Posted how easy it is to recruit foreigners and what conditions should be given to them.

“Seasonal workers are not only important for strong commercial farms. Even small farms of only one hectare also need at least a little extra labor during the season. Although unemployment is high at first glance, it is difficult to find local or registered employees. Interviews with farmers revealed that many are not familiar with the simplified procedure for hiring unskilled workers from third countries, “said Daivar Rybakov, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture.

A work permit is issued if there is no suitable employee in Lithuania

Permits to work in seasonal jobs for foreigners are issued by the Employment Service of the Ministry of Social Security and Labor. An alien is not required to have a qualification or work experience, but this job must be included on an officially approved Seasonal Job List.

A foreigner who intends to work under a contract with an employer receives a permit if there is no suitable employee in Lithuania to perform this seasonal work. The employer only needs to indicate the details of the alien and where he will live on the application. It should be noted that a foreigner must have a suitable place to live. This area (not less than 7 m2) must be in a residential area, and that they are residential is evidenced in the corresponding entry in the Property Registry.

According to the Employment Service, documents submitted by employers are examined no later than 7 working days after the date of their receipt. However, if the documents do not need to be reviewed or supplemented, they are generally processed much faster, within 3-4 business days.

A permit is issued to work seasonal jobs for up to 6 months in a 12-month period. The authorization can be valid for a continuous period or for several shorter periods, but its total duration cannot exceed a specified period of 6 months.

A state fee of EUR 34 is charged for the issuance of a work permit for seasonal jobs. It must be paid by the employer before the date of submission of the application to the Employment Service.

Last year, most seasonal work permits were granted to foreigners in the service sector. Workers were needed in food production, agricultural services, crop processing, animal care, perennials, forestry, etc. The most popular professions: food processor, fisherman, skilled strawberry farm worker, packer, etc. Last year, the largest number of seasonal work permits were issued to citizens of Ukraine (68% of all permits issued), Belarus (19%) and Sakartwell (5%).

The specialist quota has not yet been used

Employees with the required profession can be employed by the employer under an employment contract and for more than 6 months. period. An employer does not need to apply to the Employment Service for a work permit for a foreigner if his profession is included in the list of Professions for which there is a shortage of employees in the Republic of Lithuania and the established quota has not been used.

Agriculture is also included in the list of professions for which people from third countries can work through a simplified procedure. This list includes 96 professions for 2021. Of these, 3 belong to the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors: a skilled forestry, mechanical and forestry worker.

According to the data of the Employment Service, the quota set for 2021 will allow to employ 32,200 foreigners whose profession is included in the list of employees of the absent professions in Lithuania. 2000 of them – in agriculture.
The Migration Department on its website https://www.migracija.lt/ publicly announces the use of the quota of foreign specialists. Employers should note that the currently established quota has not been exhausted.

Foreigners from disappeared professions can also be hired after the quota is exhausted, but they will be subject to a general procedure. This means that if the Employment Service determines that there are no Lithuanian or European Union citizens suitable for the job advertised by the employer, it will be necessary to obtain their permission to hire a foreigner.

It is easier to hire Belarusians

At present, it is easier to recruit Belarusian citizens in Lithuania, who have been subject to a simplified employment procedure since September last year. To hire Belarusians who have multiple national visas issued by our country on a preferential basis, all that is required is to register the vacancy in the Employment Service database.

Employers can also employ Belarusian citizens without qualifications or work experience. Meanwhile, other third-country nationals must have a profession and at least 1 year of work experience in the previous 5 years (excluding apprentices or apprentices and seasonal workers).

A work permit is issued for Belarusian citizens until the expiration of the national multiple entry visa. This period can be extended for an additional period.

With permission, a Belarusian citizen can sign an employment contract with his employer and start working immediately. The employer, like all other foreigners, must notify the Employment Service and the State Labor Inspectorate about the employment of said employee through the Sodra electronic insured service system by submitting a notification on the prescribed form to LDU.

Lack of motivated staff

Additional labor will be needed soon. At least a thousand seasonal workers are needed on the largest vegetable farms in Lithuania alone. Not only vegetable growers need more, but berry and garden owners as well.

According to Zofija Cironkienė, director of the Lithuanian Vegetable Producers Association, to recruit foreigners, some employers apply for employment in employment agencies, others send Ukrainians posted from Poland. If an employer wishes to hire an unskilled seasonal worker, it faces an obstacle: foreigners are only employed when there are no suitable Lithuanian residents to fill the vacancy. According to Z. Cironkienė, this requirement significantly hinders the employment of motivated people. “Working in agriculture is not easy, a person must be physically strong. For the people who offer the employment service, working on horticultural farms is too difficult, they are not interested in working with us. “Harvesting, caring for crops, preparing products for sale require employees who view work responsibly,” said the director. According to her, the Employment Service should also expand the list of missing professions.

Please add to the list

Not only vegetable producers, but also employers in other areas of the agricultural sector would like to add to the list of professions whose employees are in short supply in the Republic of Lithuania. The Ministry of Agriculture took into account the wishes of the economic entities and sent a request to the Employment Service with a request to include in the list the specialties of veterinarians, milking-operators, tractors, agricultural workers, animal caretakers.

Employers should also be aware of the exceptions that apply during quarantine. The Minister of Agriculture may exceptionally issue permits to enter Lithuania to work for agricultural workers who have valid work visas or in other cases. In this case, entrepreneurs or people from third countries must submit reasoned requests to the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be examined.