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Frequently asked questions
This section provides the summaries of the most frequently asked questions and answers that occur during legal consultations. Consequently, this information should not be considered as the individual legal advice offered in a particular personal case. Individual legal consultations are absolutely free of charge and can be arranged in a convenient way.
Have questions? Contact us-
1
What are the eligibility criteria for restoring citizenship by descent?
- At least one of your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, which existed from 1918 to 1940.
- Your ancestor left Lithuania some time before Lithuania restored its independence on March 11, 1990.
- Your ancestor left to any country which was not part of the former Soviet Union (in case your ancestor left to any of the Soviet Union countries, you might be eligible for single or dual Lithuanian citizenship depending on the time and circumstances of them leaving).
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2
How many generations back?
You can get Lithuanian citizenship if one of your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents had Lithuanian citizenship, i.e. three generations back.
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3
Is there a language requirement?
You do not need to know Lithuanian language to restore your citizenship.
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4
Who is not eligible?
If your ancestors left before 1918 (independence of Lithuania), or after 1990, according to current laws, you cannot obtain Lithuanian citizenship.
Exact dates: You can obtain dual Lithuanian citizenship if your ancestors left during the period of 2 November 1918 and 15 June 1940 and before 11 March 1990.
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5
Am I eligible for dual citizenship if left to USSR before/after 1940?
Based on the current edition of citizenship law if person’s ancestors left to former Soviet Union (but were not deported or forced into exile) after 1940, then the person is eligible only for single Lithuanian citizenship. However, if person’s ancestors left Lithuania (to any country, including USSR) before 1940, then the person can apply for dual Lithuanian citizenship.
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6
What if I do not possess any proof that my ancestor was citizen of Lithuania prior to the World War II?
In nine out of 10 cases, my clients do not have documents proving that their ancestor was from Lithuania. This is completely normal, and definitely not a problem. Knowing that at least one of your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents was from Lithuania is the only essential condition to successfully initiate the process. The rest is our job. We have extensive experience working with various archives in Lithuania and were able to find some proof of citizenship in the most complicated cases. We can read in all languages used at that time in Lithuania.
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7
What if my ancestor has changed his/her name and it is not the same as in his Lithuanian documents?
It is a usual case. We will address this issue with historians and Yiddish language specialists and will prepare needed paperwork.
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8
What documents are required from the applicant?
Provide information about Lithuanian ancestor (whichever part of this list you can get):
- Description of your relationship with Lithuanian ancestor (whichever part of below listed info you have presently);
- His/her full name in Your country and Lithuania (if known);
- His/her date of birth;
- Place where he/she lived in Lithuania;
- His/her parents and siblings (if known).
Note: There is no need for you to have Lithuanian documents. Availability of such supporting documents might be helpful but not necessary.
Provide the list of family members who are keen to proceed for the reinstatement of Lithuanian Citizenship along with:
- Scan copies of passports;
- Postal addresses;
- Contact cell phone number.
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9
In which language all documents have to be submitted to Lithuanian authorities?
All documents and correspondence should be provided exceptionally in Lithuanian. We will take care of this.
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10
What is the process of citizenship reinstatement procedure?
The reinstatement procedure has two – or sometimes even three – stages.
Stage one – preparation for application
After initial eligibility assessment is done, we start the process with stage one, which involves preparation for application, i.e. collecting all the legal documents required to justify the application.
Once all the evidence in place and client has got the necessary documents from the country of residence we are ready for the legal verification of the documents.
To resume, it usually takes 2 to 4 months to prepare the application. The actual time mostly depends on how fast you can get the necessary documents from your country of residence.
Stage two – examination of the application
Stage two involves examination of the application by the Migration Department of the Republic of Lithuania. This is the longest and most patience-testing stage. The Migration Department is legally obliged to examine applications for reinstatement within 12 months from the date of submission.
IMPORTANT TO NOTICE: in early October 2024, a new regulation extended the Migration Department’s review period from 6 months to 12 months. This change has significantly lengthened the overall timeline for the procedure.
