EuropeSelect the passports you hold to see short-stay access and per-route eligibility for Liechtenstein.
Short stays: tourism, transit, business trips, medical, pilgrimage.
Tourist Visa
Electronic travel authorisation for visa-exempt nationals (e.g. US, UK, Canada, Japan). Valid 3 years for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. We apply on your behalf end-to-end. Fees illustrative.
Tourist Visa
Short-stay visa for tourism: up to 90 days within any 180-day period. We prepare your forms and documents; you attend the consulate/VFS appointment to submit biometrics. Government fee EUR 90 (illustrative).
Transit Visa
Required by some nationalities to pass through the international transit area of a Schengen airport without entering. Whether you need one depends on your nationality. Government fee EUR 90 (illustrative).
Business Visitor Visa
Short-stay visa for business trips (meetings, conferences, negotiations): up to 90 days within any 180-day period. We prepare forms and documents; you submit at the consulate/VFS. Government fee EUR 90 (illustrative).
Not yet researched
Universities, language courses, internships and exchanges.
Student Visa
For stays over 90 days to study. Issued under national rules -- apply at the consulate of your destination country. We guide you; submission is in person. Fees and processing times vary by country.
Student Visa
Students admitted to a Liechtenstein institution such as the University of Liechtenstein who will take up residence in the country apply for a short-term residence permit L for study and education, issued for the period of study (renewed for the duration of the programme). The permit must be applied for at the Migration and Passport Office before studies begin; the University's permit coordination office assists, and proof of financial means is provided via a bank guarantee for which students deposit CHF 3,000 with the University. Third-country students also need a national (D) visa obtained through the Swiss representation abroad. Students residing in Liechtenstein on this permit may work up to 35% of full time during semester and 100% during semester breaks. The study permit does not by itself lead to settlement.
Not yet researched
Digital nomad, freelance, skilled employment and company transfers.
Self-Employment Visa
Foreigners intending to run a genuine self-employed activity in Liechtenstein may obtain a residence permit B for self-employment, provided they meet the professional and economic prerequisites for the planned activity and the activity is linked to taking up residence. For EEA nationals an authorised cross-border self-employment activity also qualifies them to enter the residence lottery's final draw. Because residence itself is quota-limited, self-employed applicants compete within the same small EEA or third-country allocations; the relevant trade/business licences (Gewerbebewilligung) must also be obtained. The Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and extendable and counts toward the settlement permit C. There is no separate digital-nomad or freelancer visa.
Skilled Work Visa
For stays over 90 days to work. Requires employer sponsorship / a work permit before you can apply, so eligibility is conditional. Issued under national rules -- apply at the consulate of your destination country. Fees and processing times vary by country.
Skilled Work Visa
For non-EEA, non-Swiss (third-country) nationals, Liechtenstein has in principle no obligation to grant residence and issues only a very small, single-digit number of permits each year. A residence permit for employment may be granted only to managers, specialists and other highly qualified workers who hold a contract of more than one year or of unlimited duration, where the employer shows the role cannot be filled from the domestic or EEA labour market (a labour-market priority test applies). Third-country nationals are excluded from the EEA lottery and apply directly to the Migration and Passport Office; a Schengen national (D) visa is also obtained via the Swiss representation abroad before entry. The Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and extendable, and counts toward the settlement permit C. Decisions are generally issued within about three months.
Skilled Work Visa
Residence in Liechtenstein is strictly quota-limited; the country issues only about 72 residence permits to EEA nationals each year (56 for employment, 16 without employment), and under the EEA Agreement at least half of these must be allocated by an equal-opportunity lottery (Auslosung) run by the Migration and Passport Office. This product is the employment lottery: two draws are held each year (spring and fall), each in a preliminary draw and a final draw, in which roughly 28 employment permits are raffled annually among EEA nationals (Swiss citizens are excluded and apply separately). To take part in the final draw the applicant must already hold an employment contract of more than one year or unlimited duration, or hold an authorised cross-border self-employment activity, and must then take up actual residence in Liechtenstein or the permit lapses. The resulting Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and is extendable. The participation fee is CHF 100 for the preliminary draw and CHF 500 for the final draw.
Skilled Work Visa
Alongside the lottery, the other half of Liechtenstein's annual EEA employment quota (around 28 of the roughly 56 employment permits) is allocated directly by the Government, typically to fill key positions for employers requiring workers with an exceptionally strong fit to the labour market. The permit requires an employment contract of more than one year or of unlimited duration with a Liechtenstein employer and adequate scope of work. The resulting Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and is extendable, and time on it counts toward the settlement permit C. Because the quota is tiny, this route is highly competitive and is used mainly for managers and specialists; most foreign workers instead commute cross-border. Decisions are generally issued within about three months.
Skilled Work Visa
Because resident permits are so scarce, most foreigners work in Liechtenstein as cross-border commuters who keep their residence abroad (typically in Austria or Switzerland) and commute to work. EEA nationals taking up employment in Liechtenstein without residing there must register with the Migration and Passport Office (within 10 days of starting work) for a cross-border commuter permit G. The permit is tied to employment in Liechtenstein, requires the worker to return to their foreign residence (in principle daily or at least weekly), and is not subject to the residence quota. It confers no residence in Liechtenstein and does not count toward settlement. Around three quarters of Liechtenstein's workforce commutes cross-border.
