2015 10 14 Those wanting to receive a residence permit in Lithuania must submit a certificate of conviction

One among the documents to be submitted by an alien who wants to receive a residence permit in Lithuania is an alien’s certificate of conviction. At present, submission of the certificate is mandatory in all cases, i.e., both when an alien applies for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania and for a permanent residence in Lithuania.

Up to 14 October 2015, the requirement to submit the certificate of conviction was mandatory for individuals applying for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania only. Subparagraph 17.9 of Order No. 1V-367 as of 06-05-2015 of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania provides for that in cases where an application for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania is filed by an older than 14 years old alien, he/she must submit a certificate issued by a competent authority of the foreign country, which he/she has resided in before arriving to Lithuania or is currently residing, stating that he/she was or was not convicted in that country. In case an alien applying for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania was convicted in the country which he/she has resided in before, the certificate of conviction shall specify when and for what offense the person was convicted, with additional information on the type of a sentence imposed and a served sentence or a failure to serve it. An alien must obtain the said certificate before arriving to Lithuania to reside, i.e., he/she must apply to competent authorities of the country, which he/she has resided in, and to obtain the certificate of conviction. If an alien is currently staying in Lithuania, he/she may apply for the certificate to the diplomatic mission or consular post of the country, which he/she has resided in, in Lithuania. An alien should seek to obtain the certificate no earlier than 6 months prior to applying for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania.

According to the new provision, which entered into force on 14 October 2015, since now the certificate of conviction is also to be submitted in case an alien is applying for a permanent residence permit in Lithuania. Order No. 1V-809 of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania specifies that the Order No. 1V-445 of the Minister of the Interior is supplemented with a new provision which provides for that in cases where an application for a permanent residence permit in Lithuania is filed by an older than 14 years old alien, he/she, along with other documents, must submit a certificate of conviction to be issued no earlier than 4 months prior to the submission of an application for a permanent residence permit in Lithuania. The submission of the certificate of conviction is not mandatory in cases where the alien holds a valid temporary residence permit in Lithuania and has declared a place of residence in Lithuania.

The certificate of a person's conviction issued by a competent authority of a foreign state must be translated into Lithuanian, validated and affirmed by Apostille, unless international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania or acts of the Euro Union provide otherwise.

MIGRATION LAW CENTER