Lithuania

• Vilnius University runs 30+ English-taught bachelor and integrated programmes - unusually deep for a country this size
• EU citizens can apply for state-funded places, not just fee-paying ones
• LSMU's English-taught Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine are open and well-established
• IB HL 5 in the required subjects exempts you from LSMU's entrance examination
• Tuition starts at around EUR 1,300 a year for some bachelor programmes

• No single portal for fee-paying places - each university sets its own deadlines and fees. State-funded places for EU citizens go through LAMA BPO instead
• Deadlines are late by Nordic standards (most autumn deadlines are in June or July), which is fine for IB results in July but leaves little planning time
• Your secondary qualification must be recognised, and document recognition 'may take up to one month or longer'
• Medicine at LSMU is not cheap: EUR 12,800 a year for years 1-3 in 2026/2027, plus a EUR 150 application fee, a EUR 250 registration fee and a EUR 1,500 deposit
• The competitive-score formula used for state-funded places is not published in English - ask the university how your IB grades will be scored

Accepted

Yes

Subjects and levels

Set per programme. LSMU requires Biology and Chemistry on the transcript for its medical programmes (Mathematics and Biology for Health Psychology), and states that International Baccalaureate holders with '5 (H level)' in the required subjects are exempt from its entrance examination.

Score conversion

Your secondary qualification must be certified/recognised by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC) before a Lithuanian university can admit you. No IB-to-Lithuanian ten-point conversion table is published.

• Vilnius University explicitly lists the International Baccalaureate among the qualifying education systems it accepts.
• ISM accepts an International or European Baccalaureate diploma as proof of English on its own, without a separate language test.
• Study in Lithuania states applicants need 'a diploma of secondary education (school leaving certificate or corresponding document from your country certified by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education)'.
• Recognition can take a month or more, so start it as soon as you have your Diploma in July.
• Non-EU/non-EFTA applicants to Vilnius University must present a qualification no more than 5 years old; this does not affect a 2027 IB graduate.

1. Choose the university and programme first. Fee-paying places are applied for at each university; as an EU/EEA citizen you can also seek a state-funded place through LAMA BPO, the joint admission system.

2. Check how your IB Diploma gets recognised. Some universities do it inside admission (LSMU does), others send you to SKVC first. Either way it can take a month or more, so start it two months before the deadline you are aiming at.

3. Check which deadline is yours. ISM and Vilnius both publish different closing dates for visa-free and visa-required applicants, and as an EU/EEA citizen you get the later one, but only if you read the right line. In 2026 that was 24 July at ISM and 1 July at Vilnius; neither has confirmed its 2027 dates yet.

4. Apply on the university’s own portal with your transcript, passport, proof of English and, at Vilnius University, a motivation letter of 1,200-4,000 characters. Vilnius University charges EUR 100 per application, which covers up to three programme choices, and will not process the application until the fee has cleared.

5. Sit any required assessment. LSMU runs an interview plus a 90-minute multiple-choice examination in Biology and Chemistry, but exempts IB candidates with HL 5 in those subjects. ISM requires a state mathematics examination result or its own mathematics test.

6. Pay the fees that fall due on acceptance: at LSMU that is a EUR 150 application fee, a EUR 250 registration fee and a EUR 1,500 deposit for EU/EEA students. Missing any of those invoice dates stops the admission.

7. Send your final IB Diploma the week it arrives - ISM wants it by 1 August whichever round admitted you.

8. As an EU citizen, move to Lithuania and complete the residence registration; non-EU students arrange a national visa and residence permit before travelling.

Selection is per programme and, for state-funded places, competitive. Vilnius University confirms that citizens of Lithuania and of other EU member states 'can apply for both state-funded and non-state-funded study places'. The exact competitive-score formula, and how IB grades are weighted inside it, is not published in English; ask the university.

• 1 November 2026

  LSMU: application portal opens

  Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  LSMU advises applying as early as possible; entrance tests begin in mid-January.

  Published for the 2026 intake as "1 November 2025 - Opening the online application period. All applicants must apply at apply.lsmuni.lt and upload copies of all required documents." LSMU publishes a dated "Application calendar" for one intake at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed the 2026 intake, headed "RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS TO THE LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES IN 2026". The date here is that calendar rolled forward by one year and is provisional until LSMU publishes the 2027 one. Review of applications begins nine days later, on 10 November, and LSMU says plainly what that means: "Applicants are recommended to apply as early as possible. Applications submitted after the deadline could be considered only in case of available study places." An early application also buys you a choice of entrance-test date, which a late one does not.

