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Lithuania Citizenship Guide

24 citizenship paths — everything you need to know about eligibility, documents, timelines, and costs.

21 min readLast updated: May 2026
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Adoption

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Citizenship by Adoption — Child Adopted by Lithuanian Citizen(s) (Article 17)

A child adopted by Lithuanian citizen(s) acquires Lithuanian citizenship automatically from the date the adoption takes legal effect (Art 17(1), Law XI-1196, 2024-01-01 consolidated). Conversely, a Lithuanian-citizen child adopted by foreign citizen(s) retains Lithuanian citizenship irrespective of any foreign citizenship conferred by the adoption (Art 17(2)). The operative article is Art 17 — NOT Art 16 (which governs foundlings/children of unknown parents). No language exam, Constitution exam, or residence requirement applies; citizenship follows the adoption decree. Dual-citizenship outcomes for adopted children under 18 interact with Art 7(11) of the single-nationality framework.

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Birth

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Ius Sanguinis at Birth (Article 14)

Automatic acquisition of Lithuanian citizenship at birth for any child at least one of whose parents is a Lithuanian citizen, irrespective of the child's place of birth. The right arises by operation of law under Article 14(1) of Law No. XI-1196 (consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01) the moment the child is born — no application, no fee, no examination, and no oath is required. Citizenship is recorded in the birth-registration document (Art 14(3)). Article 14(2) extends the rule to posthumous acquisition where a parent who was a citizen died before the child's birth. The route is a straightforward administrative registration event; the Migration Department or a consular post records the citizenship status. Dual-nationality interaction is governed by Art 7(11): a child who acquires Lithuanian citizenship at birth but subsequently acquires a foreign citizenship before age 18 other than by birth may retain both (as of 2024-01-01, per amendment XIV-64).

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Foundling / Child of Unknown Parents (Article 16)

Article 16 of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 consolidated edition) provides a foundling/unknown-parentage citizenship pathway: a child found or living in Lithuanian territory both of whose parents are unknown is deemed born in Lithuania and acquires Lithuanian citizenship by operation of law, UNLESS it transpires the child has or would acquire another state's citizenship. The same deemed-birth protection extends to cases where both parents (or the only parent) are dead, missing, legally incapacitated, or have had parental powers indefinitely restricted with the child placed under permanent guardianship. Art 16 is an automatic, declaratory at-birth-type acquisition; no residence requirement, no language exam, no oath, and no naturalisation fee applies. The provision gives practical effect to anti-statelessness goals consistent with the 1961 Convention (LT party since 2013-10-20). Distinct from Art 15 (stateless parents — LT-BTH-03) and Art 17 (adoption — LT-ADP-01). Re-anchored from v1 conflation of Arts 15-17.

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Birth to Stateless Parents (Article 15)

A child born to stateless persons who are legally permanently resident in Lithuania acquires Lithuanian citizenship by birth IRRESPECTIVE of the child's birthplace (in or outside Lithuania), provided the child does not acquire another nationality at birth. This automatic anti-statelessness safeguard is codified in Article 15(1) of Law XI-1196 (consolidated 2024-01-01); Article 15(2) extends the same protection where one parent is stateless and the other is unknown. The critical distinction from v1 LT-BTH-02 (Art 16 foundling) is that in this route the parents are KNOWN but stateless with legal permanent residence in Lithuania; the parents need not be in Lithuania at the moment of birth. The 'irrespective of birthplace' extension was added by amendment XIV-64 (in force 2021-01-01). This route implements Lithuania's obligations under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (LT party, accession 2013-07-22). No oath is required; acquisition is automatic at birth subject to documentary confirmation through the Migration Department.

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CST

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Constitutional Dual-Citizenship Saga (Art 12 / Art 148; referenda; KT line) — doctrine/status

Constitutional Dual-Citizenship Saga (Art 12 / Art 148; referenda; KT line) — doctrine/status (Lithuania; Law XI-1196 consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01).

