+ 370 6 1861886

info@migration.lt

Home
Dual Citizenship in Lithuania

Dual Citizenship in Lithuania

Dual (double) citizenship can be allowed in Lithuania in exceptional cases only.

The cases when dual citizenship is allowed in Lithuania include:

1. A person was deported from occupied Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 or is a descendant (a child, a grandchild or a great-grandchild) of a person deported from occupied Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990;
2. A person left Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 or is a descendant (a child, a grandchild or a great-grandchild) of a person having left Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990;
3. A child acquires dual citizenship at birth;
4. Child-adoption cases;
5. Marriage cases;
6. Acquisition of citizenship of Lithuania in exceptional cases or by a person having a status of a refugee.

A person deported from occupied Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990 is a person compulsorily at a decision of a court or other institutions deported from Lithuania (sent to a concentration camp, imprisoned or deported for forced labour etc.) for resistance to the occupation regimes or because of political, social or origin-related reasons (or a descendant of such a person); the said provisions are applicable to a descendant of such a person. If such a person was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 or is a descendant (a child, a grandchild or a great-grandchild) of a person who was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, he (she) may be allowed to be provided a dual citizenship.

A person (who was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940) having left Lithuania prior to 11 March 1990, or his (her) descendents having left the territory of today Lithuania for another state prior to 11 March 1990, if their country of permanent residence was out of Lithuania on 11 March 1990. This definition is not related to persons having left the territory of Lithuania for the territory of the formed Soviet Union after 15 June 1940.

In course of growing of migration flows from Lithuania and the number of marriages concluded by and between citizens of Lithuania and citizens of foreign states, the number of children with dual citizenship is growing as well. According to the current legislation of Lithuania, a child has the right to be a citizen of Lithuania and a citizen of another state if he or she acquired Lithuanian citizenship by birth (one or both parents were citizens of Lithuania at birth) and the citizenship of another state was acquired by birth or the citizenship of another state was acquired under 18 years old not by birth.

In case of a marriage, a person got married to an alien may have a dual citizenship, if the person was automatically granted a citizenship of the state of residence of the spouse after registration of the marriage with the citizen of the foreign state. Such practice of naturalization is more typical for Islamic states where no supplemental formalities are required for granting the citizenship and the only fact of registration of marriage is sufficient. Such persons are not required to renounce the citizenship of another country.

A person (being a citizen of Lithuania) may be adopted by a citizen or citizens of a foreign state and acquire a citizenship of the foreign state. A citizen or citizens of Lithuania may adopt a person that is a citizen of a foreign state. A citizen of Lithuania can also be a citizen of another state if he:
1. a person who is adopted by a citizens (citizen) of Lithuania under the age of 18 and as a result has acquired Lithuanian citizenship;
or
2. a person is a citizen of Lithuania if he was adopted by citizens (citizen) of another state before reaching the age of 18 and as a result acquired the citizenship of another state.

More rare cases of dual citizenship in Lithuania are related to exceptional granting the citizenship of Lithuania to some persons for certain merits for Lithuania or to those provided a status of a refugee.

The process of preparation of the documents for dual citizenship in case of reinstatement of citizenship of Lithuania shall be started from collection of the required documents and search for the lacking ones. Such a search is often carried out at archives of Lithuania. The search for documents at Lithuanian archives may continue for from 5 to 30 workdays. After collection of the required documents, they shall be certified according to the procedure provided in laws and their translation shall be carried out, if the language of the documents is other than Lithuanian. Documents issued in foreign states shall be certified by Apostille or legalized, unless otherwise is provided by international treaties of Lithuania or legal norms of the European Union.

The principal documents to be submitted for a reinstatement of citizenship of Lithuania:

1. The application completed in Lithuanian;
2. The passport;
3. The documents certifying that the person was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 or is a descendant of a person who was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940;
4. The evidences of the circumstances proving the person to be eligible for dual citizenship;
5. The documents certifying the family connections;
6. A document evidencing the change of name or surname where such personal data have been changed.