Once your application for Lithuanian citizenship by descent is approved, we will email you the official Government Decree and you will be able to order Lithuanian passport (done in person only) at the nearest Lithuanian Embassy or in Lithuania.
Stage three – collection of additional evidence
In cases where there is a lack of documents (evidence) submitted to the migration department, the third stage – the collection of additional documents (evidence) – occurs.
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11
How long does it take to get citizenship?
Usually, the application takes 2 to 4 months to prepare. The actual time mostly depends on how fast you can get the necessary documents from your country of residence. It takes 12 months for Migration Department to process the application. So, the entire procedure normally takes from 14 to 16 months, in some specific complicated cases – longer.
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12
Is it possible to get citizenship faster?
There is no legal way to get the applications processed extra-fast or faster. If someone is claiming that they can do that either they are misinforming the applicants or they are doing something illegal, which can heavily jeopardize chances of getting Lithuanian citizenship by descent.
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13
Is there an upfront payment?
No upfront payment is required. We work on All Inclusive Success Fee basis, i.e. you pay only after your application is approved. The fee is exactly as defined originally despite unexpected additional difficulties, requiring additional time and effort in achieving the results.
NOTE: In case application is not approved and rejected, there will be NO PAYMENT. All expenses on Lithuanian side such as archive investigatory, application governmental fees, documents translations, are all covered by IN JURE Law Firm with no obligation to compensate.
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14
What will be my additional costs for the procedure?
Most of the costs are already included in the All Inclusive Success Fee for our services, which besides our work also includes the cost of archive investigatory, application governmental fees, documents translations. You may incur additional costs only for the tasks that we cannot do in/from Lithuania:
- costs for sourcing the documents needed in your home country and legally verifying them;
- postage costs when sending us all the documents;
- getting passport in local Embassy.
NOTE: In case application is not approved and rejected, there will be NO PAYMENT. All expenses on Lithuanian side such as archive investigatory, application governmental fees, documents translations, are all covered by IN JURE Law Firm with no obligation to compensate.
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15
What about wife/husband eligibility?
After you get Lithuanian citizenship, your spouse, unfortunately, would not get Lithuanian citizenship automatically. However often it turns out that the spouse’s family or part of their family also comes from Lithuania. And is worthwhile to investigate that ancestral line and she/he might be eligible to apply separately.
In case your spouse is not eligible to apply for Lithuanian citizenship, she/he still can enjoy the benefits of Lithuanian citizenship that you have. If you move to any EU country your spouse would be eligible for residence and work permit and live in the EU together with you.
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16
What about children eligibility?
There are two different scenarios in which your children can acquire Lithuanian citizenship:
Scenario 1. A child born before at least one of the parents becomes a LTU citizen.
In this scenario, the parent and the child follow the same procedure for application for LTU citizenship reinstatement. The duration of the procedure will essentially be the same. Please note that an application for a child will need to comply with additional conditions (i.e. proving blood lines and proximity in terms of generations).
To summarise, there is no guarantee that the child will be eligible to apply, and/or that this additional application will be as prompt as an automatic concession.
Scenario 2. A child born after at least one of the parents has already become a LTU citizen.
In this case, the child automatically becomes a LTU citizen. This wonderful civic right (introduced with the amendment of Law on Citizenship in 2015) is not limited to the number of generations (this is on condition that the citizenship law is not altered).
To summarise, if the parent is already a LTU citizen at the time of the child’s birth, the child is guaranteed LTU citizenship. The child does not need to go through the lengthy application process of the parent. They can apply for their passport through the LTU embassy, and the process is quick and simple.
At this point, I would also like to emphasise that childhood eligibility for the reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship is dependent on the specific time of application, and the legal requirements in force at that time. This means that from time-to-time, changing laws sometimes lead to situations in which some family members are successfully in having their Lithuanian citizenship restored, but others who apply later (e.g. children, brothers, or sisters), are rejected due to changing legal requirements.