  Source

• 13 January 2027
  2027 entry, projected from the 2026 calendar

  LSMU - entrance tests and motivational interviews begin

  Details

  Published for the 2026 intake as "13 January 2026 - The period of Entrance tests and motivational interviews starts." LSMU publishes a dated "Application calendar" for one intake at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed the 2026 intake, headed "RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS TO THE LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES IN 2026". The date here is that calendar rolled forward by one year and is provisional until LSMU publishes the 2027 one. The test is online: an interview a few days before a 90-minute multiple-choice paper in Biology and Chemistry, 30 questions each (Biology and Mathematics for Psychology). Missing the interview cancels the written test automatically, and a date can only be changed with an admission officer’s approval. IB holders with grade 5 at higher level in the required subjects are exempt from the entrance examination altogether, which is the single biggest reason for an IB candidate to look at LSMU. Without a TOEFL, IELTS or CEFR B1 certificate you must also sit LSMU’s own English test.

  Source

• 30 April 2027

  ISM: early admission closes

  Priority Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  ISM runs four rounds and publishes the whole ladder for one year at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed 2026, so this is that calendar rolled forward. Early admission runs "November 1 - April 30", with the online test in the first week of May, the study contract signed by 20 May and the advance payment made no later than 31 May. Worth noting that ISM’s own page carries two stale years inside the 2026 calendar - the early round says "must be submitted by the deadline: April 30th, 2025" under a step headed 30 April 2026, and the additional round says "15th of August, 2025" under a step headed 14 August 2026 - so read the step headings rather than the sentences beneath them, and confirm anything you are relying on.

  Source

• 1 July 2027
  2027 entry

  Vilnius University - applications close for EU/EFTA citizens

  Applies to: EU and EFTA citizens

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Vilnius University has one intake a year and splits the deadline by citizenship. For autumn 2026 the page said: "1 May for applicants from non-EU/EFTA countries" and "1 July for applicants who are citizens of EU/EFTA countries and for non-EU/EFTA applicants with a 90-day visa-free period that has not yet been exceeded". As an EU/EFTA citizen you are in the July group. For the 2027/2028 round admissions.vu.lt now reads (25 September 2026): applications open on 1 December 2026, with 1 May for applicants from non-EU/EFTA countries and 1 July for EU/EFTA citizens and non-EU/EFTA applicants whose visa-free period has not been exceeded. Two things that are not dates but behave like them: the application fee is 100 EUR, non-refundable, and "An online application will be processed only after the application fee is collected and the application is submitted with all the required documents", so an unpaid invoice on the closing day is a missed deadline; and admission can close early, because the published deadline runs only until the limit of study places is reached. EU and EFTA citizens may apply for state-funded as well as fee-paying places. Vilnius gives 1 July with no year, both on this page and on its admissions site for the 2027/2028 round (which opens on 1 December 2026), so this site assumes 2027.

  Source

• 6 July 2027, 00:00

  LSMU - primary application deadline, and it closes at midnight the night before

  Priority Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  The system closes at 00:00, so in practice the night before. An additional round for selected programmes opens the next day and runs to 30 July.

  The trap is the time, not the date. LSMU publishes "6 July 2026 - Application deadline. The online application system will be closed on 6 July at 00:00", which means the system is already shut when 6 July begins - the last day you can actually submit is 5 July. LSMU publishes a dated "Application calendar" for one intake at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed the 2026 intake, headed "RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS TO THE LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES IN 2026". The date here is that calendar rolled forward by one year and is provisional until LSMU publishes the 2027 one. It falls in the same week as IB results, so assemble and submit the application before results day rather than after it. An additional round for selected programmes opens the following day, but LSMU does not name those programmes. A Medicine applicant should therefore treat 5 July as the last submission day and not rely on the extra round.

  Source

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Via Lithuanian institution

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Via LAMA BPO

  Details

  Before the main round closes, if 2027 follows 2026.

• 24 July 2027

  ISM: main admission closes (visa-free countries)

  Applies to: citizens of visa-free countries, which includes Denmark

  Hard deadline Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  This is the ISM deadline that actually applies to an EU/EEA applicant. ISM runs main admission twice, on different dates for different passports: "Main admission. For candidates from visa regime countries (May 1 - May 31)", closing 31 May with the contract signed by 12 June, and "Main admission. For candidates from visa - free regime and CIS countries (May 1 - July 24)", closing 24 July with the contract signed by 31 July. An EU citizen is in the second group and has nearly two more months than the first. Rolled forward from the 2026 calendar, which was still the one published on 23 September 2026.