The documents certifying that the person was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 may be following:

1. Lithuanian passports issued before 15 June 1940;
2. Documents certifying military service of the person in Lithuanian army or civil service in Lithuania;
3. Certificates of Birth or other documents where the citizenship is specified;
4. Any certificates issued in Lithuania before 15 June 1940 or certificates issued on the base of documents issued before 15 June 1940.
If the above-listed documents are absent, documents on education, employment or living in Lithuania issued before 15 June 1940 shall be provided.

The documents shall be submitted to a diplomatic mission or a consular institution in a foreign state or to the Migration department in Lithuania.

According to the relevant norms of Lithuania, a decision on reinstatement of citizenship of Lithuania shall be passed no later than within 6 months; in practice, the process may last for about 9-12 months and even longer in certain cases.

FREE analysis of your options for obtaining Lithuanian citizenship

The lawyers of MIGRATION LAW CENTER offer a free legal analysis of your options for obtaining Lithuanian citizenship. To receive a detailed analysis, please complete an application form by clicking this link – FORM.

Following a thorough legal analysis of your options that would allow to obtain Lithuanian citizenship, our lawyers will provide you with a written response (analytical results) regarding your options of obtaining Lithuanian citizenship and further requirements as well as procedure processes.

Reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship
Granting the citizenship of Lithuania according to the simplified procedure
Certificate of Lithuanian descents
A certificate certifying a right for reinstatement of the citizenship of Lithuania
A citizenship of children
Dual children citizenship
The citizen of a spouse (a husband or a wife)
Lithuanian citizenship through the ethnic descent
Lithuanian Citizenship for Persons Having Lithuanian Ancestry. Lithuanian Citizenship for Descendants of Lithuanians
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for those exiled from Lithuania. Dual citizenship in Lithuania
Lithuanian citizenship. Reinstatement of Lithuanian Citizenship without renouncing existing one (Dual Citizenship)
Lithuanian passport. Order of issuing and deadlines
Retention of dual citizenship in the case of the departure from Lithuania after 11 March 1990
Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania
Reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship and service in Lithuanian armed forces. Military service in Lithuania
For reinstatement of citizenship of Lithuania, it is necessary to retain citizenship of Lithuania on 1940 06 15
The Jews (Litvaks) and other emigrants who left Lithuania during the interwar period and their descendants will be able to reinstate Lithuanian citizenship or acquire double citizenship without bureaucratic obstacles

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.

Dual (multiple) citizenship

A dual (multiple) citizenship is allowed in the Republic of Lithuania only in exceptional cases.

Exceptions of dual citizenship in Lithuania: what are they?

• A person was exiled from the occupied Lithuania before 11 March 1990 or is a descendant of a person who was exiled from the occupied Lithuania before 11 March 1990 (child, grandchild or great-grandchild);
• A person fled or departed from Lithuania before 11 March 1990 or is a descendant (child, grandchild or great-grandchild) of a person who fled or departed from Lithuania before 11 March 1990;
• A child has acquired dual (multiple) citizenship by birth;
• Cases of adoption;
• Cases of marriage;
• Acquisition of Lithuanian citizenship by way of exception or while holding refugee status in the Republic of Lithuania.

Dual citizenship when a person was exiled from Lithuania before 11 March 1990

This category covers individuals who were expelled from the occupied Lithuania before 11 March 1990, as well as descendants of the aforesaid individuals. Such persons were forcibly evicted from Lithuania and sent to concentration camps, taken away for forced labour or imprisoned due to political, social or other motives, or due to resistance to occupation regimes. There is one condition for acquisition of dual citizenship – such individual must have held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 or must be a descendant of such individual (child, grandchild or great-grandchild).

Dual citizenship when a person fled or departed from Lithuania before 11 March 1990

This category involves individuals who fled or departed from Lithuania before 11 March 1990, but held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940. Also, such category embraces the descendants of such individuals, namely, their children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. Persons who departed from Lithuania to reside in the former territory of the Soviet Union after 15 June 1940 do not fall under this category.

The principal documents to be submitted for a reinstatement of citizenship of Lithuania:

The application completed in Lithuanian;
The passport;
The documents certifying that the person was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 or is a descendant of a person who was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940;
The evidences of the circumstances proving the person to be eligible for dual citizenship;
The documents certifying the family connections;
A document evidencing the change of name or surname where such personal data have been changed.

