Assistance to pregnant women and families raising children

The Law on Benefits for Children

The law applies to individuals residing in the Republic of Lithuania, including:

• Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
• Foreign nationals holding a long-term residence permit in the European Union issued by the Republic of Lithuania.
• Foreign nationals appointed as guardians (caregivers) of a child who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign child for whom guardianship (care) has been established in the Republic of Lithuania or for whom the competent authority of the Republic of Lithuania has assumed responsibility for the exercise of guardianship (care), and to foreign children for whom guardianship (care) has been established in the Republic of Lithuania or for whom the exercise of guardianship (care) has been assumed by a competent authority of the Republic of Lithuania;
• Foreign Nationals who have been issued a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as a “temporary residence permit”) on the grounds that they intend to work in the Republic of Lithuania in a position requiring high professional qualifications;
• Foreign nationals who have been issued a temporary residence permit and are authorized to work in the Republic of Lithuania, and who are currently working in the Republic of Lithuania or have worked there for a period of at least 6 months and are registered with the Employment Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labor of the Republic of Lithuania as unemployed, except for foreigners who have been permitted to enter the country for the purpose of studying;
• Persons to whom this law applies in accordance with the European Union regulations on the coordination of social security systems
• Citizens of European Union member states or European Free Trade Association states and their family members, who have been issued documents, in accordance with legal provisions, confirming or granting the right to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, and who have resided in the Republic of Lithuania for no less than 3 months. This requirement does not apply if person is a citizen of one of these countries and works (as employed or self-employed) in Lithuania.
• Foreign nationals who have been issued a temporary residence permit as intra-company transferees for a period of at least 9 months
• Foreign nationals who have been granted asylum or temporary protection in the Republic of Lithuania.
• Citizens of Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea, and their family members, who have been issued temporary residence permits in the Republic of Lithuania and who have resided in the Republic of Lithuania for no less than 3 months, or who have acquired the right to remain in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania in the case specified in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania On the Legal Status of foreigners (Art. 22¹, para. 1, pt. 5). This requirement does not apply if person is a citizen of one of these countries and works (as employed or self-employed) in Lithuania.

Lump sum benefit for a pregnant woman

A pregnant unemployed woman, who is not eligible for a maternity benefit under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance, is granted a lump sum benefit for a pregnant woman in the amount of 6.43 BSA, 70 days before the scheduled childbirth date.

A lump sum child benefit

A lump sum child benefit in the amount of 14 BSAis paid for every newborn.

To encourage local adoptions in Lithuania, an adopted child receives a lump sum child benefit of 14 BSA, regardless of whether a lump sum child benefit has already been paid at birth.

A child placed under guardianship in a family or social family until the age of one and a half years is granted a one-time benefit of 14 BSA, provided that this benefit has not been paid at birth or upon the initial establishment of guardianship.

Child benefit

Regardless of family income, a child benefit equal to 1.75 BSA shall be granted for each child from the date of birth until the age of 18, or until the minor child is recognized as emancipated or married. For an emancipated or married minor child, or a person over 18 years of age who is enrolled in a general education curriculum, the benefit shall be granted and paid until the age of 23.

An additional child benefit of 1.03 BSA for the same child is granted and paid under one of the following points:

• For each child, raised or cared for by family, from birth to 18 years of age and over, if they are in general education, but no longer than until they reach the age of 23 years, if the average income of the family is less than 2 amounts of the state supported income per person (SSI) per month.
• For each child raised or cared for by family who have three or more children, benefit shall be provided from the child's date of birth until they reach the age of 18 years, or until the minor child is legally emancipated or marries. Support shall continue for those older than 18 years if they are enrolled in a general education curriculum and shall not extend beyond the age of 23 years.
• For each child with a disability, benefit shall be provided from the child's date of birth until they reach the age of 18 years, or until the minor child is legally emancipated or marries. Support shall continue for those older than 18 years if they are enrolled in a general education curriculum and shall not extend beyond the age of 23 years.
   

The child benefit shall not be granted, or its payment shall be terminated if the child is arrested, is serving a prison sentence, has been subjected to compulsory medical measures for in-patient observation in specialised mental health care institutions, has been declared wanted or has been declared by a court to be in an unknown location until these circumstances have ceased to exist.

