Institute of Restoration of Lithuanian Citizenship

The institute of restoration of Lithuanian citizenship is regulated by the provisions of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and other legislation. The practice of restoring Lithuanian citizenship is also influenced by the practice of Lithuanian courts on the issue of restoration of Lithuanian citizenship.

Legal Amendments and Regulations in 2024

Amendments to legal acts regulating issues of the Lithuanian citizenship that are provided for do not entrench the major changes in the institute of restoration of Lithuanian citizenship in 2024.

Provisions of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania regulating the issues of restoration of Lithuanian citizenship, which have been in force until now, are to be still applied in 2024.

What is Restoration of Lithuanian Citizenship?

Restoration of Lithuanian citizenship – it is implementation of a right to restore Lithuanian citizenship on grounds and procedure established in the Law of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.

Eligibility Criteria for Restoration

Lithuanian citizenship may be restored for a person, when this person and/or his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or one of them were citizens of Lithuania before 15 June 1940.

Indefinite Right to Reinstate Citizenship (Article 9)

Article 9 of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania sets out that “Persons who had Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940, and their descendants, who have not acquired Lithuanian citizenship before the entry into force of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, shall enjoy an indefinite right to reinstate Lithuanian citizenship, irrespective of whether the country of their permanent residence is Lithuania or another state.”

Definition of Eligible Persons

A person who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 shall mean a person who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania at any time prior to 15 June 1940. This concept does not embrace individuals who have lost Lithuanian citizenship after carrying out the mandatory procedures provided for in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and for whom decisions on the loss of Lithuanian citizenship stipulated in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania have been adopted.

Required Documents to Prove Pre-1940 Citizenship

Documents proving that a person concerned held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania before 15 June 1940 are the following:

• Internal or foreign passports of the Republic of Lithuania issued before 15 June 1940;

• Foreign passports of the Republic of Lithuania issued at diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania after 15 June 1940;

• Documents attesting to the person’s service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces or employment in the civil service;

• Birth certificates or other documents containing direct reference to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania held by the person concerned;

• Personal certificates issued before 15 June 1940 in Lithuania or personal certificates issued on the basis of documents issued before 15 June 1940;

• In the absence of above-mentioned documents, documents concerning studies, work, and life in Lithuania before 15 June 1940, as well as a passport of a foreign state and other documents may be provided.

Dual Citizenship and Restoration Conditions

The aforementioned persons may restore the Lithuanian citizenship, provided they are not citizens of other state, except for certain cases when a person may be a Lithuanian citizen and a citizen of another state simultaneously, i.e., when a double or multiple citizenship is available.

Exceptions for Dual Citizenship (Article 7)

Article 7 of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania lays down the cases where a person may be a Lithuanian citizen and a citizen of another state at the same time, when the requirement for a person to renounce a citizenship of another state is not being applied. Pursuant to this Article of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian citizenship can be reinstated to a person without renouncing the held citizenship of a foreign country, if a person concerned is:

• A person who was exiled from the occupied Republic of Lithuania before 11 March 1990;

• A person who fled the Republic of Lithuania before 11 March 1990;

• A descendant of a person referred to above (child, grandchild, great-grandchild).

Definition of Exiled and Fled Persons Before 1990

A person exiled from the occupied Lithuania before 11 March 1990 shall mean a person who had Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 or his descendant, who were forcibly expelled from Lithuania by decisions of institutions or courts of occupation regimes in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990 for reasons of resistance to occupation regimes, political or social reasons or reasons of origin.

A person who fled Lithuania before 11 March 1990, shall mean a person who had Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 or his descendant, who departed from the current territory of Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 to permanently reside in another state, if their permanent residence on 11 March 1990 was outside Lithuania. The said concept does not include persons who left the territory of Lithuania after 15 June 1940 and departed to the territory of the former Soviet Union.

Grounds for Refusal of Restoration

Lithuanian citizenship shall not be reinstated, provided there are circumstances set forth in Paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania:

• A person has prepared, attempted to commit or committed international crimes such as: aggression, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes;

• A person has prepared, attempted to commit or committed criminal acts against the State of Lithuania.

Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania may be restored only once.

Application Process and Language Requirements

The application for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship must be filled in Lithuanian or English through the Lithuanian Migration Information System MIGRIS. Documents attached to the application for restoration of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania must be drawn up in Lithuanian, or you must submit a translation of these documents into Lithuanian, which must be certified by a person or institution entitled to certify translation from one language to another, by submitting the documents certifying the right of translation.

Legalization of Foreign Documents

Each individual document issued by foreign countries and each individual document certified by a foreign country’s notarial procedure, or an equivalent procedure must be legalized or certified with a certificate (Apostille), unless the international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania or the legal acts of the European Union provide otherwise.

Decision-Making Authority and Timeline

Decisions regarding restoration of the Lithuanian citizenship are made by the Minister of the Interior. The process of restoring Lithuanian citizenship lasts approximately 6 months. Having examined the applications for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship and identified that the collected documents and data are sufficient for taking a decision of the Minister of the Interior as to the Lithuanian citizenship, the Migration Department shall, no later than within 5 (five) months from the day of accepting the application or documents regarding restoration of Lithuanian citizenship at the Migration Department or consular post, provide an offering to the Minister of the Interior, whereas the Minister of the Interior shall, no later than within 1 (one) month from the day of receipt of such offering of the Migration Department at the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, adopt a decision concerning restoration (non-restoration) of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.