Are international students covered by Lithuania's state health insurance?

Not automatically. Non-EU students on a national (D) visa are not in the state PSD system and need private cover. A non-EU student on a temporary residence permit who is legally employed and whose employer pays PSD is brought into the state system. Confirm your own status with your university and the official sources.

Does an EHIC card work for EU students in Lithuania?

Yes, for emergency and necessary care from public providers, but it does not cover everything (e.g. routine private visits). Many students top it up with private insurance.

How much does private student health insurance cost?

Roughly €50–€150 per year for a basic policy, depending on the cover. Always check the insured amount meets the immigration requirement before you buy.

Can I get state insurance if I work part-time?

If you hold a temporary residence permit and are legally employed, your employer pays PSD contributions and you enter the state health system. The cover follows the employment, so gaps between contracts can leave you uninsured. Check the current rules with Sodra.

What insured amount do I need for a residence permit?

Around €10,000 for a temporary residence permit and about €30,000 for a national visa (as of 2026 — confirm with the Migration Department and your university).

Health insurance for international students in Lithuania

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change — confirm anything important with the official source linked below and your university's international office.

Lithuania has a compulsory health insurance system (PSD), but as an international student you are not automatically covered — what you need depends on whether you are an EU, non-EU or Erasmus/exchange student, and on whether you are legally employed. This guide explains who is covered and who must buy private insurance.

Confirm before you rely on this

Insurance rules and the exact insured amounts change, and your university may set stricter conditions than the legal minimum. Treat the figures below as a starting point and confirm your situation with your university's international office, Sodra and the Migration Department before you apply for a permit or rely on a policy. Free, official help is available from the Migration Information Centre (toll-free 0 800 22922).

Quick answer by student type

You are…	Likely cover	What to do
EU/EEA student	EHIC for emergency/necessary care	Bring your EHIC; consider topping up
Non-EU student on a D visa	Not in state PSD	Buy private insurance (~€50–€150/yr)
Non-EU student (TRP), not working	Not state-covered	Keep private insurance valid for the whole stay
Non-EU student (TRP), legally employed	Employer pays PSD → state-covered	Mind gaps between contracts (see below)
Erasmus/exchange (visa)	Home-country cover or private	Check the higher insured amount needed

EU and EEA students

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, bring a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from your home country. It gives you access to state-provided emergency and medically necessary care in Lithuania on the same terms as locals, with subsidised medicines through the territorial patient funds.

The EHIC does not cover everything — for example, routine private clinic visits or planned treatment. Many EU students buy a low-cost private policy on top, especially if they want faster access to private GPs.

Non-EU students

Whether you are in the state PSD system as a non-EU student depends almost entirely on your status and whether you work.

On a national (D) visa: not in state PSD

If you are in Lithuania on a national (D) visa, you are not in the state compulsory health insurance (PSD) system and have no free public healthcare. You must buy and keep private health insurance for your whole stay. Basic private student cover runs roughly €50–€150 per year.

On a temporary residence permit (TRP): it depends on employment

If you hold a TRP but are not legally employed (and not self-insured/self-employed), you are not covered by state PSD and cannot simply pay PSD contributions on your own as a student. You need private insurance.
If you hold a TRP and are legally employed, your employer pays your PSD contributions and you are brought into the state health system — generally from when your employment is registered with Sodra.

Mind the coverage gaps between contracts

Because state cover follows your employment, it can switch off when a contract ends. If you stop working, your PSD cover can lapse after a short grace period — leaving you both uninsured and without the proof of insurance your TRP requires. A lapse in insurance can endanger the residence permit itself. Between jobs, either keep a private policy as a bridge or check your status with Sodra immediately — do not assume you are still covered.

For the residence permit itself, you must show insurance with a minimum insured amount:

Temporary residence permit (TRP): at least €10,000 of cover (as of 2026 — confirm on VU's guidance and the Migration Department).
National visa (D): typically €30,000, covering emergency care, hospital treatment, medical evacuation and repatriation (as of 2026 — confirm with your university).

What the policy must do

Insurance for a permit usually has to guarantee that basic medical costs and repatriation to your home country are covered. Check the policy wording before you buy — a cheap travel policy may not qualify.

How non-EU students can join state PSD

You become covered by compulsory health insurance if you fall into a covered category — most commonly:

You hold a permanent residence permit, or
You hold a TRP and are legally employed and your employer pays your monthly PSD contributions.

Note that, as a student on a TRP who is not employed, you generally cannot opt to pay PSD yourself the way some other residents can — so private insurance is usually the only route until you start working. The self-paid PSD contribution (where it applies) is a percentage of the minimum monthly wage; verify the current rate and your eligibility with Sodra before relying on it.

The order of operations: breaking the insurance ↔ personal-code ↔ permit loop

New arrivals often hit a chicken-and-egg problem: you seem to need a personal code (asmens kodas) to buy things, the permit to get the personal code, and insurance to get the permit. Here is the realistic sequence that breaks the loop:

Buy private health insurance first. Insurance is one of the documents you submit at the application stage, before any permit or personal code exists. You do not need a personal code or a residence permit to buy a qualifying private policy. Some private insurers will sell to people who do not yet have a personal code — confirm this directly with the insurer before paying, and check the policy meets the insured-amount requirement (≈ €10,000 TRP / ≈ €30,000 D visa) and lists repatriation.
Submit your visa/TRP application with that policy attached.
Receive the permit (or visa). The TRP brings the personal code with it; the D visa does not by itself put you in any state system.
Start legal employment (TRP holders). Once your employer registers you with Sodra and pays PSD, you enter the state system — and can usually drop the private policy, though keep it until state cover is confirmed.
Renew the private policy on time if you are not employed, and never let it lapse while your legal stay depends on it.

Don't wait for a personal code to insure yourself

Treat private insurance as step one, not something you sort out after arrival. Trying to get the permit before the insurance, or assuming the personal code unlocks state healthcare on its own, is what traps people in the loop. The personal code is the gatekeeper for many services, but it is employment with PSD — not the code itself — that puts a TRP student into state healthcare.

Erasmus and exchange students

Erasmus/exchange students usually stay on shorter terms. If you are from the EU/EEA, your EHIC normally covers you. If you are a non-EU exchange student entering on a national visa, you typically need private insurance meeting the higher (~€30,000) threshold — and, because the D visa keeps you outside state PSD, that private cover must last your whole stay. Check what your host university requires, as some set their own minimum.

What it costs and how to buy

Basic private student health insurance typically costs €50–€150 per year, depending on the cover and the insured amount. You can buy from Lithuanian insurers (e.g. via the Lithuanian Insurers' Association directory) or from a provider in your home country, as long as the policy meets the immigration requirement. Some private insurers sell to people who do not yet have a personal code — confirm this with the insurer before you buy.

Buy the right amount, once

Before paying, check the policy's insured amount matches what your permit needs (≈ €10,000 for a TRP, ≈ €30,000 for a visa) and that it lists repatriation. Buying the correct policy first time saves you re-doing it at the Migration Department.

Sources conflict — so verify

Universities and secondary sources do not always agree on whether full-time students get state-funded PSD, or on the exact insured amounts and the current PSD rate. Do not treat any single number here as settled. Confirm with your university's international office, Sodra, the Migration Information Centre (free, toll-free 0 800 22922) and the Migration Department before you apply or buy.