Child adoption benefit

Upon adoption of a child, one of the child's adoptive parents who raises the child shall be granted a monthly benefit in the amount of 8 BSA for 24 months from the date of entry into force of the court's decision to adopt the child and the benefit shall be paid no longer than the child's eighteenth birthday.

When under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance the adoptive parents are entitled to a childcare benefit the amount of which is not less than a child adoption benefit, the adoption benefit is not granted.

If the amount of a childcare benefit paid in accordance the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance is less than a child adoption benefit, the amount of the child adoption benefit is calculated as the difference between the child adoption benefit and the childcare benefit.

A child adoption benefit is not paid when one of the child’s adoptive parents is granted a childcare benefit paid to the same adopted child under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance.

If the childcare benefit under the Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance Act has been granted to the child's adoptive parent for a period of less than 24 months, the full amount of the child adoption benefit is paid for the remainder of the period, up to 24 months.

Childcare benefit for a person in education or training (until 2026-05-31)

A parent, adoptive parent, or guardian raising a child is entitled to a monthly benefit of 6 BSA during their period of training or studies and for 12 months after completing such training or studies. This applies if the individual is or was studying under a general curriculum, formal vocational training curriculum, or as a full-time student at a higher education institution, including doctoral or medical residency programs. This benefit is provided if the individual is not eligible for childcare benefit under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance.

This benefit is provided from the child’s birth until they reach 2 years of age. It will not be granted to individuals in training or education if the other parent, adoptive parent or guardian has already been granted a childcare benefit for the same child under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance. If two or more children are born, or two or more children are adopted, there is no increase in the amount of the childcare benefit for a person in education or training.

Non-insurance Benefit for childcare(from 2026-06-01)

A parent, adoptive parent, or guardian raising a child who is not entitled to receive a childcare benefit under the Law on Sickness and Maternity Social Insurance, is granted a monthly benefit for childcare in the amount of 6 BSA. This benefit is provided from the child’s birth until they reach 2 years of age.

If two or more children are born at the same time, or if two or more simultaneously born children are adopted or taken into guardianship, the amount of the benefit is not increased. If a person receiving the benefit acquires the right to receive this benefit due to the birth, adoption, or guardianship of another child, the benefit for childcare for the later born, adopted, or fostered child is granted after the payment period of the currently assigned benefit expires, and it is paid until this child reaches 2 years of age. Upon adopting or establishing guardianship for two or more children of different ages, for whose care the person is entitled to receive the benefit for childcare, the benefit is granted for the care of the youngest child and is paid until they reach 2 years of age.

A benefit for multiple births

When two or more children are born at the same time, one of the child's parents receives the benefit for more than one child born at the same time. When two children are born at the same time, a monthly benefit of 4 BSA is paid. Where more than two children are born at the same time, the amount of the benefit is increased accordingly by 4 BSA. This benefit is paid from the birth of the children until they reach the age of two.

 Benefit for Mandatory Primary Military Service Serviceman’s Child

Each child of a serviceman in mandatory initial military service receives a monthly benefit of 1.5 BSA for the duration of his or her father's or mother's service. If the child's father and mother perform mandatory initial military service at the same time, the amount of benefit shall not be increased.

A childcare compensatory benefit

A childcare compensatory benefit of 5.2 BSA per month is granted and paid to a parent, adoptive parent or guardian, when the child's guardianship has been established in the family, for each pre-school-age child who is not being educated in accordance with the pre-school curriculum at state or municipal or non-state institutions (kindergarten) and who is being looked after by a natural person (a babysitter) for a salary. The benefit can be paid until the end of the term of the childcare contract or employment contract between the parent, adoptive parent or guardian and the natural person carrying out the childcare.

The childcare compensatory benefit is payable to parents (adoptive parents) or guardians of the child provided that both are employed, or one is employed while the other is studying under a general curriculum, formal vocational training curriculum, or as a full-time student at a higher education institution, including doctoral or medical residency programs, unless their level of participation (work capacity) is evaluated at 0–25 percent. 

The childcare compensatory benefit is not granted if a natural person is looking after his own, spouse's or cohabitant's child. To ensure proper care of children, childcare compensatory benefit also is not granted for more than 5 children cared for by the same natural person, except when all children cared for are from the same family.