Question 1

What exam is this, and what level does it correspond to?

Accepted Answer

It is the state-language proficiency exam for the first (I) category — valstybinės kalbos mokėjimo pirmosios (I) kategorijos egzaminas. Under the description approved by Government resolution No. 1688, the first category corresponds to CEFR A2 in Lithuanian and the basic (bazinė) category to A1. In practice you sit one banded paper: its tasks are split into an A1 band and an A2 band, and a single sitting returns one of three results — A2, A1 or fail. There is no separate A1 exam, so preparing for this exam means preparing up to A2.

Question 2

What does this exam actually gate?

Accepted Answer

The same A2 level (first category) is required in four different situations at once, which is why one preparation covers all of them: Ordinary customer-facing work: employees in services, production, trade, transport and other sectors whose job involves dealing with people and/or completing standard document forms — drivers, cloakroom attendants, waiters, shop assistants and other trade workers.; Foreigners who sell goods or provide services to residents: for the first two years the basic (A1) category applies to them, and after that the first (A2) category.; A permanent residence permit in Lithuania (leidimas nuolat gyventi).; Lithuanian citizenship — together with the exam on the basics of the Constitution.

Question 3

I work in trade or services — when do I need the certificate?

Accepted Answer

Rules added by resolution No. 827 of 26 November 2025 apply from 1 January 2026. Foreigners who sell goods and/or provide services in Lithuania are covered by the basic (A1) category for two years, counted from the day the foreigner is first issued a document confirming or granting the right to reside in Lithuania; the same applies to holders of a seasonal work permit. After those two years the first (A2) category applies — at the earliest from 1 January 2028. A new chapter of the description places the duty to make sure that customer-facing employees hold the certificate on the employer, and on self-employed sellers and service providers themselves.

Question 4

What are the parts of the exam and how long does it take?

Accepted Answer

There are three parts and 80 points in total. Reading and writing are one combined 90-minute electronic paper — there is no standalone grammar module and no separate reading module. Reading and writing (skaitymas ir rašymas) — electronic, 90 min (10:00–11:30), 50 points: tasks 1–4 are the A1 band (22 points), tasks 5–9 the A2 band (28 points).; Listening (klausymas) — electronic, with headphones, immediately after the first part, 25 min (11:30–11:55), 20 points: tasks 1–2 are the A1 band (10 points), tasks 3–4 the A2 band (10 points).; Speaking (kalbėjimas) — face to face with two examiners and audio-recorded, 12–14 min per candidate from 13:00, 10 points: three speaking situations scored 0–3 each, plus 0–1 from the interviewing examiner.; Speaking sub-structure: general questions 2–3 min (no preparation), one task of 4–5 min (1 min to prepare) and two short situations of 2 min each (1 min to prepare for each).

Question 5

How is the exam passed? (the pass rule)

Accepted Answer

It is not an overall percentage of the total, and it is not "half in each part". A2 must be reached in each of the three parts independently, and within each part reaching A1 is a precondition for A2. The threshold is at least 60 per cent of that level’s own items, applied separately to the A1 tasks and the A2 tasks. Reading and writing: at least 13 of the 22 points on the A1 tasks and at least 17 of the 28 points on the A2 tasks.; Listening: at least 6 of the 10 points on the A1 tasks and at least 6 of the 10 points on the A2 tasks.; Speaking: for A1 — 5 points or more and at least two speaking situations scored 2 each; for A2 — 6 points or more and at least two speaking situations summing to 5.; When A2 is reached in all three parts, the final result is "A2 lygis" (A2 level). If A1 is reached in even one part, the final result is "A1 lygis". If even one part is failed outright, the final result is "Neišlaikyta" (not passed).; The official warning: "Surinkti 5 taškai negarantuoja pasiekto A1 lygio, o surinkti 6 taškai – pasiekto A2 lygio." — scoring 5 points does not guarantee A1, and scoring 6 does not guarantee A2.

Question 6

Speaking: why are 6 points sometimes not enough?

