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

LT-INV-01 is an INFO/NOTE route documenting the investment migration context for Lithuania. Lithuania has NO citizenship-by-investment (CBI) scheme and is fully EU-compliant per CJEU Commission v Malta C-181/23 (Grand Chamber, 2025-04-29, ECLI:EU:C:2025:283). 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 total timeline. The single non-transactional Presidential grant route (Art 20, outstanding merit by way of exception) available to investors who also accumulate meritorious contributions is entirely discretionary and not investment-linked. This route is documented as an INFO/NOTE route for one-stop-shop completeness; it is not an acquisition pathway in itself.

Conviction for preparation, attempt, or commission of international crimes (aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes) — Art 22(1). Criminal acts against the Republic of Lithuania — Art 22(2). Prior imprisonment abroad for a deliberate crime deemed very serious under Lithuanian law, or punishment in Lithuania for a very serious crime (regardless of expungement) — Art 22(3). No right to a permanent-residence document in Lithuania — Art 22(4). Failure to renounce the foreign citizenship (or inability to satisfy the Art 18(1)(6) renunciation/statelessness condition) — Art 18(1)(6). Presidential discretion: even if all Art 18(1) conditions are technically met, the grant is 'having regard to the interests of Lithuania' (Art 18(6)) — a negative discretionary decision does not require reasons. Failure to submit renunciation proof within the Art 23(13)/(14) deadline (1 year plus up to 1-year extension) results in loss of the newly acquired citizenship under Art 24(9). Dual citizenship is NOT available — Lithuania's single-nationality default (Constitution Art 12(2)) requires renunciation of the foreign citizenship as a condition of naturalisation; both the 2019 and 2024 referenda to broaden dual citizenship FAILED.

STAGE 1 — RBI (IX-2206 Art 45): qualifying investment at one of the prescribed tiers (EUR 14,000 to EUR 1,448,100 depending on category); valid travel document; maintenance of investment throughout the residence period; all requirements for a temporary residence permit under IX-2206 Art 45. STAGE 2 — Permanent Residence: approximately 5 years of continuous legal temporary residence; satisfaction of the general IX-2206 permanent-residence requirements. STAGE 3 — Naturalisation (Art 18(1)): (1) 10 years' legal permanent residence in Lithuania; (2) right of permanent residence at application and decision; (3) passed state-language (Lithuanian) examination at CEFR A2 / first proficiency category (Government Resolution No. 1688/2003 pt 6.2); (4) passed Constitution-fundamentals examination; (5) lawful means of subsistence; (6) stateless, or loss of other citizenship on acquiring Lithuanian citizenship, or written commitment to renounce within the Art 23(13)/(14) deadline (1 year plus up to 1-year extension); (7) no Art 22 disqualifying circumstances. The total minimum timeline is approximately 15 years (approximately 5 years RBI temporary residence to permanent residence qualification, then 10 years permanent residence). The naturalisation grant is discretionary (Art 18(6)) — meeting all conditions does not guarantee a grant.

For the full RBI-to-naturalisation pathway: proof of qualifying investment (tier-dependent; per Migration Department Art 45 schedule — e.g. company incorporation documents, share certificates, property title deeds, government investment agreement as applicable); valid travel document/passport; temporary residence permit under IX-2206 Art 45 (maintained throughout residence period); proof of continuous legal permanent residence in Lithuania for 10 years (Law XI-1196 Art 18(1)(1)) — registration records, tax residence documentation, entry/exit records; permanent residence permit (IX-2206); state-language (Lithuanian) examination certificate at CEFR A2 / first proficiency category (Government Resolution No. 1688/2003 pt 6.2) — or exemption documentation (Art 18(4)); Constitution-fundamentals examination certificate — or exemption documentation (Art 18(4)); proof of lawful means of subsistence (tax returns, employment contracts, business income documentation); documents evidencing current citizenship/statelessness, and evidence of intention or ability to renounce foreign citizenship; declaration that no Art 22 disqualification circumstances apply; criminal record clearances (domestic and foreign); written application filed through MIGRIS (Government Resolution No. 761/2021-09-22); physical originals submitted to Migration Department territorial unit within 4 months of MIGRIS submission; certified Lithuanian translations of all foreign-language documents.

The definitive finding for LT-INV-01 is that Lithuania has NO citizenship-by-investment scheme and is fully EU-compliant. CJEU Commission v Malta C-181/23 (Grand Chamber, 2025-04-29, ECLI:EU:C:2025:283) held that CBI schemes breach Art 20 TFEU and Art 4(3) TEU; Lithuania's discretionary Art 20 Presidential exception grant is non-transactional and not investment-linked. The RBI pathway under IX-2206 Art 45 provides only a temporary residence permit — not a permanent-residence permit and not a citizenship track. The combined minimum timeline of approximately 15 years (approximately 5 years RBI to permanent residence plus 10 years permanent residence before naturalisation filing) makes Lithuania unsuitable for investment-motivated citizenship seekers. The EUR 14,000 RBI base tier figure is from T2/T3 publications (2024-2025) — verify current tier amounts against Migration Department Art 45 schedule at migration.lt before citing. The Art 7 dual-citizenship exceptions do not apply to naturalisation-route investors; renunciation of the foreign citizenship is mandatory. The Art 20 Presidential exception requires genuine outstanding merit and societal integration — it is documented in LT-SPC-01, not in this INFO/NOTE route. Route overlaps: LT-NAT-01 (standard naturalisation — the citizenship endpoint for this pathway) and LT-SPC-01 (Art 20 Presidential exception — the adjacent non-transactional exceptional route).

Minimum approximately 15 years from initial RBI entry to potential citizenship: approximately 5 years temporary residence under IX-2206 Art 45, then qualifying for permanent residence, then 10 years' legal permanent residence under Law XI-1196 Art 18(1)(1). The naturalisation application itself takes approximately 4-12 months from filing to Presidential decree (Migration Department indicative: 3 months to forward to Citizenship Commission; Citizenship Commission no later than 6 months to examine). There is NO investor fast-track at any stage. Physical original documents must reach the Migration Department within 4 months of MIGRIS submission. Investment cost: minimum qualifying investment (RBI base/startup tier, Law IX-2206 Art 45, as of 2024-2025 sources) = EUR 14,000; upper tiers: approximately EUR 260,000, EUR 500,000, EUR 1,448,100 (government investment-agreement tier, Investment Law Art 13) — re-verify current tier amounts against Migration Department Art 45 schedule before reuse. Naturalisation state fee (Law XI-1196 Art 37(5); Government Resolution No. 597/2023, in force 2023-07-28): EUR 120 flat. Ancillary costs (language examination fee, Constitution examination fee, translation/notarisation, consular fees, legal representation) are; verify against migration.lt, renkuosilietuva.lt (language examination) and nsa.smsm.lt (Constitution examination).