The documents certifying that the person was a citizen of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 may be following:

Lithuanian passports issued before 15 June 1940;
Documents certifying military service of the person in Lithuanian army or civil service in Lithuania;
Certificates of Birth or other documents where the citizenship is specified;
Any certificates issued in Lithuania before 15 June 1940 or certificates issued on the base of documents issued before 15 June 1940.

If the above-listed documents are absent, documents on education, employment or living in Lithuania issued before 15 June 1940 shall be provided.

The documents shall be submitted to a diplomatic mission or a consular institution in a foreign state or to the Migration Service in Lithuania; alternatively, they may be sent by mail or through a courier.

Dual (multiple) citizenship for children

Since the scale of emigration has grown significantly lately, as a matter-of-course, a number of Lithuanian children born in foreign countries also increased, as well as the number of mixed marriages. Thus, a dual citizenship for children born abroad is a common case.
Pursuant to the currently valid Lithuanian legislation, a child may enjoy a right to dual citizenship, provided he acquires citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by birth (when one of the child’s parents or both parents are Lithuanian citizens at a time of the child’s birth) and acquired citizenship of another state by birth or not by birth until he turned 18.
It is also worth mentioning the cases of adoption. A Lithuanian citizen may be adopted by a citizen or citizens of a foreign state (before the child turns 18) and thus acquire citizenship of a foreign state. The reverse option is also possible, when a Lithuanian citizen or citizens adopt a child holding citizenship of another state (before the child turns 18) and consequently the child can acquire Lithuanian citizenship.

Dual citizenship in the event of marriage

It is noteworthy that dual citizenship is granted not in all cases after marriage with a citizen of another state. Having entered into a marriage with a foreigner, a Lithuanian citizen can hold dual citizenship if citizenship is granted automatically in that foreign state after entering into a marriage with a citizen of a foreign state. This practice usually occurs in Islamic countries, where a person does not need to carry out any additional steps to acquire citizenship – the fact of marriage is sufficient evidence.

Besides, in those countries, a renunciation of citizenship of another state is not required.

Exceptions of dual citizenship

Cases of dual (multiple) citizenship granted by way of exception are very rare. Usually, in such cases Lithuanian citizenship is granted to an individual holding citizenship of another state for outstanding merits to the Republic of Lithuania. In addition, Lithuanian citizenship may be granted to persons having refugee status.

Dual citizenship: preparation of documents

The process of preparing documents for dual citizenship in the case of reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship commences with the collection and search of the necessary documents. On numerous occasions, a search for data or necessary documents is conducted in the Lithuanian archives. This may take from 5 to 60 business days.
After collecting the mandatory documents, they should be approved in accordance with the procedure established by law, and a translation of such documents should be carried out. The documents issued by foreign states should 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.

What documents should I submit to reinstate Lithuanian citizenship?

1. Application drawn up in Lithuanian;
2. Passport;
3. Documents evidencing that an individual held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania before 15 June 1940 or that he is a descendant of such individual, i.e., child, grandchild, great-grandchild;
4. Documents proving circumstances under which a person may have dual citizenship;
5. Documents confirming kinship (if dual citizenship is relevant to children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of the exiles);
6. Documents confirming the change of name, surname, if there was a change in such data.

The supporting documents that a person concerned held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania before 15 June 1940 may be the following:
1. Lithuanian passports issued before 15 June 1940;
2. Documents attesting to the person’s service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces or employment in the civil service;
3. Birth certificates or other documents containing reference to Lithuanian citizenship held by the person concerned;
4. Certificates issued before 15 June 1940 in Lithuania or certificates issued on the basis of documents issued prior to 15 June 1940.
In the absence of the afore-mentioned documents, documents concerning studies, job, and life in Lithuania before 15 June 1940, as well as other documents may be filed.

Where should I submit the documents?

The documents should be submitted at the Lithuanian diplomatic mission, consular office abroad or Migration Department in Lithuania.
On a regular basis, the deadline for deciding upon the reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship is up to 6 months, but practice shows that the process can take up to 9 months, a year or even longer.

FREE analysis of your options for obtaining Lithuanian citizenship

Email *

I agree to receive exclusive Migration offers by e-mail.