Skilled Work Visa
Third-country nationals who already hold a settled residence in the neighbouring border zone of Switzerland or Austria and wish to work in Liechtenstein while returning home each working day may be issued a cross-border commuter permit G. The application is filed with the Migration and Passport Office at least 14 days before the first day of work, and the applicant may only start once the permit is granted. The permit is issued for one year and renewable, is tied to a specific employer, and for third-country nationals follows a labour-market priority test. It confers no residence in Liechtenstein and does not count toward settlement.
Seasonal Work Visa
The short-term residence permit L is issued for temporary stays of up to 12 months (extendable by a maximum of 6 months) for a fixed-term employment, assignment or training in Liechtenstein. It is tied to a specific employer and purpose and does not, by itself, lead to settlement. For EEA nationals it follows the free-movement registration rules; for third-country nationals it is granted only for managers, specialists or qualified workers and is subject to the labour-market priority test. Holders must reside in Liechtenstein for the duration of the permitted stay. The L permit is the standard route for short assignments and fixed-term contracts that fall short of the one-year threshold required for a residence permit B.
Not yet researched
Golden visas, real estate, citizenship by investment, passive income.
Non-Lucrative / Passive Income Visa
For EEA nationals who do not work and can finance their living from their own resources, Liechtenstein runs a separate residence lottery for non-gainful residence (Wohnsitznahme ohne Erwerbstätigkeit). Of the roughly 16 non-employment EEA permits issued each year, at least half (about 8) are allocated by lottery, the rest by the Government. Applicants must show sufficient independent financial means to support themselves without taking local employment and must take up actual residence in Liechtenstein, otherwise the permit lapses. This is the closest thing Liechtenstein offers to a passive-income or independent-means residence, but it is quota-capped and decided by chance, not by investment. The resulting Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and extendable. The participation fee is CHF 100 for the preliminary draw and CHF 500 for the final draw.
Business Investor Visa
Liechtenstein has no passive golden-visa or citizenship-by-investment programme; investor migration runs only through genuine, active business engagement. Wealthy individuals can in practice obtain residence where they establish or lead a real Liechtenstein company that is in the country's economic interest and where the applicant is needed as owner, board member, manager or key specialist. Even then, the applicant must fall within the same tiny annual EEA or third-country quota and meet the standard permit conditions (genuine activity, qualifications, housing). Liechtenstein's low taxation and exemptions for dividends and capital gains from qualifying shareholdings are a major draw, but residence is never granted simply for investing capital or paying tax. The Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and extendable.
Not yet researched
Retirement visas and working holiday schemes.
Retirement Visa
The government half of the small non-employment EEA quota (about 8 of the roughly 16 permits per year) is allocated directly by the Government to economically inactive persons - including retirees and the financially independent - who can support themselves from their own resources without local work. There is no fixed statutory income threshold published, but applicants must convincingly demonstrate sufficient independent means and secured housing; relocation advisers commonly cite a guideline of substantial annual income or assets. The Aufenthaltsbewilligung B is valid up to five years and extendable, and time on it counts toward the settlement permit C. Liechtenstein does not operate a passive golden-visa or residence-by-investment programme; even wealthy retirees are subject to the same quota.
Not yet researched
Reunification, spouse routes and ancestry-based repatriation.
Family Reunification Visa
Family reunification is the most common formal reason for immigration to Liechtenstein. EEA and Swiss residents may bring family members (spouse, children, and in defined cases parents) at any time, and reunification is not counted against the residence lottery quota. The spouse and children of a resident, and parents who receive financial support from the resident, may join. For third-country nationals reunification is more restrictive and subject to conditions on adequate housing, sufficient financial means and integration, and timing rules (generally applied for within a set period after the sponsor's permit or marriage). Family members admitted to live with a resident receive a residence permit linked to the sponsor and may, depending on category, work. Time spent resident counts toward the settlement permit C.
Spouse / Partner Visa
Spouses of Liechtenstein citizens can naturalise on a facilitated basis. The applicant must have been married to a Liechtenstein citizen for at least five years, be resident in Liechtenstein, demonstrate integration and German-language ability, and renounce their previous citizenship. This is faster than the 30-year long-residence route but still requires genuine, sustained residence and marriage. As with all Liechtenstein naturalisation, dual citizenship is generally not permitted for the naturalising spouse.
Ancestry / Repatriation
Liechtenstein naturalisation is among the most restrictive in the world. Under the facilitated long-residence route (Einbürgerung durch Wohnsitznahme), an applicant who has had ordinary residence in Liechtenstein for 30 years - with years spent in the country before age 20 counting double - may apply without a municipal popular vote. The alternative ordinary route after 10 years of residence requires approval by a public ballot of the applicant's municipality and in practice almost never succeeds and cannot be appealed. All routes require integration, German-language ability, knowledge of the legal/political order, sufficient income, a clean criminal record, and renunciation of the applicant's previous citizenship (dual nationality is generally not permitted on naturalisation). There is no naturalisation or residence by investment.
Not yet researched
Talent, religious, humanitarian, media, official and permanent residence.
Permanent Residence
The settlement permit C (Niederlassungsbewilligung) is Liechtenstein's permanent-residence status, granting the right to live in the country indefinitely without the annual renewal of the B permit. It is generally available after about five years of continuous lawful residence on a residence permit B, subject to good conduct, integration and (for the facilitated case) language requirements; the qualifying period can be longer for third-country nationals. Holders enjoy broad residence and labour-market freedom in Liechtenstein. The settlement permit is the foundation on which the long residence periods required for naturalisation are built.
Not yet researched