Accepted Answer

Because what matters is not only the total but how the points are spread across the individual situations. Compare two of the official examples in the table at the top of this page. In example No. 3 the candidate scores 6 points (1 + 2 + 2 + 1), but the two best situations give only 4, so the result is A1. In example No. 4 the total is also 6 (1 + 3 + 2 + 0), yet the two best situations give 5, so the result is A2 — even though the third situation scored zero. One strongly performed situation is worth more than an evenly mediocre performance.

Question 7

What result will I get?

Accepted Answer

One of three: "A2 lygis", "A1 lygis" or "Neišlaikyta". One important exception: candidates who sat the state-language exam for a permanent residence permit are not issued the basic (A1) category certificate, even if they did reach A1 in the exam.

Question 8

Where and how do I register?

Accepted Answer

There are two doors into the same exam format, and which one you use depends on why you need it. The exams are administered by the National Agency for Education (NŠA — Nacionalinė švietimo agentūra). For a permanent residence permit or citizenship you register through MIGRIS (migracija.lt); the same route is used to register for the exam on the basics of the Constitution.; For a state-language proficiency category (for work) you register on the NŠA e-services site, eksternams.nsa.smm.lt. Registration opens 30 calendar days before the exam and closes 7 calendar days before it; payment is due within 24 hours of the registration being confirmed, otherwise the registration is cancelled.; You sit the exam at the designated base school (bazinė mokykla) of the municipality where you live, study or work. If it is full, another nearby school is assigned.; Bring an identity document with you on the day.; The exam day: reading and writing plus listening 10:00–11:55, speaking from 13:00, the Constitution exam 14:00–14:45.

Question 9

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

On the category route (registration through NŠA e-services) one attempt cost 49 EUR in 2025 and 52 EUR in 2026; each attempt is paid for separately. If you register for a permanent residence permit or citizenship, you pay a state duty (valstybės rinkliava) at a rate set by the Government. We deliberately do not print that figure here: the official leaflets currently published state different amounts, so check the current rate when you register through MIGRIS.

Question 10

Can I re-sit the exam?

Accepted Answer

For the exam sat for a permanent residence permit or citizenship the number of attempts is not limited — resolution No. 1687 says so directly: "Egzamino laikymo skaičius neribojamas." Each attempt is paid for separately. For the category route (registration through NŠA e-services) we have no reliable source on re-sits, so we will claim neither a limit nor the absence of one — check with the body that administers the exam before you register.

Question 11

When do results arrive, and can they be appealed?

Accepted Answer

Results are published in roughly 12–15 working days — different official pages state different figures, so we give the range rather than one number. The certificate is issued by the body that administers the exams and collected at the base school. A negative result received when re-sitting the exam for citizenship or a permanent residence permit can be contested within 5 working days by applying to the Minister of Education; on the category route the request goes to the administering body at the e-mail address it publishes, within 2 working days.

Question 12

Who is exempt from the exam?

Accepted Answer

There are several exemptions and which one applies depends on why the exam is required. The main ones: Foreigners granted temporary protection in Lithuania are not subject to the state-language proficiency categories for employment or self-employment at all. This exemption does not extend to the exams for a permanent residence permit or citizenship.; People who obtained secondary education in a national-minority language before 1991, where Lithuanian was taught, are deemed to hold the first category (not lower than A2) — as are people who passed the state-language exam for Lithuanian citizenship.; People whose education was obtained in Lithuanian are deemed to hold the third category, along with the other cases listed in the description — for example those who since 1991 completed secondary education in Lithuania in a language other than Lithuanian and passed an exam confirming their knowledge of Lithuanian.; For citizenship, both exams are waived for people aged 65 and over, people with an established capacity for work of 0–55 per cent, people who have reached old-age pension age and have established large or medium special needs, and people suffering from severe chronic mental illness.; The spouse of a Lithuanian citizen who is a deportee (tremtinys) or political prisoner — and their child born in exile — sits only the exam on the basics of the Constitution.; No state-language exam is required of someone who has already obtained a state-language proficiency category by passing this exam and produces the document proving it.; A disability is not an exemption but a different exam form: if for objective reasons a candidate cannot sit the written test, it is taken orally, from the same programme.