  Source

• 30 July 2027, 00:00

  LSMU: final application deadline

  Equal consideration Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  Applications in by this date are guaranteed to be considered. Later ones may still be read, at the institution’s discretion, against whatever places remain.

  The last LSMU deadline, and the system again closes at 00:00. LSMU says an application after the deadline could be considered only if the programme still has places.

  The second and last LSMU deadline, with the same midnight trap as the first: "30 July 2026 - Application deadline. The online application system will be closed on 30 July at 00:00." LSMU publishes a dated "Application calendar" for one intake at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed the 2026 intake, headed "RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS TO THE LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES IN 2026". The date here is that calendar rolled forward by one year and is provisional until LSMU publishes the 2027 one. The last published entrance test sits on the same calendar day at 10:00, after the application system has already closed, so the test is for people who applied earlier. LSMU adds that an application after the deadline "could be considered only in case of available study places in a certain degree programme" - possible, but not something to plan on. After it: the 150 EUR application fee and the 250 EUR registration fee are invoiced with their own deadlines, and LSMU says twice that "Failure to pay the fee on time will result in stopping your admission procedure", as does failing to sign the study contract by the date in the Dean’s letter.

  Source

• 1 August 2027

  ISM University - submit your final IB Diploma

  Hard deadline Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  It applies to every ISM round and appears in none of their headings: each of the four admission rounds lists "Copy of Final diploma of Secondary Education submitted by the 1st of August". You can be admitted on predicted grades months earlier and still lose the place here. Your IB Diploma is issued in early July, so the gap is about four weeks. Rolled forward from the 2026 calendar.

  Source

• 14 August 2027
  2027 entry, projected from the 2026 cycle

  ISM University - additional admission round, visa-free countries only

  Applies to: citizens of visa-free countries, which includes Denmark

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  A genuine second chance, and one only an EU or other visa-free applicant gets: "Additional admission. Only for candidates from visa - free regime and CIS countries (July 22 - August 14)", with the study contract signed by 18 August and studies starting in early September. Note that ISM’s own page contradicts itself here - the step heading says 14 August 2026 and the sentence under it says "15th of August, 2025" - so work to the earlier of the two and confirm with the admissions office. Rolled forward from the 2026 calendar.

  Source

• 1 September 2027
  2027 entry, projected from the 2026 calendar

  LSMU - studies begin

  Details

  Published for the 2026 intake as studies beginning at the start of September, with "Student Registration Week takes place a week before" - so the week of late August is not optional and not a holiday. LSMU publishes a dated "Application calendar" for one intake at a time; on 23 September 2026 it still showed the 2026 intake, headed "RULES FOR ADMITTING STUDENTS TO THE LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES IN 2026". The date here is that calendar rolled forward by one year and is provisional until LSMU publishes the 2027 one. Before you travel there is the 1,500 EUR deposit for EU/EEA students to pay on top of the application and registration fees.

  Source

• Set by each institution

  Most other institutions: their own closing date

  Via Lithuanian institution

  Details

  Study in Lithuania says most autumn deadlines fall in June. Kauno kolegija's EU window runs 1 December to 1 June.

• Not yet announced for this intake

  Main admission opens

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Via LAMA BPO

  Details

  In 2026 it opened on 1 June.

• Not yet announced for this intake

  Main admission closes

  Applies to: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  Hard deadline Via LAMA BPO

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  In 2026: 23 July at 12:00, with offers on 30 July and contracts signed in person by 1 August. Two short additional rounds followed in August.

• Date not published
  2027 entry

  Get your IB Diploma recognised - no deadline, and it is the step that runs out of time

  Your own plan

  Details

  Not published by anyone — a date worth setting yourself.

  Nobody publishes a date for this, which is why it needs one of your own. The national portal warns: "Document recognition and subject equivalence identification procedures may take up to one month or longer." Lithuanian universities either recognise the qualification themselves as part of admission - LSMU does, "following the Procedure for Academic Recognition of Foreign Qualifications" - or send you to SKVC, the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education, first. Which of the two applies is set by the university, so ask before you assume. SKVC’s own site (skvc.lt) was not working on 23 September 2026, so its processing time and any fee are not given here; do not assume either. Set your own date: start recognition at least two months before the university deadline you are aiming at.

  Source 1 · Source 2

• Date not published
  2027 entry

  LAMA BPO - joint admission closes (state-funded places)

  Applies to: EU/EEA citizens seeking a state-funded place, and every EU/EEA applicant to the Vilnius Academy of Arts

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  For 2026 LAMA BPO took applications "Until 23 July, 12:00 PM (noon)", with SKVC recognition of your IB applied for by the same day. The 2027 date is not published yet.