Another common misconception is that you have to apply (or your parents have to apply) for reinstatement of Lithuanian citizenship for your children. There is no such requirement. Each application is assessed individually according to whether one of the parents, grandparents, or great grandparents of that person was a Lithuanian citizen until 1940, and there is no requirement that one of the applicant’s parents or grandparents (i.e. the direct descendants of a person who had a Lithuanian nationality before 1940) has applied for the restoration of Lithuanian citizenship.
Regarding adopted children eligibility: if somebody was adopted by a person that can restore Lithuanian citizenship, this adopted person is treated as a child for Lithuanian citizenship restoration. Does not matter if adopted person does not have any blood relationship to Lithuania. 3 generation rule applies, the same as for anyone else that wants to restore Lithuanian citizenship.
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17
Do I have to visit Lithuania in order to get citizenship?
No, you do not need to visit Lithuania to get the citizenship, unless you want to. We will take care of the application on your behalf and you will be able to get your Lithuanian passport in the closest Lithuanian embassy or consulate.
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18
Do you need to live in EU/Lithuania for certain time period after receiving citizenship?
No.
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19
Can you lose your existing citizenship to take up your ancestral citizenship?
The Republic of Lithuania permits dual citizenship in exceptional cases. An ancestral Lithuanian citizenship is one of the exceptional cases in which the reinstatement of one’s Lithuanian citizenship is possible without losing existing citizenship status.
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20
Will there be any name spelling changes in Lithuanian passport?
Previously the Latin alphabet letters “W”, “Q” and “X” (that are not used in Lithuanian alphabet) were not allowed on the names and surnames of the new citizens of Lithuania. Thus these letters were substituted according to the pronunciation to conform the grammatical rules of Lithuanian language (thus ‘w’ would be substituted with ‘v’; ‘q’ would be substituted with ‘kv’; ‘x’ would be substituted with ‘ks’).
Since June 2021, this legal practice is revoked and now all new applications are processed and granted with the original spelling (i.e. using “w”, “q” and “x”) on the names and surnames of the new citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
Good news is that the original name and surnames spelling can now also be arranged for those citizens of the Republic of Lithuania (thus the same applies for you and your family members) whose ancestral Lithuanian citizenship applications were granted prior to the above explained legal practice change. Unfortunately, this is not an automatic effect as changes of the personal data of each individual would have to be processed officially at the Population Register of the Republic of Lithuania. After these personal data changes procedures would be completed, simply the new Lithuanian passport with the original spelling of your name and surname would have to be ordered.
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21
Are there any tax implications?
Lithuania uses a residency-based tax system. Here’s what that means:
- Residents of Lithuania are taxed on their worldwide income, regardless of where it is earned.
- Non-residents are only taxed on income that comes from Lithuania, such as wages, dividends, rent, or income from real estate in Lithuania.
Whether you’re considered a resident depends on factors like your primary home, socio-economic interests, or the number of days you spend in Lithuania.
If you are a Lithuanian citizen but live abroad, you are not required to pay taxes in Lithuania on your worldwide income. You would only be taxed on income earned in Lithuania.
It’s worth noting that the United States is unique among developed countries in applying a citizenship-based taxation system. This means that all U.S. citizens, no matter where they live, are taxed on their worldwide income.
For specific questions about taxes in your country of residence—especially if you live outside the EU, like in the U.S.—you should consult a tax lawyer.
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22
Is military service in Lithuanian army mandatory?
Since 2015 Lithuania has re-introduced compulsory military service for a period of 9 months. The obligation is applied to male Lithuanian citizens aged 18 to 23 regardless of their place of residence. Dual citizenship does not relieve from military conscription. Conscription is on the lottery basis, i.e. names of the draftees will be randomly generated by a piece of computer software. The new Lithuanian army conscription list is announced each January on the website https://sauktiniai.karys.lt/
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