Lithuania opens Ukrainian digital-permit replacements valid to March 2028

Use the replacement process for an existing protection document

Lithuania’s Migration Department began replacing digital residence permits held by Ukrainian war refugees on 5 October 2026. Its notice says the replacement documents will be valid until 4 March 2028 and that replacement is free. This follow-up concerns the operational process for existing protection holders, rather than a new eligibility announcement for every Ukrainian national or a change to all Lithuanian employment and study permits.

The Department’s October notice directs applicants through the foreigner section of MIGRIS, selecting temporary residence and the service for people displaced from Ukraine by the war, then permit replacement. After completing the form, the applicant must reserve a service appointment, attend on time and bring the originals of the submitted documents. Use that notice to identify the correct service rather than select an unrelated first employment application or assume an expired document renews itself without action.

Understand the protection extension and its limits

The Council of the European Union announced political agreement on the extension to March 2028 on 15 July 2026, with formal adoption to follow. Its resource explains temporary protection as a collective emergency mechanism, providing residence and access to employment, housing, medical assistance and education for children. Lithuania’s later renewal notice supplies the country-specific implementation relevant to replacing the document; the July announcement alone does not complete an individual Lithuanian application.

The Council also distinguished new applicants from people already benefiting from protection when describing the military-obligations condition agreed for new applications. Existing beneficiaries were expressly excluded from that new-applicant limitation. People applying for protection for the first time should therefore check the current national eligibility instructions separately, rather than treat a replacement procedure for an existing holder as a complete first-application checklist.

For an established household, the practical question is which documents each person currently holds and whether they are actually based on temporary protection. Someone who has moved to another residence basis should not assume that the same replacement service applies. Ask the Migration Department where the category is unclear, especially before relying on a particular document for employment or planned travel.

Prepare children’s applications and appointment documents

The Department’s digital-permit questions explain that a parent can apply for a child under 16 through the parent’s MIGRIS account, identifying both the person completing the form and the child. The guidance requests the child’s available identity and relationship records, such as a passport, identity card or birth certificate. Applicants aged 16 and above use their own account. Compare the information entered with the originals to avoid swapping the parent’s details into the child’s record.

The October replacement notice says children older than two must attend with at least one parent or guardian; younger children’s images may be taken from an age-appropriate photograph supplied by the adult. It permits appointments at any customer-service division, regardless of the family’s Lithuanian residence location, including offices normally serving only Lithuanian citizens. That can widen appointment options, but applicants should still book the correct service and confirm the documents required for each child.

A separate 23 October notice about 07:00 appointments in Vilnius concerns Lithuanian citizens ordering passports or identity cards. It should not be interpreted as a general early appointment entitlement for foreign residence applicants. Use the times actually offered for the relevant MIGRIS service rather than arrive for a different customer category.

Keep the digital permit accessible and check travel separately

The Department’s official questions state that a digital residence permit is not a travel document and does not replace a passport. A traveller should carry the valid travel document and retain the digital permission on a device or as a printed copy. Check the destination and transit requirements separately before departure; Lithuanian residence documentation does not answer every border question for a journey outside Lithuania.

The same questions distinguish saving an unfinished MIGRIS form from submitting it. Confirm that the application was actually submitted and monitor the account and associated email for messages. Check names, birth dates and the required Latin-script entries before final submission, and retain the appointment confirmation. These simple checks address practical errors that can prevent an otherwise prepared household from completing the replacement.

The reviewed October notice does not set one universal final filing date for every holder or guarantee a decision by a booked travel date. Check the expiry on the existing document, act promptly and ask the Department about any gap or unresolved record. After issuance, verify the new document in the correct MIGRIS account before presenting it as evidence of continued permission.