Welcome to Vilnius workshops to support foreign talent relocating to Lithuania’s capital

This Tuesday Vilnius’ business development and tourism agency Go Vilnius at the Workland Business Centre announced a series of dedicated workshops slated to begin taking place later this month. The Welcome to Vilnius workshops are designed to facilitate the transition of foreigners coming to the city to pursue professional opportunities. In just a few hours, workshop participants will receive invaluable information to help them navigate bureaucracy, settle into day-to-day life, and ultimately, become a local. The workshops will also give participants an opportunity to ask a team of experts specific questions, take part in a tour of Vilnius and meet other foreigners, a press release from Go Vilnius states.

"The capitals and big cities of Europe are competing to attract investors and talent, so we are working diligently to make Vilnius as attractive as possible for them. Enabling newly arriving foreigners to settle into their new environment quickly is of great importance for the overall attractiveness of the city. I believe that a simple but effective solution like these workshops will be of great help for individuals wishing to settle in Vilnius and other parts of our country," says Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius.

According to Inga Romanovskienė, Head of Go Vilnius, a number of initiatives are available to help foreigners integrate by bringing them face-to-face with representatives of different government bodies and organisations. The Welcome to Vilnius workshops are a great example of this – they allow foreigners to freely communicate with representatives from the country's social insurance body Sodra, the Migration Department, real estate agencies, Renkuosi Lietuvą and other organisations.

"Having proper access to information and being able to communicate directly with specialists from different areas as well as other people in similar situations makes getting used to a new place much easier. With this in mind, participants of our workshops will be able to take part in an excursion, during which we will show them Vilnius through the eyes of a local. They will also be able to meet and network with other foreigners, and make new friends," says I. Romanovskienė.

Last year, Go Vilnius organised a number of practical Welcome to Vilnius workshops for individual companies. This year, they will be offered on a regular basis and be open to anyone interested in taking part. The workshops will be held on a monthly basis at the Workland Business Centre on Gediminas Avenue. The schedule is now available and individuals can register on the Go Vilnius website. Up to 50 people will be able to participate in each workshop. Moreover, companies and organisations can request individual workshops for their own groups of newly arrived professionals. The first Welcome to Vilnius workshop will be held on 29 January.

According to the data collected from the register of foreigners, 14,206 foreigners have come to live and work in Lithuania since March 2018 – 5,419 of which chose Vilnius.