Many Americans with Lithuanian roots end up asking two related questions. Does Lithuania allow dual citizenship, and can you lose Lithuanian citizenship once you have it? In short, Lithuania allows dual citizenship only in exceptional cases defined by law. A person who does not fit one of those cases can lose Lithuanian citizenship after acquiring another one.
This guide explains how loss, revocation and renunciation differ, what usually triggers loss, and how the rules may apply to US citizens, descendants and children. It is general information. How the rules apply to a particular person depends on their own facts and documents.
Can You Lose Lithuanian Citizenship? Short Answer
Yes. Lithuanian citizenship can be lost. For people with ties to the United States or another country, the most common reason is acquiring a foreign citizenship when none of the exceptions in Article 7 of the Law on Citizenship applies.
The Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior states this directly: Lithuanian law allows dual citizenship only in the exceptional cases listed in Article 7. If a person left Lithuania after 11 March 1990 and then acquired foreign citizenship, they can keep Lithuanian citizenship only if one of those cases applies to them.
Many people are not affected by loss at all. Others face a real risk. The difference usually comes down to when and how each citizenship was acquired, when and why the person or their family left Lithuania, and whether an exception applies.
Loss, Revocation and Renunciation: Three Different Legal Situations
People often use these three words as if they mean the same thing, but they describe different situations.
Loss happens when citizenship ends because certain circumstances arise. The typical example is acquiring another citizenship without a legal ground for keeping both.
Revocation is a looser, everyday term. People usually use it when the state decides, or establishes after the fact, that a person no longer holds Lithuanian citizenship or should not have received it.
Renunciation is voluntary. The person asks to give up Lithuanian citizenship, often because another country requires it or because they no longer want both. If you are wondering how to lose Lithuanian citizenship on purpose, renunciation is the usual route. It is a formal procedure handled by the Lithuanian authorities, and the decision is theirs.
These situations have different procedures and consequences. They can also lead to different options later on.
Losing Lithuanian Citizenship by Acquiring Another Citizenship
According to the Migration Department, a Lithuanian citizen who acquires a foreign citizenship must report it within two months of acquiring it. The report can go to the Migration Department, a territorial police station, or a Lithuanian diplomatic mission or consular post.
The authorities then look at whether grounds for dual citizenship exist. If they find none, the person loses Lithuanian citizenship. In practice, the outcome depends on the evidence the person provides. This may include documents showing when they left Lithuania, their family line, or how they acquired the foreign citizenship.
There is also a time-based rule. The Migration Department explains that people who acquired foreign citizenship between 1 January 2003 and 15 November 2006 do not lose Lithuanian citizenship under the loss provision and keep dual citizenship. This applies to descendants of people who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 and to persons of Lithuanian descent. If your foreign naturalization falls in that window, it is worth checking the exact date on your naturalization documents.
Will You Lose Lithuanian Citizenship If You Become a US or UK Citizen?
The Lithuanian rules described above do not name particular countries. Becoming a US or UK citizen is assessed in the same way as acquiring any other foreign citizenship. The question is not which country granted the new citizenship but whether one of the Article 7 exceptions applies.
Here is how this often works out:
- A person born with both Lithuanian and US citizenship usually falls under the “both acquired at birth” exception.
- A person who left Lithuania before 11 March 1990, or who descends from such a person, may fall under the exceptions for pre-1990 departure.
- A Lithuanian citizen who moved to the United States after 11 March 1990 and later naturalized may lose Lithuanian citizenship unless another exception applies.
Naturalization usually involves applying for the new citizenship. The marriage exception, by contrast, covers foreign citizenship acquired automatically through marriage. Applying for US or UK citizenship after marrying an American or British spouse is therefore usually not the same as acquiring it automatically. Anyone planning to naturalize abroad may want to check their position under Lithuanian law beforehand, not afterwards.
When Dual Citizens Keep Lithuanian Citizenship (Exceptions in Brief)
The Migration Department summarizes the Article 7 grounds for keeping dual citizenship. In broad terms they cover:
- people who acquired both citizenships at birth
- people who were exiled from occupied Lithuania, or who left Lithuania, before 11 March 1990 and then acquired foreign citizenship, and their descendants
- people who acquired foreign citizenship automatically through marriage to a foreign citizen
- certain people under 21 involved in adoptions before age 18
- people who received Lithuanian citizenship by way of exception while holding foreign citizenship
- people who acquired Lithuanian citizenship while holding refugee status in Lithuania
For these purposes, a “descendant” means a child, grandchild or great-grandchild of a person who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940. Whether a particular person qualifies can depend on the ancestor’s records, the family line, and how consistent the documents are with each other.
The dual citizenship framework has been debated politically in Lithuania. Readers should rely on the law in force at the time of their own case rather than on older summaries.
Can Lithuanian Citizenship Be Revoked by the State?
When people ask whether Lithuanian citizenship can be revoked, they usually mean one of two things. The first is whether the state can take citizenship away as a punishment. The second is whether the authorities can later decide that a person no longer holds citizenship.