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Descent

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Pre-1940 Lithuanian Citizenship by Descent (reinstatement-eligibility client journey)

Pre-1940 Lithuanian Citizenship by Descent (reinstatement-eligibility client journey). Legal basis: Law on Citizenship No. XI-1196 (2024-01-01 consolidated edition): Art 3(1) (continuity principle); Art 9(1) (indefinite right to reinstate for pre-15-June-1940 holders and their descendants who had not acquired LT citizenship before 2011-04-01); Art 2(7) (descendant = child, grandchild, great-grandchild); Art 9(2) (dual only via an Art 7(2)/(3)/(4) ground, else renounce); Art 9(3) (Art 22(1)-(2) bars apply); Art 9(4) (once-only); Art 38 (Minister-of-the-Interior procedure + Art 38(4) document categories + the 'teise atkurti pilietybe patvirtinantis pazymejimas' certificate); Art 9(6)/Art 38(6) (court establishment of disputed facts). Doctrinal taproot: Constitution Art 32 (return) + Act of Re-Establishment 1990-03-11 + Act of Independence 1918-02-16 (continuity); KT 2006-11-13 byla Nr. 45/03-36/04 (pre-1940 citizens deprived of the exercise, not of the citizenship, of their nationality during occupation). (Lithuania; Law XI-1196 consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01).

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Post-1990 Ius Sanguinis Descent

Automatic acquisition of Lithuanian citizenship at birth for a child born to at least one Lithuanian-citizen parent, irrespective of birthplace (Art 14(1), Law XI-1196 consolidated 2024-01-01). This is the standard jus sanguinis mechanism applicable to all post-1990 birth events. Citizenship is entered in the birth-registration document (Art 14(3)). No residence, language exam, Constitution exam, or oath is required. Distinguished from the pre-1940 reinstatement corridor (LT-DSC-01/LT-RIN-01, Art 9 atkurimas) which requires documentary proof of a pre-15-June-1940 holder and a descent chain to great-grandchild (Art 2(7)); LT-DSC-02 is the forward-looking, automatic at-birth mechanism for children of citizens who are themselves already citizens under the post-1991 statutory regime.

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Complex Descent with Soviet-era Interruption

Citizenship by descent where the genealogical chain crosses the 1940-1990 Soviet-occupation interruption and requires documentary reconstruction from multiple archives (LCVA, LYA, LGGRTC, parish registers). The operative mechanism is Article 9 reinstatement (atkurimas) under Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition): the Soviet interruption does not break citizenship continuity as a matter of Lithuanian law (Art 3(1) continuity doctrine; KT 2006-11-13 byla Nr. 45/03-36/04 — the 1940 annexation is void ab initio; pre-1940 citizens are deemed to have retained citizenship in law, deprived only of its exercise during occupation). Descent eligibility extends to the great-grandchild generation (Art 2(7)). There is no residence requirement, no state-language exam, and no Constitution-fundamentals exam; the Minister of the Interior decides (Art 38; procedure: Migration Department up to ~5 months, Minister within 1 month) and no oath is required. The load-bearing complication distinguishing this route from the general Art 9 corridor (LT-DSC-01) is the Article 2(3) USSR carve-out: a person who departed Lithuanian territory for the territory of the former Soviet Union AFTER 15 June 1940 does not qualify as having 'fled Lithuania before 11 March 1990' under Art 7(3); that person's descendants therefore cannot rely on the Art 7(3) dual-citizenship key. Pre-1940 departures — including to territory that later became Soviet — are not caught by the carve-out. LVAT case-law operationalises this distinction. Art 14 jus sanguinis applies independently where a living parent in the chain is already a recognised Lithuanian citizen (no archival reconstruction required in that generation). Dual citizenship is available only if the ancestor or the applicant qualifies under an Article 7(2)/(3)/(4) ground (Art 9(2)); otherwise the applicant must renounce or not hold a foreign citizenship.

