Import and export of cash

Under the applicable legislation, the following are considered cash:

• Banknotes and coins, including currency that is no longer in circulation but can be exchanged at financial institutions or central banks
• Other bearer-negotiable instruments that, when presented, entitle the holder to demand payment without confirmation of identity, for example:
  • cheques and traveller's cheques
  • bearer cheques
  • bills of exchange
  • money orders
• Highly liquid store of value that can be exchanged into currency:
  • gold coins (at least 90% gold)
  • gold bars, nuggets or lumps (at least 99.5% gold)

You are required to declare if:

• you are arriving in Lithuania from a third country or departing from Lithuania to a third country
• you are carrying EUR 10 000 or more (or an equivalent amount in another currency)

You must declare at the customs office through which you are entering or leaving Lithuania.

How to declare?

• Complete and sign the Cash Declaration (hereinafter – the Declaration)
• Submit the Declaration without waiting to be asked by a customs officer
• The Declaration may be completed in Lithuanian or English:
  • Cash declaration form in Lithuanian
  • Cash declaration form in English
• Declaration forms are available at the customs office

If the cash belongs to or is intended for several persons, or if the Declaration form does not have sufficient space to describe all the cash, submit the additional information on a supplementary sheet of the Declaration:

• Supplementary sheet of the cash declaration in Lithuanian
• Supplementary sheet of the cash declaration in English

Cash must be declared by the person carrying it, regardless of who owns the cash (the person carrying it or another natural or legal person).

Example: A group of people (e.g. a father, a mother, and two children) arrives in the Republic of Lithuania from a third country. The father is carrying EUR 30,000 in cash in his bag. The cash belongs to all family members; however, since the father is carrying the entire amount of EUR 30,000 in cash, he is required to declare it.

Customs may require submission of a Cash Disclosure Declaration where cash is brought into or taken out of the EU:

• by post or in courier consignments
• in unaccompanied baggage
• in freight containers

This declaration:

• is submitted by the sender, recipient or their representative
• must be submitted within the established period of 30 days

Cash Disclosure Declaration:

• Cash Disclosure Declaration in Lithuanian
• Cash Disclosure Declaration in English

If the unaccompanied cash belongs to or is intended for several persons, or if the Declaration form does not have sufficient space to describe all the cash, submit the additional information on a supplementary sheet of the declaration:

• Supplementary sheet of the Cash Disclosure Declaration in Lithuanian
• Supplementary sheet of the Cash Disclosure Declaration in English

When travelling to or from third countries, copies of documents proving the origin of the cash being carried must be submitted together with the Declaration.

Depending on the origin of the cash, these may include:

• a document confirming inheritance
• a contract under which funds were transferred
• a purchase–sale contract for movable or immovable property where payment was made in cash
• a cash receipt or other document issued by:
  • lottery operators
  • sports, cultural or other event organisers
  • competition organisers
  • gambling operators
• other documents issued by the owner of the funds, including notarised documents, indicating the institution (organisation) and confirming the origin of the cash
• a bank statement
• other documents

Arriving by air

When arriving in Lithuania by air, the completed Declaration must be submitted by choosing the red channel (not the green channel) to the customs officer at the border control point.

Arriving by train

During customs control on the train:

• the Declaration may be obtained from the customs officer(s)
• the completed and signed Declaration must be submitted to the same officer(s)

A customs officer may require declaration of an amount below EUR 10 000 where there are suspicions of:

• money laundering
• terrorist financing
• or other violations of legislation

If the funds being carried are not cash but other bearer-negotiable instruments, and there is uncertainty as to whether they are subject to declaration, the person must consult the customs officers at the border control point.

If the cash is carried in a currency other than euro, its value is calculated by:

• converting at the official exchange rate of the Bank of Lithuania applicable on the day the cash is being carried

Important. The EUR 10 000 threshold applies to the total amount of cash carried by the person, not to each currency separately.

• When travelling by air or sea and carrying EUR 10 000 or more, it is recommended to arrive at the airport or seaport earlier to allow sufficient time for declaration
• If cash is carried in checked baggage, it must be declared before baggage check-in
• Customs offices at airports and seaports can be found by following the signs at the relevant port

The customs officer:

• accepts the completed and signed Declaration
• checks the data provided therein and the cash being carried
• carries out the necessary customs clearance actions

If the information is:

• correct
• accurate
• complete
• and there are no suspicions of unlawful activity

a second copy of the completed Declaration is returned and the person may continue their journey with all the cash they are carrying.

The declaration obligation is considered not fulfilled if:

• incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information is provided
• or the cash is not declared at all

In such cases, customs officers may:

• impose sanctions
• detain the cash
• act in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania or the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania

Even if cash was declared upon arrival from a third country to Lithuania, this does not exempt from the obligation to declare it when continuing to other EU Member States, if such an obligation is established in the national legislation of those states.

Example:

A person arriving from Georgia at Vilnius Airport with EUR 15 000 in cash properly declares it. They then travel by car to Poland. Customs mobile unit officers who stop their vehicle upon departure from Lithuania may require re-declaration of the same amount.

• 2018 m. spalio 23 d. Europos Parlamento ir Tarybos reglamentas (ES) 2018/1672 dėl į  Sąjungą įvežamų arba iš jos išvežamų grynųjų pinigų kontrolės, kuriuo panaikinamas Reglamentas (EB) Nr. 1889/2005
• 2021 m. gegužės 11 d. Komisijos įgyvendinimo reglamentas Nr. 2021/776, kuriuo pagal Europos Parlamento ir Tarybos reglamentą (ES) 2018/1672 dėl į Sąjungą įvežamų arba iš jos išvežamų grynųjų pinigų kontrolės nustatomi tam tikrų formų šablonai ir veiksmingo keitimosi informacija techninės taisyklės
• Lietuvos Respublikos pinigų plovimo ir teroristų finansavimo prevencijos įstatymas
• Grynųjų pinigų deklaravimo tvarkos aprašas patvirtintas 2021 m. gegužės 31 d. Muitinės departamento generalinio direktoriaus įsakymu 1B-368 „Dėl grynųjų pinigų deklaracijų ir grynųjų pinigų atskleidimo deklaracijų pateikimo ir muitinio įforminimo tvarkos aprašo patvirtinimo“