By Gabrielė Jankienė, LRT.lt.

Starting January 1, 2026, all foreigners working directly with customers in Lithuania – including couriers, ride-hailing drivers, beauty specialists, medical staff, and retail workers – will be required to communicate in Lithuanian.

The measure, approved by the Seimas in October 2024, purports to help foreigners integrate into Lithuanian society, though it leaves a lot of uncertainty about the availability of language courses and how the rules will be monitored.

Supporters of the legislation argue that it addresses a longstanding challenge in the service sector. While roughly 60% of Lithuanians speak Russian, about 40% may struggle to understand service workers who communicate in languages they do not know. A poll commissioned by LRT found that eight out of 10 Lithuanians believe that foreign service workers should be able to speak Lithuanian.

The requirement applies to both foreign employees and the companies that employ them. Lawmakers said it will help migrants participate more fully in Lithuanian society and encourage them to learn at least conversational Lithuanian.

At the same time, lawmakers insisted that Lithuanians have the right to be served in their own language.

Read more: LRT.LT