Question 13

What is the exam on the basics of the Constitution, and when is it taken?

Accepted Answer

It is a separate test in Lithuanian, sat by applicants for Lithuanian citizenship and for a permanent residence permit. It consists of 20 questions, each with three answer options of which exactly one is correct; you pass by answering 14 or more correctly. It lasts 45 minutes, is taken electronically and starts at 14:00. The questions are drawn from every section of the Constitution. The sequencing matters: you may sit the Constitution exam only after passing the state-language exam. An oral variant is available for objective reasons.

Question 14

Is the exam hard?

Accepted Answer

On published 2024 figures, roughly 73–76 per cent of candidates pass the state-language exam — meaning about one in four does not. The real trap is not the total score but the marking rule itself: A2 has to be reached in every part separately, and in every part A1 is a precondition. So your weakest part decides the whole result, however well the others went. Practical advice: find your weakest part as early as you can and train that one specifically.

Question 15

What topics come up in the exam?

Accepted Answer

The exam programme lists twelve topic areas and the exam does not go beyond them: personal identity, buildings and homes, nature and the region, everyday life, free time, travel, relations with people, health and hygiene, education and science, shopping and trade, food and drink, and services. The programme also states that the exam only covers topics that should not cause candidates unpleasant emotions. Our tasks are authored against those topic areas and against the official task types — they never reproduce official exam material.

Question 16

What is this website — and what is it not?

Accepted Answer

Lietuvių A2 is an independent exam-preparation website: sample tests in the exam format, writing and speaking tasks with AI feedback, and information pages. We are not an examination centre and we are not affiliated with any institution that organises or recognises state-language exams; we are not lawyers either. Our score is practice feedback, never an official exam result, and we issue no certificate. Before you register for the exam or file documents, confirm the conditions with the body that administers the exams and with the Migration Department.

Question 17

Is an A1 result enough?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. A permanent residence permit, citizenship, and work that involves dealing with people or completing standard document forms all require the first category, which is A2. The basic (A1) category is enough in exactly one situation: foreigners who sell goods or provide services to residents are covered by it for the first two years, counted from the day they were first issued a document confirming the right to reside in Lithuania. After that A2 is required. And candidates who sat the exam for a permanent residence permit are not issued the basic (A1) certificate at all, even if they did reach A1 in the exam.

Question 18

What happens if I fail one part?

Accepted Answer

Marking is per part, so a single part decides the whole result. If A2 is missed in even one part, the final result is "A1 lygis" (A1 level), even when the other two parts were at A2. If even one part is failed outright, the final result is "Neišlaikyta" (not passed). We have no reliable source on whether a single part can be re-sat on its own, so we will not claim it — check with the body that administers the exams. For the exam sat for a permanent residence permit or citizenship the number of attempts is not limited, but each attempt is paid for separately. The practical conclusion is simple: bring every part above its own threshold before exam day.

Question 19

How is this exam different from the other Lithuanian language exams?

Accepted Answer

The names overlap, which makes them easy to confuse. The state-language proficiency category exam (this one) is sat to obtain a category, most often for work. The same format is also sat for a permanent residence permit and for citizenship, only through a different registration route and together with the exam on the basics of the Constitution. That Constitution exam is a separate 45-minute civics test in Lithuanian, not a language test. Separately again, there are Lithuanian proficiency LEVEL exams (from A1 up to C1) aimed at the Lithuanian diaspora and at people studying Lithuanian abroad — they are not an immigration condition. And entirely separately there is the school-leaving Lithuanian language and literature exam for graduates of Lithuanian schools, which has nothing to do with this site.

Example	Points (interviewing examiner + 3 speaking situations)	Result
No. 1	1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 5	no level achieved
No. 2	1 + 2 + 2 + 0 = 5	A1
No. 3	1 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 6	A1
No. 4	1 + 3 + 2 + 0 = 6	A2

The Lithuanian state-language exam (Category I, A2) — frequently asked questions

How speaking is marked — the four official worked examples

Questions and answers