Restoration of Lithuanian Citizenship in 2024

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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

1. 1. Internal or foreign passports of the Republic of Lithuania issued before 15 June 1940;
2. Foreign passports of the Republic of Lithuania issued at diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania after 15 June 1940;
3. Documents attesting to the person’s service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces or employment in the civil service;
4. Birth certificates or other documents containing direct reference to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania held by the person concerned;
5. 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.

The aforementioned persons may restore the Lithuanian citizenship, provided they are not citizens of other state, except for the 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.

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:

1. a person who was exiled from the occupied Republic of Lithuania before 11 March 1990;
2. a person who fled the Republic of Lithuania before 11 March 1990;
3. a descendant of a person referred to above (child, grandchild, great-grandchild).

A person exiled from the occupied Lithuania before 11 March 1990 shall mean a person who had Lithuanian citizen 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 citizen 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 the persons who left the territory of Lithuania after 15 June 1940 and departed to the territory of the former Soviet Union.

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:

1. a person has prepared, attempted to commit or committed international crimes such as: aggression, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes;
2. 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.

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.

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.

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.

MIGRATION LAW CENTER 

Read more:  

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.