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DUL

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Dual-Citizenship Retention (Article 7 exceptions)

Dual-Citizenship Retention (Article 7 exceptions). Legal basis: Law No. XI-1196 (2024-01-01 consolidated edition), Article 7 ('Cases when a Citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be a Citizen of Another State at the Same Time') — 11 points in the LT operative text. (Lithuania; Law XI-1196 consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01).

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ETH

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Simplified Naturalisation for Persons of Lithuanian Descent (Article 10 - supaprastinta tvarka)

The simplified procedure (supaprastinta tvarka) under Article 10 of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition) lets a PERSON OF LITHUANIAN DESCENT (lietuviu kilmes asmuo) who has NEVER held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania acquire it WITHOUT the Article 18 naturalisation conditions - there is NO 10-year residence requirement, NO state-language examination and NO Constitution-fundamentals examination, irrespective of whether the applicant is permanently resident in Lithuania or in any other state (Art 10(1)). 'Person of Lithuanian descent' is defined in Article 2: a person whose parents or grandparents, or one of the parents or grandparents, are or were Lithuanians (by nationality/ethnicity, NOT by citizenship), and who considers himself Lithuanian and declares this by a written statement; descent is certified by documents plus the written statement. The applicant must NOT be a citizen of another state - the simplified procedure is single-nationality only (Art 10(2)): a foreign citizen must renounce, or commit in writing to renounce after the grant; dual citizenship is NOT available through this route. There must be no Article 22 disqualifying circumstance (Art 10(2)). Citizenship is granted by DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT of the Republic (Art 30(1) simplified-procedure power), on a non-binding preliminary recommendation of the Citizenship Commission (Art 31), filed via MIGRIS through the Migration Department or a diplomatic/consular post (Art 37(2); application documents Art 39(3)). The grantee MUST take the oath of allegiance (Art 23) - unlike reinstatement, the simplified procedure IS within the oath scope - and becomes a citizen only after the oath. A 'certificate of Lithuanian descent' (lietuviu kilmes pazymejimas) materially eases proof: where it is submitted, no further descent/kinship documents are required. State fee EUR 120 (the flat grant-route valstybes rinkliava; statutory hook Art 37(5); Vyriausybes nutarimas Nr. 597/2023, in force 2023-07-28). DIFFERENTIATE: Art 10 is for ethnic Lithuanians who NEVER held LT citizenship (President, oath, single-nationality), and is EXPRESSLY UNAVAILABLE to Litvak/Jewish descendants, who use the ethnicity-neutral Art 9 reinstatement (atkurimas) corridor instead (LT-EVID-102). As of 2026-05-31.

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Historical

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Litvak Diaspora Reinstatement (Pre-1940 Lithuanian-Jewish Descent)

Litvak Diaspora Reinstatement (Pre-1940 Lithuanian-Jewish Descent) (Lithuania; Law XI-1196 consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01).

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Soviet-Deportation Victim Descendants (1941 June Deportations, 1944–1953 Priboi/Wave Deportations)

Reinstatement pathway for descendants of Lithuanian citizens forcibly deported by Soviet authorities during the 1941 June mass deportations (~17,485 persons) and the 1944–1953 deportation wave including the 1948–49 'Priboi' operation (~112,000 aggregate per LGGRTC). The operative mechanism is Article 9 reinstatement (atkurimas) of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition): the Soviet-era forced deportation does not break citizenship continuity under the constitutional continuity doctrine (Art 3(1); KT 2006-11-13 byla 45/03-36/04) — pre-1940 citizens deprived of the exercise of their citizenship, not of citizenship itself. Eligible descendants are children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the deportee per Art 2(7). There is NO residence requirement, NO state-language exam, and NO Constitution exam for reinstatement; the right is indefinite and once-only (Art 9(4)); decided by the Minister of the Interior (Art 38; no oath). Dual citizenship is available only where the applicant additionally meets the Article 7(2) 'exiled' exception (forced deportation / exile before 11 March 1990 with permanent residence outside Lithuania) — Art 9(2) requires renunciation absent an Art 7 ground. The Art 2(3) USSR carve-out (excluding voluntary post-15-Jun-1940 departures to former Soviet territory from the Art 7(3) 'fled' exception) does NOT disqualify deportation victims: deportees come within the Article 7(2) 'exiled' exception, not Art 7(3), so the carve-out is inapplicable. Documentary spine: LGGRTC deportation registers and LYA (Lithuanian Special Archives) NKVD operational files.

