How do you choose health insurance in Lithuania in 2026?

Permanent residence puts you into PSD from the permit’s validity date. Pay monthly contributions yourself when you are not employed and the state is not covering you, or let an employer file Sodra contributions when you work. Temporary residence is narrower: Lithuanian employment or qualifying self-employment brings you (and often dependent children) into PSD through payroll or your own activity filings. After at least six months of work, registering with the Employment Service can keep state-paid PSD while you look for the next job. Non-working temporary residents cannot usually self-enrol in PSD just by wanting a GP list.

National D-visa holders and many non-EU students sit outside PSD. They need private medical insurance for the visa or residence file and for hospital bills until a PSD basis appears. Map that against Apply for a residence permit, then follow Enrol in public healthcare once Sodra and VLK show you as insured. Confirm status on VLK’s DPSDR check rather than trusting a border stamp.

Buy private cover that is valid in Lithuania for the whole gap before PSD activates: illness, accident, emergency hospitalisation, and the repatriation wording Migration often expects on D-visa and temporary-residence files. Local insurers such as those listed on Renkuosi Lietuvą guidance are common choices; international nomad-style bridge policies are what many remote workers compare for the first months. Keep the policy until DPSDR shows active PSD. Cancelling when you only submit Sodra paperwork leaves the waiting week uncovered.

After PSD is live, register with a šeimos gydytojas (family doctor) at a clinic contracted with a Territorial Health Insurance Fund so PSDF-paid referrals work. Fold contribution amounts, private dental gaps, and any top-up into Healthcare costs and Monthly budget. Finish Get an asmens kodas and the Paperwork after moving sequence so Sodra letters and e-health logins reach you.