The second scenario is the more practical concern for dual citizens. If the authorities learn that someone acquired another citizenship and find no Article 7 ground, they may establish that Lithuanian citizenship has been lost. This can happen even if the person did not see the change coming.
Questions can also come up when citizenship or a passport was issued on the basis of documents that later turn out to be inaccurate or incomplete. The authorities’ approach in such cases depends on the current law and the specific facts. This is one reason careful document review matters at the start of any citizenship matter.
Concealing Another Citizenship: What Can Happen
Some people assume that if they never report a second citizenship, Lithuania will never find out. This is risky. The two-month reporting duty exists so the authorities can check whether dual citizenship is allowed. Not reporting does not create a legal ground to keep both citizenships.
If the authorities later learn about an unreported foreign citizenship and find no exception that applies, they may establish loss of Lithuanian citizenship. This can affect Lithuanian passports or other documents issued after the foreign citizenship was acquired. It can also complicate matters for family members who rely on that person’s citizenship status.
Reporting does not automatically mean losing citizenship. For many people with Lithuanian roots who acquired US citizenship, an exception may apply. Reporting is how that exception gets formally recognized.
Does Living Abroad Cause Loss of Lithuanian Citizenship?
The Migration Department’s rules tie loss to acquiring another citizenship, not to where a person lives. Living in the United States or anywhere else, however long, is not described there as a ground for loss on its own.
Living abroad can still matter indirectly. The date someone left Lithuania, before or after 11 March 1990, decides which exceptions may apply if they later acquire another citizenship. The departure date and the circumstances of leaving are often key facts in these cases.
Can Citizenship Restored by Descent Be Lost?
People who have had Lithuanian citizenship restored or confirmed through an ancestor often worry that it is less secure than citizenship held from birth. Citizenship obtained this way is subject to the same general rules as other Lithuanian citizenship.
For many descendants, the exception for descendants of people who left Lithuania, or were exiled, before 11 March 1990 is what lets them keep Lithuanian citizenship alongside US citizenship. The risk usually arises if the original basis was weak or wrongly documented, or if the person later acquires a further citizenship in a way that no exception covers. The outcome can depend on the person’s individual circumstances.
What Happens to Children’s Lithuanian Citizenship
Children who acquire Lithuanian and foreign citizenship at birth, for example a child born in the United States to a Lithuanian parent, usually fall under the “both acquired at birth” exception. In most cases, these children do not need to choose between the two citizenships under Lithuanian law.
Adoption is handled separately. The exceptions cover people under 21 who were adopted before age 18. This includes adoption by Lithuanian citizens that leads to Lithuanian citizenship, and adoption of a Lithuanian citizen by foreign citizens that leads to their citizenship. If a parent loses Lithuanian citizenship, the effect on a child is a separate question. It depends on the child’s own basis for citizenship and should be checked individually.
Lost Lithuanian Citizenship: Can It Be Regained?
Losing Lithuanian citizenship is not always permanent. Lithuanian law has procedures for restoring or reacquiring citizenship in certain situations. Whether one is available depends on why the citizenship was lost, the person’s ancestry, and the law in force when they apply.
Someone who lost Lithuanian citizenship after naturalizing abroad may, for example, have separate grounds through a pre-1940 ancestor. Someone else may have no route back. A careful review of the loss decision, family records and the current rules is usually the first step in assessing the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lithuania allow dual citizenship for Americans?
Lithuania allows dual citizenship only in exceptional cases set out in Article 7 of the Law on Citizenship. US citizens are not treated as a separate category. An American may keep both citizenships if, for example, they acquired both at birth or descend from someone who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940 and left Lithuania before 11 March 1990. Each case depends on the person’s own documents and circumstances.
How long do I have to report a new foreign citizenship?
According to the Migration Department, a Lithuanian citizen who acquires another citizenship must report it within two months. The report can go to the Migration Department, a territorial police station, or a Lithuanian diplomatic mission or consular post. The authorities then check whether grounds for dual citizenship exist. If none exist, Lithuanian citizenship is lost.
If I naturalized in the US years ago, have I already lost Lithuanian citizenship?
Not necessarily. The answer may depend on when you naturalized, when you or your family left Lithuania, and whether an exception applies. People who acquired foreign citizenship between 1 January 2003 and 15 November 2006 are treated as keeping dual citizenship under the Migration Department’s guidance. Your status is usually confirmed through the authorities, not assumed.
Is renouncing Lithuanian citizenship the same as losing it?
No. Renunciation is a voluntary request to give up citizenship, decided by the Lithuanian authorities. Loss usually happens because certain circumstances arise, such as acquiring another citizenship without an exception. The two routes have different procedures and may lead to different options if the person later wants Lithuanian citizenship again.
Can my children lose Lithuanian citizenship if I lose mine?
Not automatically, based on the general rules described here. A child’s position usually depends on how the child acquired Lithuanian citizenship, for example at birth together with US citizenship. Since this can depend on the child’s own basis, dates and records, families in this situation usually check each child’s status separately.