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Post-1944 DP-Camp Cohort Descendants (Perkeltieji Asmenys)

Reinstatement route (Art 9 atkūrimas) for descendants of the approximately 50,000 Lithuanian displaced persons (perkeltieji asmenys) who fled Lithuania in 1944 to escape Soviet re-occupation, registered in German, Austrian, and Italian DP camps under UNRRA/IRO administration (1945-1951), and subsequently resettled — principally to the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Because these persons 'fled' (in the XII-2473/2016 sense, meaning 'left/emigrated') before 11 March 1990, their descendants inherit both the Art 9(1) reinstatement eligibility and the Art 7(3) dual-citizenship key. The key evidentiary asset is the ITS/Arolsen Archives CM/1 DP registration record (name, pre-war town of residence in Lithuania, date/place of birth, family composition), which serves as corroboration of pre-1940 Lithuanian citizenship when combined with Lithuanian Civil Registry Archive (LCVA) genealogical records. Decided by the Minister of the Interior (Art 38); no oath, no language/Constitution exam, no residence requirement. As of 2026-05-31.

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Investment

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Investment Migration Context — No CBI; Residence-by-Investment to Naturalisation Only (info/note route)

Lithuania has NO citizenship-by-investment (CBI) scheme and is fully EU-compliant per CJEU Commission v Malta C-181/23 (2025-04-29). A residence-by-investment (RBI) pathway exists under Article 45 of the Law on Legal Status of Aliens IX-2206 (effective in its current tiered form from 2014, regularly updated), but it yields only a TEMPORARY residence permit, not a citizenship track. The path to citizenship runs through permanent residence (requiring approximately 5 years of legal residence under IX-2206) then standard 10-year naturalisation under Article 18 of Law XI-1196, with no investor fast-track — a minimum approximately 15-year timeline. The single non-transactional Presidential grant route (Art 20, Art 18) available to investors who also accumulate meritorious contributions is a discretionary exception governed entirely by Art 20 standards (outstanding merit, not investment), not a CBI mechanism. This route is documented as an INFO/NOTE route for one-stop-shop completeness; it is not an acquisition pathway in itself.

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LOS

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Loss and Deprivation of Citizenship (Article 24)

Loss and Deprivation of Citizenship (Article 24). negative/status-termination route (loss & deprivation), NOT an acquisition pathway. Legal basis: Law No. XI-1196 (consolidated 2024-01-01), Article 24 ('Lietuvos Respublikos pilietybes netekimas' / 'Loss of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania') (Lithuania; Law XI-1196 consolidated edition in force 2024-01-01).

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Marriage

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Marriage / Spouse Naturalisation (Article 19 — Standalone)

Article 19 of the Law on Citizenship No. XI-1196 (2024-01-01) is a STANDALONE spouse-naturalisation provision, NOT a sub-clause of Article 18. Article 19(1): a person married to a Lithuanian citizen and legally permanently residing TOGETHER WITH THE SPOUSE in Lithuania for the last 7 years may be granted citizenship, subject to shared naturalisation conditions (CEFR A2 state-language exam, Constitution-fundamentals exam, permanent-residence right, lawful subsistence, renunciation of foreign citizenship, no Article 22 bar, oath). Article 19(2) reduces the period to 5 years where the citizen spouse is a deportee, political prisoner, or their child born in exile. Article 19(3) allows 5 years where the person resided in Lithuania for over one year married to a Lithuanian citizen who subsequently died. The fee is EUR 120 (Vyriausybes nutarimas Nr. 597/2023, as of 2023-07-28). The grant is Presidential by decree. No dual citizenship is available via this route.