  Source 1 · Source 2

• Set by each institution
  2027 entry

  Everything else - each university sets its own date

  Details

  Fee-paying places have no national application or deadline in Lithuania, so beyond the three universities dated on this page you have to ask each institution. State-funded places are the exception: they go through LAMA BPO, dated on its own card. The national portal publishes only a pattern: "The deadlines to apply for the autumn semester at most universities are in June, however, international students are strongly advised to apply as early as possible", followed by the warning that recognition can take a month or more. The portal gives no year and no day, so there is no date here. Note how far the three dated universities sit from that June pattern - LSMU closes in July, ISM in late July for an EU applicant, Vilnius on 1 July - so "most universities close in June" is a reason to check, not a date to plan around.

  Source

English-taught bachelors

Extensive by Baltic standards. Vilnius University alone offers more than 30 bachelor's and integrated study programmes in English; ISM offers six; LSMU offers Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Dental Hygiene and Health Psychology in English. No national total is published.

Proving your English

Varies by university. ISM accepts an International or European Baccalaureate diploma in place of a language test, and otherwise requires its own English test (55), TOEFL iBT 60, IELTS 6.0, Cambridge B2 169, PTE Academic 52 or Duolingo 115. LSMU states a requirement of IELTS above 5.5 or CEFR B1 or equivalent (its page also lists a TOEFL figure that reads as a typographical error - confirm directly). Vilnius University requires proof of language proficiency from its own approved list.

Local language needed?

Not for English-taught programmes

• English-taught programmes are taught fully in English; Lithuanian is not required for the degree.
• Clinical placements in medicine involve Lithuanian-speaking patients, so medical students normally take Lithuanian language courses alongside the degree - check how your programme handles this.

Tuition, EU/EEA

State-funded places are open to EU citizens and cost nothing. Fee-paying places start 'from 1.300 EUR per year for Bachelor studies' as a national average across institutions, rising steeply for medicine. LSMU does not distinguish EU from non-EU tuition rates. (Study in Lithuania figure, undated on its page (as of September 2026))

Tuition, non-EU

LSMU 2026/2027, same rates for EU and non-EU: Medicine EUR 12,800 (years 1-3) and EUR 13,300 (years 4-6); Odontology EUR 13,600 (years 1-3) and EUR 14,100 (years 4-5); Veterinary Medicine EUR 9,200 (years 1-3) and EUR 10,700 (years 4-6); Pharmacy EUR 5,600 (years 1-3) and EUR 5,700 (years 4-5); Nursing EUR 4,300 a year; Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dental Hygiene and Health Psychology EUR 4,201 a year. (2026/2027)

Application fee

Vilnius University EUR 100 per application, non-refundable, covering up to three programme choices. ISM EUR 100. LSMU EUR 150 application fee plus a EUR 250 registration fee and a EUR 1,500 deposit for EU/EEA students.

Living costs

EUR 300-1,000 a month in Kaunas by Vytautas Magnus University's estimate (rent EUR 100-700, food EUR 150-300); in its 2025 survey of international students, 70% spent EUR 300-700 (VMU estimate and 2025 survey (as of September 2026))

• The living-cost figure is one university's estimate for Kaunas; no national figure is published. Vilnius is dearer.
• Fees at LSMU step up in the clinical years, so budget for the higher figure from year 4.

Funding you could actually get

• State-funded ('budget') study places are open to EU citizens on the same terms as Lithuanians. This is the single most valuable form of funding available and is worth investigating before you look at scholarships.
• Individual universities run their own merit scholarships; details are not confirmed here; check with each university.
• Danish SU can follow you here if you can claim it (Danish citizens, or EU/EEA citizens with equal status under EU rules) and meet the ties-to-Denmark requirement. The programme must be SU-approved, and outside the Nordics SU is capped at four years (48 klip). If you cannot claim SU, look first at your own country's student finance: several EU/EEA systems fund a full degree in another country.

Residency

As an EU citizen you have the right to live and study in Lithuania and complete a residence registration for stays over three months. Non-EU students need a national visa and a temporary residence permit arranged before travelling; Vilnius University keeps a dedicated page on visas and residence permits. The precise EU registration procedure is not confirmed here; ask your university's international office.

Housing

Universities run dormitories and international offices normally help arrange a room once you accept a place. Rents in Vilnius and Kaunas are well below Nordic levels. Dormitory application deadlines are set by each university.

Healthcare

As an EU citizen bring your EU health insurance card for necessary care. Non-EU students must arrange health insurance as part of the residence permit application. Detailed requirements are not confirmed here; ask your university.

Your IB is still a foreign qualification here, so the IB entry rules still apply to you.