Information on financial support is available from the city’s social services centres and social benefits offices (Vilnius: 8 700 35545). Some benefits are provided by municipalities, others by the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA ).

Some information about financial support can be found here (in Lithuanian).

Citizens of Ukraine legally residing in the Republic of Lithuania have the right to apply to all banks and other financial institutions (e.g. electronic money institutions, credit unions) providing payment services. Their list (including contact details) is available on the Bank of Lithuania website . Citizens of Ukraine need a valid passport or another identity document.

Possible limitations:

• if a person does not have a valid identity document, i.e. the condition to have a valid identity document is mandatory;
• if a person is on the list of persons subject to sanctions.

SEB Bank, Citadele Bank, Luminor Bank, Šiaulių Bankas publicly announce that you can open a bank account free of charge with these banks.

• You can register for a visit to a SEB Bank branch online or by phone +370 5 268 2800 (I-V 8.00-20.00). More information here (in Lithuanian).
• You can register for a visit to a Citadele Bank branch by phone +370 5 221 9091. More information here (in Lithuanian).
• For information on opening a Luminor Bank account for Ukrainians, click here .
• You can register for a visit to a Šiaulių Bankas branch by calling 1813 or online by selecting the nearest branch. More information here (in Lithuanian).

You can exchange your hryvnia to euro at the best exchange rate at Florinus.lt currency exchange (40 hryvnia / 1 euro). The exchange rate is currently limited to €300 per person. Please bring proof of identity.

Top Exchange and Valiuta24 also exchange hryvnia. Please note that the value of the hryvnia is significantly reduced. We recommend that you call any exchange office before you go and ask them if they buy hryvnia.

See a list of other exchange points here .

Since October 10, any citizen of Ukraine with the status of a refugee can carry out exchange operations in the branches of Šiaulių bankas located in Vilnius, Kaunas, Šiauliai, Klaipeda and Telšiai.

But there are certain limitations:

• limit on the amount of exchange - no more than 10 thousand hryvnias
• only banknotes from 100 to 1000 hryvnias
• damaged or defective banknotes cannot be exchanged for euros
• the exchange rate is set by the NBU (published weekly on the website of the Bank of Lithuania)

There is also a fee for the operation - 2.5 euros. Consider this when you plan to make an exchange.

Regarding taxation in Lithuania, you can read on the website of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania .

For tax issues, you can also consult Vilnius University Legal Clinic. They provides free legal assistance to all war refugees from Ukraine. Consultations are available in Lithuanian, English and Russian:

• Ask a question at ukraina@teisesklinika.lt
• By phone, WhatsApp and Viber – call the hotline for Ukrainians: +370 623 26 041 (weekdays 10:00-18:00)
• In-person, at office at Vilniaus g. 25, Vilnius (with prior registration) – registration form .

For more information about legal assistance at the VU Law Clinic, click here .

Primary legal aid in Lithuania is also provided by municipal specialists. You can find information about primary legal aid in different cities on the municipalities’ websites. Secondary legal aid is administered by the State Guaranteed Legal Aid Service (appointing a free lawyer, mediation procedures). Link to the website of the service.

Legal aid is also provided free of charge (pro bono) by some lawyers and legal assistants .

Regarding taxation in Lithuania, you can read on the website of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania .

For tax issues, you can also consult Vilnius University Legal Clinic. They provides free legal assistance to all war refugees from Ukraine. Consultations are available in Lithuanian, English and Russian:

• Ask a question at ukraina@teisesklinika.lt
• By phone, WhatsApp and Viber – call the hotline for Ukrainians: +370 623 26 041 (weekdays 10:00-18:00)
• In-person, at office at Vilniaus g. 25, Vilnius (with prior registration) – registration form .

For more information about legal assistance at the VU Law Clinic, click here .

There is an ingenious, but not perfect, solution — to prove to the tax authority of the state in which the citizen does not plan to pay taxes that he is a resident of another country where he fulfills this duty.

A natural person has such a right, as Ukraine has valid conventions and treaties on the avoidance of double taxation with 73 countries of the world. Among them are almost all European countries, as well as the USA and Canada. According to these conventions, Ukrainians who pay taxes in Ukraine have the right to avoid taxation in the country of residence.

If such a situation arises in which a citizen falls under the criteria of a tax resident of Ukraine and at the same time another state defines him as its resident, he has the right to contact the tax authorities of the country of residence and make a request to the Ukrainian tax authorities to confirm that he pays taxes.

That is, in order to prevent double taxation, it is necessary to determine the resident status of an individual and, if necessary, obtain a document that will confirm it. But this may require the help of specialists - tax consultants or lawyers. Specialists advise in advance to collect evidence of the presence of a center of economic interests in Ukraine (if you plan to pay taxes only in Ukraine).

Among them may be:

• certificate of payment of taxes in Ukraine;
• certificate of tax resident of Ukraine (soon to be available in electronic form);
• actual place of registration in Ukraine;
• evidence of the presence of an individual entrepreneur registered in Ukraine (registration documents and tax declarations);
• certificates of current accounts in Ukrainian banks;
• certificates about the child's attendance at educational institutions in Ukraine;
• receipts for the payment of utility bills.

If a citizen of Ukraine is recognized as a resident of Ukraine, but paid taxes in another country, the taxes paid can be credited in Ukraine. But if a person does not meet the criteria of a resident of Ukraine, it allows to change the tax resident status and consider another country as the place of tax payment.

It is important to check the registration of a natural person as a subject of entrepreneurial activity in the Unified State Register. Even if the activity has not been carried out for a long time, but the registration has not been terminated, this is a criterion for recognizing a person as a resident of Ukraine, which is accompanied by the obligation to pay taxes on income received abroad in Ukraine.

Being a citizen of Ukraine, but a tax NON-resident, you will still have to pay taxes in Ukraine for some types of income:

• when receiving inheritance and gifts from persons who are not relatives of the 1st and 2nd degrees of kinship;
• when receiving an investment profit;
• when selling/leasing immovable and movable property to a natural person.

Source .

You can transfer money from Lithuania to Ukraine via an international transfer or money transfer at a corresponding provider or a bank.

For an international transfer at the bank you have to fill out a special form and usually pay fees. Other special money transfer providers (e.g. Western Union, Moneygram, Wise, Revolut, Paypal) are often a cheaper and faster alternative.