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Military

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Military Service Route (No Current Route)

Military service naturalization per Art 19 of 2010 Citizenship Act for foreign nationals serving in Lithuanian Armed Forces. 3-year reduced residence threshold. Standard B1 language + Constitution exam preserved. Renunciation of foreign citizenship required per Art 12 Konstitucija unless Art 18 exception applies. Rare route; subject to discretionary Ministry of National Defense approval. Note: 2010 Act numbering — see Art 19 specifically.

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Naturalization

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Standard Naturalisation (Article 18)

Ordinary naturalisation under Article 18(1) of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition): SEVEN cumulative conditions decided by discretionary Presidential grant 'having regard to the interests of the Republic of Lithuania' (Art 18(6)). The conditions are (1) ten (10) years' legal permanent residence in Lithuania (Art 18(1) pt 1; 'legal permanent residence' = uninterrupted residence holding a residence document, a year counting as continuous if >=6 months were spent in LT, Art 2(18)); (2) the right of permanent residence at both application and decision (pt 2); (3) a passed state (Lithuanian) language examination at the FIRST proficiency category = CEFR A2 (pt 3; Gov Res Nr. 1688/2003 pt 6.2 - NOT B1, NOT Res. 280); (4) a passed examination in the fundamentals of the Constitution (pt 4); (5) lawful means of subsistence (pt 5); (6) stateless, or losing the other citizenship on acquiring Lithuanian, or a WRITTEN commitment to renounce after grant (pt 6); and (7) no Article 22 disqualifying circumstance (pt 7). Art 18(4) exempts from BOTH exams persons aged 65+, persons with 0-55% work capacity, pensionable-age persons with high/moderate special needs, and persons with serious chronic mental disorders. Art 18(5) exempts recognised refugees from the renunciation condition (pt 6). The application state fee is EUR 120 (Vyriausybes nutarimas Nr. 597/2023, in force 2023-07-28; statutory hook Art 37(5)), separate from the NSA exam fees (EUR 57 language + EUR 21 Constitution). The oath of allegiance (Art 23) is required; the renunciation-proof deadline where a written commitment was given is Art 23(13)/(14) = 1 year + a possible 1-year extension (breach triggers loss under Art 24(9)). Dual citizenship is NOT available through this route: the Constitution Art 12(2) single-nationality default stands unchanged (both the 2019 and 2024 referenda FAILED, and the post-2024 expansion bills were assessed unconstitutional and not enacted). As of 2026-05-31.

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Reduced-Residence Naturalisation — Stateless Person Born in Lithuania (Article 18(2))

Reduced 5-year (versus the standard 10-year) naturalisation pathway under Article 18(2) of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01) for a stateless person who was born on Lithuanian territory and has not acquired any other nationality. The applicant must satisfy: (a) 5 years of legal permanent residence in Lithuania; (b) the right to reside permanently in Lithuania at both application and decision; and (c) Article 18(1) points 3 (CEFR-A2 state-language exam), 4 (Constitution-fundamentals exam), 5 (lawful subsistence), and 7 (no Article 22 disqualification circumstances). Points 1 (10-year clock), 2 (only the permanent-residence right — subsumed in Art 18(2) own condition), and 6 (renunciation — no foreign citizenship to renounce) of Art 18(1) are NOT applied. The grant is discretionary by the President of the Republic under Art 18(6). The route implements Lithuania's 1961 Convention obligation to reduce statelessness (LT party, accession 2013-07-22). As of 2026-05-31, the Lithuanian stateless-resident population is 2,266 persons (~95% with permanent residence; down from ~3,400 in 2016), the cohort from which this route draws.

