evasion. A number without its assumptions is worse than no number: it gets put in a budget, the assumptions turn out differently, and someone is annoyed six months later. What we can do is set out every line, so you can build the figure yourself and know which parts move.

The lines you will pay

Recruitment. A one-off fee per worker placed, under direct employment. It covers sourcing, the in-person assessment, the shortlist and the immigration file. It varies with the role — a C+E driver assessed on a real vehicle costs more to find than a general production operative — and with headcount, since twenty of the same role costs less per head than two.

State fees. Residence permit and national visa fees are set by the government and passed through at cost. They are modest per worker but real, and they are payable whether or not the application succeeds.

Document and consular costs. Attestation, translations, medical certificates and police clearance in the source country, plus consular appointment costs. Usually borne by the worker, but confirm that rather than assume it.

Travel. Flights from the source country. Some employers pay these outright, some advance them and recover them over the first months within the legal limits on deductions, some leave them with the worker. Whatever you choose, write it into the contract before the worker travels.

Accommodation. The largest recurring line after wages, and the one most often forgotten. Either you provide housing and deduct a capped amount from wages, or you pay an allowance. Budget it as a monthly per-head cost from the day they land.

Wages, tax and social insurance. The bulk of the cost, and the same as for any employee. The one variable specific to international hiring is the salary threshold: while Lithuania's annual quota for non-highly-qualified workers is open, a market wage is sufficient; once it is exhausted, new permits are approved only for jobs paying at least 1.2 times the national average gross wage. That is a material difference in the second half of the year, and it is a budget question, not a paperwork question.

Licence conversion and certification. For drivers, exchanging the home licence, the Driver CPC (Code 95) course and the tachograph card. For welders and technicians, any certification the site requires. Budget both the direct cost and the weeks during which you are paying someone who cannot yet do the job.

Onboarding time. Residence registration, bank account, the permit card collection. A day here and there in the first month, and someone has to take them.

The line nobody budgets

The cost of a bad placement. A worker who arrives and cannot do the job costs you the fee, the travel, the accommodation, the wages paid during the period, the seat that stayed empty and the disruption of starting again — several times the recruitment fee, and months of lost output.

This is why we test drivers on a real vehicle and weld coupons before anyone flies, and why we reject the large majority of walk-in applicants. It looks like an expensive way to recruit until you compare it with the alternative.

How to build your own number

Take the annual salary and employer contributions for the role. Add the accommodation cost for twelve months. Add the one-off block: recruitment fee, state fees, flights, licence conversion. Divide the one-off block across the expected length of service rather than the first year alone — a driver who stays four years costs a quarter of what the same figures suggest.

Then ask the agency for two things in writing: what happens to the fee if the permit is refused, and what happens if the worker leaves in the first months. The answers tell you how the agency's incentives are aligned with yours.

Send us the roles, the headcount and the start date, and we will come back with a figure and the assumptions it rests on.