Eligibility quiz
Is or was at least one of your parents or grandparents of Lithuanian origin?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Lithuanian passport and ID
A Lithuanian passport is valid for 10 years over age 16, 5 years at ages 5–16 and 2 years under age 5.
An identity card can be used for travel where accepted.
It is normally valid for 10 years at ages 16–70 and 30 years from age 70, with shorter periods for children.
Live in Lithuania for life
Lithuanian citizens can live in Lithuania indefinitely and return to settle at any time.
Citizenship does not expire, and there is no minimum time you must live in Lithuania to keep it.
Work in Lithuania
Lithuanian citizens can choose a job or start a business in Lithuania without immigration restrictions on their right to work.
Get help abroad
Lithuanian citizens can seek consular help abroad, including a return certificate or temporary passport if a document is lost.
Where Lithuania has no embassy or consulate outside the EU, another EU country's embassy or consulate can help with emergencies, including lost documents, arrest or serious illness.
Vote and run for office
Lithuanian citizens can vote from age 18, unless a court has declared them legally incapable.
Citizens can also take part in government and stand for office, with separate eligibility rules for each office.
Use public healthcare
People with compulsory health insurance can use covered healthcare in Lithuania; people without the required insurance generally pay for treatment.
Permanent residents are entitled to emergency medical help.
In other EU countries, access depends on eligibility and insurance rules.
Get social support
Lithuanian citizens can qualify for pensions and support for old age, disability, unemployment, sickness, widowhood, loss of a breadwinner and other circumstances.
Payments depend on the conditions for each benefit.
Social-security rules can also coordinate support across EU countries.
How to apply
Applying from inside LithuaniaApplying from inside Lithuania
Find your office
Find the Migration Department office that serves the area where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Lithuania Migration Department office serves your city for citizenship applications?”
Get the application form
Get the application form for Lithuanian citizenship under the simplified procedure.
Find the formSearches DuckDuckGo for “Where can I get the Lithuania Migration Department simplified procedure citizenship application form?”
Fill in the form
Fill in and sign the form. If you are under 18 or legally incapable, your legal representative fills it in and signs it for you.
Find form instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in the Lithuania Migration Department simplified procedure citizenship application form?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the Migration Department.
See required documentsPay the fee
Pay the €159 application examination fee using the Migration Department's payment instructions and payment code 5740.
Find payment instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I pay the Lithuania Migration Department simplified procedure citizenship application fee?”
Hand in your application
Give your signed application and documents to the Migration Department, and ask how your office accepts them. You can also send them by registered post or through a representative, with your signature certified.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Lithuania Migration Department simplified procedure citizenship application at the office in your city?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the President's decision and answer any requests for more information or documents. If the Citizenship Commission finds your descent documents insufficient, it may refer the question of your descent to a court.
See what happensSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens after I submit a Lithuania Migration Department simplified procedure citizenship application?”
Take the oath
If your application is approved, take the oath of allegiance to Lithuania. You become a Lithuanian citizen after taking the oath and can then apply for a Lithuanian passport.
Find oath instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I take the oath after receiving Lithuanian citizenship under the simplified procedure?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Lithuanian family records *
Provide records showing that your parent or grandparent is or was Lithuanian and how you are related to them. Birth records can help show the family connection, including the link through your parent if the Lithuanian relative is your grandparent.
* Only if you do not have a Lithuanian descent certificate.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Reporting another citizenship
If you acquire another citizenship, you generally must notify Lithuania within two months, unless an exception applies.
You can notify the responsible Lithuanian office, embassy or consulate.
Tax on public income
In certain circumstances, Lithuanian citizens receiving Lithuanian public funding or pay may be treated as Lithuanian tax residents, including when abroad.
Tax residents are generally taxed on income from Lithuania and abroad, with tax agreements taken into account.
Military and defence duties
Lithuanian citizens may have to perform military or alternative service or other defence duties, including when living abroad.
Who is called depends on the rules, including age, health, exemptions and postponements.
Women are not subject to the same universal peacetime call-up rule as men.
Citizenship can be lost
Citizenship can end if you give it up, gain another without an exception, or fail to give up another by 21 when required.
It can also end through unauthorised service for another state, a treaty, fraud, forged documents, unmet conditions or an unlawful decision.
A child may lose it when a parent does, but generally not if acquired at birth, or if this leaves the child without any citizenship.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
r/LithuanianCitizenship
English Reddit group for people interested in Lithuanian citizenship
Join on RedditExpats & Foreigners in Lithuania
English Facebook group for people living in Lithuania interested in Lithuanian local life
Join on FacebookForeigners in Kaunas
English Facebook group for people living in Lithuania interested in Lithuanian local life
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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