Before you start

Personal code (asmens kodas)
Employment registered with Sodra by your employer, or self-employed registration
A declared place of residence, which determines which clinics you can join
Identity document or residence permit card

Step-by-step

1
Confirm your employer registered you with Sodra
Sodra registration is what starts your PSD cover. Employers occasionally file late, which leaves a gap you only discover at a clinic desk.
Via employerWho: Your employer
2
Declare your place of residence
The declaration at your seniūnija determines which primary care clinics you may register with, so do it before choosing a doctor rather than after.
In personWho: You
3
Choose a family doctor's clinic and register
Registration is by application at the clinic. Public poliklinikos are free at the point of use; private clinics that also hold PSD contracts charge for some services and not others — ask which applies before booking.
In personWho: You
4
Get an e-prescription and e-health account
Prescriptions and records run through the national e-health system, accessed with Smart-ID or a bank login. A pharmacy can dispense against your personal code alone once a prescription is issued.
OnlineWho: You
5
Carry private cover for the gap
Between arriving and your Sodra registration taking effect you are not covered. Travel or private insurance across those first weeks is cheap relative to a single unplanned appointment.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Personal code
Residence permit card or identity document
Proof of declared residence
Employment details for the clinic's registration form

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your health cover follows Sodra, not your residence permit.

It is entirely possible to hold a valid residence permit and have no health insurance, because the two are administered separately. The trigger is your employer's Sodra registration. If your start date and your registration date differ, so does your cover — check the registration rather than assuming the permit did it.

Source: Sodra — compulsory health insurance (PSD)

Nobody will assign you a family doctor. You have to go and register.

Lithuanian primary care is organised around clinics you attach yourself to by written application. Newcomers frequently assume that being insured means being in the system, then discover at their first illness that they have no doctor and no referral route. Do it in your first month, when you are well.

Source: National Health Insurance Fund (VLK) — primary health care

Private clinics in Vilnius often hold public contracts, which confuses the bill.

Several of the large private networks provide some services under PSD contracts and others privately, in the same building on the same day. The distinction is per-service, not per-clinic. Ask specifically whether the appointment you are booking is covered before you book it.

Source: VLK — contracted health care institutions

A national visa without Lithuanian employment leaves you outside the system entirely.

PSD is funded by contributions on Lithuanian income. Someone here on a national visa working for a foreign employer pays nothing in and gets nothing out, and must carry private insurance for the whole stay. This catches people who assume EU residence implies EU-style public cover.

Source: Sodra — who is insured under PSD