Almost every Lithuanian office will, sooner or later, ask for the same number. It is called asmens kodas, and it is the thread that ties together your employer, your bank, your doctor and the tax office.
The Lithuanian personal code is not something you apply for on a website with a button called "get my number". It is a by-product of getting into the registers properly. This article explains that route and what official sources do and do not say about it.
What is the Lithuanian personal code used for?
Everything. The administration, your employer, your bank, the health insurance system and the tax authority (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija, VMI) identify you by it. Your employer needs it to withhold income tax, social contributions and health insurance from your salary. Many online portals refuse to open without it, and it is the base on which electronic identification is built (Lithuania e-services).
How does an EU citizen get a Lithuanian personal code?
The basic route for an EU citizen who settles is to obtain the certificate of the right of residence from the Migration Department, then declare a home address (residence in Lithuania). The code is linked to your entry in the Lithuanian registers.
Here is the honest part. The conditions and the exact moment when the code is assigned to an EU citizen could not be confirmed on an official Lithuanian page, because the sites are protected against automated reading. Until the code exists, foreigners are recorded under an ILTU code. So at the counter, ask three plain questions: is my personal code issued with my residence document, where does it appear, and can you confirm it in the register?
What is the ILTU code?
ILTU means "alien with interests in Lithuania". It is a code issued by the Migration Department to a foreigner who does not live in Lithuania but has interests there: a property, an income, a company. It costs €2.30 (2026). If that is your case, also ask the tax office which identifier to use for your returns.
Not sure whether you need a personal code, an ILTU code, or whether your situation counts as residence for tax? Moovy can check your profile and draft the question to send to the Migration Department or the tax office.
What are the steps, in order?
- Get your certificate of the right of residence if you stay more than three months within six.
- Ask the Migration Department how and when your personal code is attributed and where it appears.
- Declare your address, with the landlord's consent if you rent.
- Give the code to your employer, so contributions and tax are withheld correctly (working in Lithuania).
- Keep it for your bank, your doctor and the tax office.
Documents are the usual set: ID or passport, the certificate, and the address declaration.
Why does the address matter for tax?
Because declaring your home in Lithuania is one of the criteria that make you a tax resident. According to EURES, a declared home in Lithuania is among the factors that make you a permanent tax resident. A resident declares income from Lithuania and abroad. The income tax is 20% on the first band, and since 1 January 2026 there are two higher bands, which the tax office (VMI) can explain. The tax office also applies a day count: 183 days, or 280 days over two consecutive years with at least 90 in one of them.
So the code, the address and the tax residence arrive together. Plan for that rather than discovering it in May.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Assuming the code arrives on its own. Ask, and check that it is recorded.
- Declaring the address before holding the residence document.
- Forgetting the tax effect of the address. Check the tax treaty with your home country.
- Not declaring your departure. If you leave for more than six months without telling the authorities, health contributions can keep running.
What differs by origin?
EU and EEA citizens follow the route above. Swiss citizens follow the same rules as EU citizens under free movement. British arrivals are third-country nationals: their code follows the temporary residence permit they obtain through MIGRIS, with the same logic of an ILTU code first (moving to Lithuania from the UK).
What happens if you do not live in Lithuania but own something there?
This is the situation the ILTU code was made for: a foreigner with a flat, an income or a share in a company, but no home in the country. The Migration Department issues the code for €2.30 (2026), and the tax office tells you which identifier to use in your returns. A notary, a bank or the Centre of Registers may ask for an identifier, so ask which one they will accept before the day of signing (buying property in Lithuania).
What does your employer do with your Lithuanian personal code?
Your employer uses it to declare you to Sodra and to withhold income tax, social contributions and health insurance. Give it in writing, check it on your first payslip and tell your employer at once if it is wrong. For the current tax rates and the monthly allowance, ask the tax office.
Which documents should you keep?
Keep a copy of your certificate of the right of residence, your address declaration and anything that shows your code in the register. Banks, doctors and the tax office will ask for them in different orders. A digital folder with scans saves a surprising number of journeys.
What is the order of documents for a newcomer?
The Migration Department's logic is consistent across its pages: first the residence document, then the address, then everything else. The code follows your entry in the registers, which is why a visa alone cannot be used to declare a home. If a counter tells you the code cannot be found, the usual cause is that one of those earlier steps is not yet recorded.
Finally, keep in mind that sources differ in how they describe the code, which is why we point to the questions to ask rather than to a fixed rule. The EU citizen route, the Brexit route and the non-resident ILTU route end in different registers, and the Migration Department, the Centre of Registers and the tax office each know one piece. If the three give you different answers, write down who said what and when, and ask the Migration Department to confirm in writing: that sentence alone can save a second trip.
If you are moving as a couple or a family, remember that each adult has their own code and declares their own address; for minor children, the parent they live with does the declaration. Start the file for the whole household at the same time, so that the employer, the school and the health system all receive the right identifiers in the right order.