Eligibility quiz
Did at least one of your great-grandparents have Lithuanian citizenship by 15 June 1940?
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 at a consulateApplying at a consulate
Find your consulate
Find the Lithuanian embassy or consulate that serves the place where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Lithuanian consulate serves your city for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the consulate.
See required documentsFill in the application
Create an account or sign in to MIGRIS and personally fill in the Lithuanian citizenship restoration application. Upload clear copies of your documents, give your personal email address and choose the consulate where you will present the originals.
Open the applicationSubmit your application
Submit your completed application through MIGRIS.
Submit the applicationPay the fee
Pay the applicable fee using the payment option offered in MIGRIS or the method specified by the Migration Department.
Pay the feePresent your originals
Bring the originals of your uploaded documents to your chosen consulate within four months of the Migration Department’s notice. Ask the consulate how to arrange your visit.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I arrange a consular visit in your city to present originals for Lithuanian citizenship restoration?”
Give up other citizenship
If you need to give up your other citizenship to have Lithuanian citizenship restored, do so before restoration.
See how to renounceSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I renounce my other citizenship before Lithuanian citizenship restoration?”
Wait for your assessment
Watch MIGRIS and your application email for messages from the Migration Department. If it reports a problem with your application, correct it in MIGRIS within one month; provide any further documents as directed.
View your applicationApply to a court
If the Migration Department decides your evidence of your great-grandparent’s citizenship or your family relationship is insufficient, you may apply to a court to establish that fact. You can do this only after the Department’s decision.
Find court informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply to a Lithuanian court to establish a family relationship or an ancestor’s citizenship for Lithuanian citizenship restoration?”
Continue your application
If the court establishes the fact, continue your citizenship restoration procedure with the Migration Department.
Continue your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I continue a Lithuanian citizenship restoration application after a court establishes an ancestor’s citizenship or a family relationship?”
Wait for the decision
Watch MIGRIS and your application email for the final decision, and respond to any further requests. If your citizenship is restored, you can then apply for a Lithuanian passport.
View your applicationDocuments needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get your birth certificate and the birth records linking you to your parent, grandparent and Lithuanian great-grandparent. The Lithuanian State Historical Archives holds records of births in Lithuania before 15 June 1940; if you were adopted, include the adoption decision.
Great-grandparent’s citizenship records
Provide evidence that your Lithuanian great-grandparent held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940, or a previously issued certificate of your right to restore citizenship. Evidence can include a Lithuanian passport, an identity certificate, a birth record stating their citizenship, or a record of service in the Lithuanian army or civil service. If these cannot be obtained, provide records of their education, work or residence in Lithuania before that date, together with a foreign passport and evidence such as property or election records; the Lithuanian Central State Archives or a regional state archive may hold relevant records.
Name change records *
Provide records explaining changes to your name or date of birth, or those of your parent, grandparent or Lithuanian great-grandparent. These can include name change records and marriage or divorce records.
* Only if a name or date of birth has changed.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationMarriage certificates *
Get the marriage certificates that link you, your parent, grandparent and Lithuanian great-grandparent or explain changes of name. If a divorce record is needed to explain a change, include it too.
* Only if marriage records are needed to show your family ties or changes of name.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationDeath certificates *
Get the death certificates needed to link your parent, grandparent and Lithuanian great-grandparent to you. The Lithuanian State Historical Archives holds records of deaths in Lithuania before 15 June 1940.
* Only if a relative has died and the record is needed to show your family ties.
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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