Granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the simplified procedure

Persons of Lithuanian descent who have never held the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, have an opportunity to acquire it under the simplified procedure. In this case, a person does not need to hold examination in the Lithuanian language and in the basic provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, he/she just have to prove his/her Lithuanian descent. The procedure is facilitated by the certificate confirming the Lithuanian descent – upon its submission, no additional documents proving the Lithuanian descent and kinship are required.

In 2014, the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was granted to 75 individuals under this procedure. However, a person who has acquired the Lithuanian citizenship under the simplified procedure, must renounce citizenship of another state – dual citizenship is not allowed, unless a person can prove justification for holding dual citizenship (for example, a person exiled from the occupied Republic of Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 who acquired citizenship of another state, a person who retreated from Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 and acquired citizenship of another state, or is a descendant of such a person, as well as on other grounds).

A person applying for the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the simplified procedure shall apply submit an application, a document, confirming the person’s identity, Lithuanian descent supporting documents (certificate confirming the Lithuanian descent, certificate confirming retention of the right to the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, in the absence of such documents, a person must submit documents confirming that his/her parents or grandparents or one of the parents or grandparents is or was Lithuanian and prove a kinship), as well as a written statement in which the person declares that he/she considers himself/herself a Lithuanian.

It is also important to note, that a person must submit a certificate issued by a foreign state, confirming that the person is not prosecuted / convicted for such acts as aggression, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, has not prepared, attempted to commit or committed criminal acts against the State of Lithuania, neither has not convicted of by a custodial sentence for a premeditated crime which is considered a very severe offense under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Documents complied not in Lithuanian language must be translated into the Lithuanian language, copies of the documents must be approved by a notary. Documents issued by the foreign institutions, also the person’s application on the renouncing of citizenship of another state, its legal translation to the language of the state, which citizen the person is, shall be legalized or validated by a note (Apostille), unless international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and legislative acts of the European Union provide otherwise.

Documents are submitted to the President of the Republic of Lithuania through territorial police agencies if a person lives in the Republic of Lithuania. If a person resides abroad – the application and other enclosed documents are submitted through the diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania or the Migration Department in the Republic of Lithuania.

Following submission of the application on the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the simplified procedure, the documents and their annexes must be submitted to the Citizenship Commission for consideration no later than within 3 months. Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is granted by decree of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Once the President of the Republic of Lithuania adopts a decree on the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania the person, the person holding citizenship of another state must renounce the citizenship before the decree expires (validity – 2 years). Upon acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, the person must swear an oath to the Republic of Lithuania. The person acquires rights and responsibilities of a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania only after having taken the oath of allegiance. Upon failure to take the oath of allegiance, repeat applications for granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be considered, unless the time limit is missed for particularly serious reasons.

MIGRATION LAW CENTER 

If you have any questions regarding Lithuanian citizenship or should you require more information or  help, please contact us by e-mail: info@migration.lt or phone: + 370 6 1861886. We will gladly help you.