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RIN

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Reinstatement of Citizenship (Atkurimas) - the Article 9 institute / Article 38 procedure

Reinstatement (atkurimas) under Article 9 of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition) is the operative INSTITUTE through which the pre-1940-descent corridor is exercised; this route documents the institute and its Article 38 / Article 32(2) procedure itself, as distinct from the ancestry-eligibility client journeys that run through it (LT-DSC-01 pre-1940 descent; LT-HIS-01/02/03 historical cohorts). Persons who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 and their descendants to the great-grandchild generation (Art 2(7)), who had not acquired Lithuanian citizenship before 2011-04-01, have an INDEFINITE, once-only (Art 9(4)) right to reinstate, irrespective of country of permanent residence. There is NO residence requirement, NO state-language examination, and NO Constitution-fundamentals examination. The Minister of the Interior decides (Art 32(2) power; Art 38 procedure); the Article 23 oath of allegiance does NOT apply to reinstatement. Dual citizenship is conferred ONLY where the applicant also satisfies an Article 7(2), (3) or (4) ground (exile/flight before 11 March 1990 plus descendants); otherwise Art 9(2) requires the applicant not to hold, or to renounce, the foreign citizenship. Art 9(3) applies the Article 22(1)-(2) disqualification bars. A confirmatory documentary step - the 'teise atkurti pilietybe patvirtinantis pazymejimas' (certificate of the right to reinstate citizenship), issued for an unlimited period - may precede or accompany the reinstatement decision. As of 2026-05-31.

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Restoration

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Restoration of Citizenship (Grazinimas) — recovery of personally-held, post-1990-lost Lithuanian citizenship

Restoration (grazinimas) under Article 21 of Law XI-1196 (2024-01-01 edition) is the institute by which a person who PERSONALLY HELD and later LOST Lithuanian citizenship may have it restored — most typically a post-1990 Lithuanian citizen who lost citizenship by voluntarily acquiring a foreign one (Art 24(2)/Art 26). Restoration is once-only (Art 21(1)); a person who was granted citizenship BY WAY OF EXCEPTION (Art 20) and then lost it MAY NOT have it restored (Art 21(1) third sentence). It is decided by the PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC by decree (Art 30(1) point 4), on a Citizenship Commission proposal (Art 31), with the application submitted to the President through the Art 37(2) channels and examined under the Article 42 procedure; the Migration Department reviews and forwards a conclusion to the Citizenship Commission. The OATH of allegiance IS required (Art 23(1)). The route has THREE statutory branches: (i) the NATURALISATION branch (Art 21(2)) for persons who had been naturalised and lost citizenship — five cumulative conditions including FIVE years' legal permanent residence in Lithuania; (ii) the UNDER-18/derivative branch (Art 21(3)); and (iii) the BY-BIRTH / reinstated / simplified branch (Art 21(4)) for persons whose lost citizenship had been acquired by birth, reinstated (atkurimas), or granted under the simplified procedure — restored on proof of non-foreign-citizenship, UNLESS an Article 7(1)-(4) dual ground applies. This route is DISTINCT from LT-RIN-01 (Art 9 reinstatement/atkurimas: pre-1940 root, Minister, NO oath, no residence/exam) and from Art 7 retention (LT-DUL-01). FATAL v1 mis-merge (WL-01: 'atkurimas'/Art 30/2002-numbering) corrected in v5.

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Special

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Grant of Citizenship by Way of Exception (Article 20 — outstanding merit)

Discretionary grant of Lithuanian citizenship by the President of the Republic, by decree, to a foreign citizen or stateless person for OUTSTANDING MERITS to the Republic of Lithuania who has integrated into Lithuanian society, WITHOUT applying the Article 18 naturalisation conditions (no 10-year residence, no state-language exam, no Constitution-fundamentals exam). The grant is wholly discretionary (Art 84(21) Constitution; Art 20 + Art 30(1)(3) Law XI-1196) and confers NO legal right; the Citizenship Commission preliminarily assesses merit and integration and makes a non-binding recommendation, but the President decides. The exceptional grant does NOT ipso facto extend to the spouse, child or other family members (Art 20(3)). The grantee MUST take the oath of allegiance (Art 23) within 6 months of the decree's entry into force, and only after the oath does the person become a citizen. Outstanding merits = activities that significantly contribute to the consolidation of Lithuanian statehood and to strengthening its power and authority in the international community (Art 20(2)); the integration test is permanent residence in LT + ability to communicate in Lithuanian, OR (if not permanently resident) ability to communicate in Lithuanian plus other tangible proof of integration. CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDRAIL: KT ruling 2003-12-30 byla Nr. 40/03 (Paksas/Borisov) held that an exception grant that is a quid-pro-quo reward and not founded on genuine outstanding merit breaches Art 29(1) equality, Art 82(1), Art 84(21) and the rule-of-law principle.

