Employers hear 'shortage list' and assume one list. Lithuania has two, with different authors and different effects. One saves you a step; the other lets you file when the quota is gone.
The Employment Service publishes, by economic activity, the professions in which Lithuanian employers cannot find workers. For a profession on the list the employer does not need the Service's decision that the vacancy meets labour-market needs — the application goes straight to the Migration Department with the contract. For a profession not on the list the vacancy is registered with the Service and its decision follows within seven working days. The list is revised every half-year and employers' associations can propose additions; in recent years it has included machine-tool operators, forklift operators, C and CE drivers in international haulage, plumbers and pipefitters, welders, plasterers, bricklayers and butchers — and dropped some, such as electricians and concrete workers, when the market changed.
The narrower list approved by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation names professions that create high added value and are in shortage. Its effect is financial: for these professions the Migration Department issues a work-based permit above the exhausted quota if the employer pays at least the average wage — €2,411.40 in 2026 — instead of €2,893.68. Engineering, IT and some technical roles feature; operator roles generally do not. We check the specific occupation code before telling you which line applies.
Before quoting we map every role in your brief to both lists and to the salary you pay: listed on list 1 → no Employment Service step; listed on list 2 and paid ≥ €2,411.40 → file now; paid ≥ €2,893.68 → file now regardless; everything else → the January quota plan. The mapping goes into your proposal with the list versions and dates, so your HR can show it to the Migration Department or an auditor later.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in Prague, which has jurisdiction for Lithuania, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. The Philippine ban on direct hiring applies; the employer is always your company, directly — the Lithuanian permit is issued to the worker for employment with you, not with an agency.
Everything here is subject to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens as amended, the annual quota resolution, the Employment Service shortage list and the Migration Department's practice in force.
No. List 1 only removes the Employment Service decision. Above the exhausted quota the salary lines apply: €2,893.68, or €2,411.40 if the profession is also on list 2.
List 1 twice a year; list 2 by ministerial order when reviewed. We re-check on the day of filing and before each extension.
Employers' organisations and sector bodies can propose additions to the Employment Service; individual employers usually go through their association.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.