The certificate confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and its issuance procedure

Each person, who held the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania before 15June 1940, and his/her descendants, who have not acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, have the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania. This right is not limited in time, moreover, a person may reinstate citizenship regardless of what country he/she lives in. That right is supported with certificates confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania issued by the Migration Department from 1 January 2013. These certificates replace the previously issued certificates confirming retention of the right to the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.

A person willing to obtain a certificate confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania must submit a prescribed application form, as well as a document, confirming the person’s identity; the documents, confirming that the person held the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June, 1940, or is the descendant of a person who held the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June, 1940 (domestic or foreign passports of the Republic of Lithuania, the documents, testifying the person’s service at the Lithuanian army or work at the Lithuanian civil service; birth certificates or other documents, directly stating the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, etc.), and confirming the kinship relationship with such a person. Copies of the documents must be approved by a notary. The documents, issued by foreign bodies must be legalized or confirmed by a note (Apostille), unless international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and legislative acts of the European Union provide otherwise, and translated into Lithuanian language.

The documents are submitted to the Migration Department of the Republic of Lithuania either through the diplomatic representative or the Consular office of the Republic of Lithuania, if a person lives abroad; if a person lives in the Republic of Lithuania – through the territorial police office by the person’s place of residence.

The application to issue the certificate confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is considered within a maximum period of 6 months from the date of submission of the application in the Migration Department, and in case of replacing the certificate – not later than within 1 month. The certificate confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is issued for an unlimited period of time.

This certificate facilitates the reinstatement of the Lithuanian citizenship under the simplified procedure, as it is not anymore required to prove the kinship relationship with the person who held Lithuanian citizenship. In order to reinstate the citizenship on the basis of this certificate, a general procedure for renouncing a foreign state citizenship is applied. Individuals must renounce their foreign state citizenship, with the exception of cases prescribed by the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania whereunder the right to hold dual citizenship is granted. A person who has reinstated the Lithuanian citizenship does not have to swear an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania under the current regulations; the decision regarding reinstatement of citizenship shall confirm the citizenship.

According to the Migration Department, in 2014, 157 certificates confirming the right to reinstate the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania were issued. Compared with statistics of 2013, that is by 2.1 times more. The most of such certificates were issued to citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

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.