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Granting / Restoration of Citizenship Considering State Interests (Article 21-1)

Article 21-1 of Law XI-1196 (added by amendment XIV-64, adopted 2020-12-10, generally in force 2021-01-01) is titled 'Granting and restoration of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania considering the interests of the state' (Lietuvos Respublikos pilietybes suteikimas ir grazinimas atsizvelgiant i valstybes interesus). On the verbatim consolidated text it is a SHORT, single-paragraph PRINCIPLE/FRAMING provision: 'Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is granted and returned to individuals taking into account the interests of the Republic of Lithuania' (natlex/ILO LT-consolidated EN render). It does NOT, on its face, set out its own residence, language-exam, merit or documentary conditions; it codifies the STATE-INTEREST standard as an organising rationale for granting and restoring citizenship. It is DISTINCT from Art 20 grant by way of exception (LT-SPC-01: turns on the individual's OUTSTANDING PERSONAL MERIT + integration) and from Art 21 restoration (LT-RST-01: recovery of citizenship a person PERSONALLY HELD and LOST). The President of the Republic is the deciding authority for grant/restoration decrees in this sphere (Const Art 84(21); Art 30(1) Law XI-1196), on a Citizenship Commission proposal (Art 31), and the oath of allegiance applies where the decree perfects a grant or restoration (Art 23).

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STL

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Statelessness Framework — 1989 'Zero Option', UN Conventions, and Anti-Statelessness Safeguards

This is the STATELESSNESS FRAMEWORK route for Lithuania: a doctrine/status synthesis (not a single application form) of how Lithuanian law prevents and reduces statelessness, and how stateless persons reach citizenship. Its historical taproot is the 1989 'zero option' — the Law on Citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR adopted 1989-11-03 (e-seimas TAIS.21839), whose Article 1(3) gave permanently-resident 'other persons' a TWO-YEAR (1989-1991) opt-in window to citizenship with no language or long-residence test. This inclusive design (NOT the more restrictive 1991 Law I-2072 that replaced it) is why Lithuania has only a small residual stateless population (2,266 as of 2024-02-01, ~95% holding permanent residence, down from ~3,400 in 2016) — in contrast to Latvia (~225,000 'non-citizens') and Estonia (~78,000 stateless). The 1989 opt-in window is CLOSED for new applicants; the operative present-day safeguards are Article 15 (citizenship for a child of stateless legally-permanently-resident parents, irrespective of birthplace — see LT-BTH-03), Article 16 (foundling — LT-BTH-02), and Article 18(2) (reduced 5-year naturalisation for a stateless person born on Lithuanian territory — LT-NAT-02). Lithuania is party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (accession 2000-02-07) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (accession 2013-07-22, with an Article 8(3) declaration reserving deprivation grounds under Law XI-1196 Art 24(4) and (6) only). As of 2026-05-31 Lithuania has NO enacted statelessness determination procedure (SDP): statelessness is determined functionally, and 1954-Convention travel documents issue under the Law on Legal Status of Aliens IX-2206 Art 38. The pending bill XVP-1441 (registered 2026-04-27) is a citizenship-procedure amendment, NOT an SDP.

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Common questions about Lithuania citizenship

Short answers to the questions visitors most often ask. For a case-specific verdict, book a one-on-one assessment above.

Lithuania citizenship by descent eligibility depends on your specific ancestor's birth date, place, and whether the citizenship line was broken (typically by naturalization elsewhere before your parent's birth). Each generation has its own rules under the laws in force at the time. Take our free 2-minute eligibility quiz for a preliminary assessment, or book a one-on-one verdict with a citizenship expert for a definitive answer.

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