Naturalization

Granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania through naturalization is one of the grounds to acquire the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is granted to a person who meets the conditions for granting citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania:

  1. he has been legally permanently resident in the Republic of Lithuania for the last ten years;
  2. at the time of the application for the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and the decision regarding the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, he has the right of permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania;
  3. he has passed an examination in the state language (persons who have reached 65 years of age, persons whose capacity for work has been rated at 0-55 percent, and persons who have reached pensionable age and been assessed in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts as having high or moderate special needs, as well as persons with serious chronic mental disorders shall not be affected by the provision)*;
  4. he has passed an examination in the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (persons who have reached 65 years of age, persons whose capacity for work has been rated at 0-55 percent, and persons who have reached pensionable age and been assessed in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts as having high or moderate special needs, as well as persons with serious chronic mental disorders shall not be affected by the provision)*;
  5. he has legal means of subsistence;
  6. he is a stateless person or a citizen of a state under the law of which he shall lose citizenship of that state on acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, or expresses his will in writing to renounce his citizenship of another state after he is granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania;
  7. there are no circumstances specified in Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship.

*Information on the examination in the state language and the examination in the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is available on the internet site of Education Development Centre (address D. Katkaus str. 44, Vilnius, phone (8 5) 275 2362).

Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be granted to persons who:

  1. prepared, attempted to commit or committed international crimes such as aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crime;
  2. prepared, attempted to commit or committed criminal acts against the Republic of Lithuania;
  3. prior to coming to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, were sentenced to imprisonment in another state for a premeditated crime which is a grave crime under laws of the Republic of Lithuania, or were punished for a grave crime in the Republic of Lithuania, irrespective of whether or not the conviction for the crimes has expired;
  4. in accordance with the procedure laid down by law, is not entitled to obtain a document attesting to the right of permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania.

Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be granted considering interests of the Republic of Lithuania.

Applications for the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania through naturalization shall be submitted to the President of the Republic of Lithuania.

A person must take an oath after the decree of the President of the Republic grants citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania. A person acquires rights, freedoms and responsibilities of a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania only after having taken the oath of allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania.

An application for the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania through naturalization shall be accompanied by the following documents:

  1. a document confirming the person‘s identity;
  2. a document confirming, that at the time of filling his application the person concerned has the right of permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania;
  3. a document certifying that the person concerned has been legally permanently resident in the Republic of Lithuania for the last ten years;
  4. a document confirming that the person concerned has legal means of subsistence;
  5. a document proving that the person has passed the examination in the state language and the examination in the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (persons who have reached 65 years of age, persons whose capacity for work has been rated at 0-55 percent, and persons who have reached pensionable age and been assessed in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts as having high or moderate special needs, as well as persons with serious chronic mental disorders shall not be affected by the provision);
  6. a certificate, issued by a competent foreign institution of the state where the person was resident prior to coming to the Republic of Lithuania, proving that he was not sentenced to imprisonment in another state for a premeditated crime which is a grave crime under laws of the Republic of Lithuania, or was not punished for a grave crime in the Republic of Lithuania, irrespective of whether or not the conviction for the crimes has expired.

Granting citizenship to persons married to citizens of Lithuania

A person who has married a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, and has maintained their marital status during the last 7 years while permanently residing with a spouse legally in the Republic of Lithuania, can be granted citizenship if they:

  • at the time of submitting an application to be granted citizenship and during the period of the decision on granting citizenship being made have the right to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania; 
  • have passed the examination of the Lithuanian language;
  • have passed the examination of the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • are a person without citizenship, or are a citizen of a state under the laws of which they lose citizenship upon acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania or if the person notifies in writing of their decision to refuse citizenship of another state upon being granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • there are no circumstances specified in Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship (the main circumstances are committing or taking part in criminal activities).

A person who had lived in the Republic of Lithuania longer than for one year in marriage with a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who later died, can be granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania if he or she meets the conditions specified below:

  • for the last 5 years has had a permanent place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • at the time of submitting an application to be granted citizenship and during the period of the decision on granting citizenship being made has the right of permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania; 
  • has passed the examination of the Lithuanian language;
  • has passed the examination of the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • is a person without citizenship, or is a citizen of a state under the laws of which he or she loses citizenship of said state upon acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania or if the person notifies in writing of his or her decision to refuse citizenship of another state upon being granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • there are no circumstances specified in Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship (the main circumstances are committing or taking part in criminal activities).

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Prepared according to the information of the Migration department

Information updated: 2020-06-28
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