Frequently Asked Questions

Obtaining Lithuanian citizenship by descent is a big, long-term goal for many. Unfortunately, sometimes it can feel like an exhausting journey. We are here to make the process simple. Whether you want to study, work, and live in an EU country, Lithuanian citizenship is the first step to turning your dreams into reality.

Here is everything you need to know to restore your Lithuanian citizenship.

What are the eligibility criteria to become a Lithuanian citizen?

Eligibility criteria for Lithuanian citizenship by descent are simple: the law only requires you to be a descendant of a national of Lithuania (parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent) who left the country between the years 1918 and 1990. Additionally, your ancestor needs to either naturalized in another country only after 1940— or not naturalized at all.

The right to Lithuanian citizenship depends solely on your ancestor’s citizenship. However, if your ancestor voluntarily left for another country within the Soviet Union, you might be eligible for single citizenship only. This limitation does not apply to the descendants of deported individuals or those whose ancestors migrated to countries outside of the USSR.

How long does the process to restore nationality take?

Our company can get a Lithuanian passport for our clients in about 6 to 12 months. Recently, we have achieved a record time of 3 months!
The process to regain Lithuania citizenship takes 1 to 3 months of initial preparation. The actual time mostly depends on how fast you can get the necessary documents (this depends on the efficiency of your home country’s offices). Then, the Migrations Department reviews your case — this is the slowest step, averaging at 6-9 months.

For your peace of mind, we are regularly following up on your application to get citizenship in Lithuania. This way, you will be the first to know if you need to provide more details and, to find out when your application is granted.

Is Lithuanian citizenship by descent the same as EU Citizenship?

When you receive your Lithuanian passport, you also get the entire EU as your playground! Lithuania became a full member of the EU in 2004, which means you will be an EU national.

The benefits of your Lithuanian citizenship are endless: from full social security and free education, to freedom of movement and a base to live, work, buy property, and do business wherever you want within the European Union.

If you are looking for more opportunities for you and your family, obtaining Lithuanian citizenship by descent is the way to go!

How to get Lithuanian citizenship by descent?

 At first sight, obtaining nationality might seem complicated. However, with the help of a specialist and the right documents, it becomes straightforward.

The steps of the application for Lithuanian citizenship are:

• After you contact us and give us the details about your ancestors, we assess your eligibility to get citizenship in Lithuania.
• We search the archives of Lithuania to find the necessary documents to back your claim to Lithuanian citizenship by descent.
• Our team will give you a roadmap to guide you through the next steps, including which documents you need to obtain in your country.
• We prepare your Lithuanian citizenship application thoroughly, checking all the documents and forms for efficient success.
• Your documents for Lithuanian citizenship will be translated and certified to meet the legal requirements.
• A dedicated lawyer submits your application for Lithuanian citizenship by descent to the Migration Department of Lithuania.
• We follow up systematically and make sure any necessary information is provided.
• You become a full citizen of Lithuania and the EU and receive your Lithuanian passport — congratulations!

We are proud to say that we have a consistent success rate of over 99% in obtaining citizenship of Lithuania.

Do you need to give up your current citizenship?

Normally, you do not, unless your ancestors voluntarily moved to a country of the former USSR. It is worth checking the laws of your country, though. Some countries (Japan, Venezuela, and Belarus, to name a few) do not allow dual nationality, not even in the case of Lithuanian citizenship by descent.

However, most countries with large Lithuanian communities allow dual citizenship. These include USA, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Israel, South Africa, Russia, the UK, Colombia, Mexico and others.

Are there any additional requirements— knowledge of the language or residence in the country?

How to get a Lithuanian passport? To obtain Lithuanian citizenship by descent (and passport of Lithuania), there is no other requirement or condition. You will not need to pass exams or live in the country for any amount of time. You will also not need to learn Lithuanian language.

Write to us today and apply for your EU citizenship! We will assess your eligibility and your individual situation for free and will answer any questions that you might have. Contact us to get Lithuanian citizenship by descent.

• At least one of your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania (which existed from 1918 to 1940)
• This ancestor left Lithuania sometime 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).

Take the first step and find out if you are Eligible: provide us with details about your ancestors and we will do a full Eligibility assessment for Free.

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Place of Birth (or living) in Lithuania: town or a village
• Date when your ancestor has left Lithuania

 In case you do not have all information above or not sure about its accuracy, do not worry – our expert will get back to you and discuss everything in detail personally.

On average our clients get their Citizenship granted in about 6-12 months from submission of the application. Recently we have even managed to get the application approved in 3 months!

Usually, it takes 1-3 months to prepare the application for submission (the actual time mostly depends on how fast you can get the necessary documents from your country of residence). The longest part of the process is with the Migration department where the application is being evaluated.  We constantly follow up on your case during its processing period to make sure any required information is provided and a successful outcome is granted as soon as possible.

Since 2013 we’ve managed to maintain a consistent over 99% success rate at restoring Lithuanian Citizenship for our clients around the world.

Lithuania is among the countries that allow dual citizenship in exceptional cases. In the majority of cases, Lithuanian citizenship through one’s ancestry is considered as such; therefore you most likely won’t have to give up your existing citizenship status.

Lithuania became a full-fledged member of the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Lithuanian citizenship will automatically grant you access to all the incredible benefits of an EU Passport holder. You will be able to freely live, work, study, set up a business, or retire in any EU country of your choice. As an EU national you will have full access to Social security benefits including world-class healthcare which is free or highly subsidised in most EU countries.

Furthermore, children born to a person with dual Lithuanian citizenship will automatically get EU citizenship, as well as their children and their children. So this is an investment for generations.

1. Free Eligibility assessment

The first step is to find out if you are Eligible. Provide us with details about your Lithuanian ancestors and we will do a full Eligibility assessment for Free!

2. Finding proof of Citizenship

We conduct a thorough search in Lithuanian archives (as well as Latvian and German archives, if needed) to find the documents proving your ancestor’s Lithuanian citizenship.

3. Step-by-step instructions

We’ll guide you through the process and provide step-by-step instructions regarding the documents to be obtained from your home country.

4. Preparing applications

Our team will prepare your application and make sure every bit of it together with supporting documents fully meets the requirements.

5. Translation services

All documents will be translated into Lithuanian and certified translations submitted with the application.

6. Applying

A dedicated lawyer will submit the application on your behalf directly in Lithuania at the Migration Department under Home Affairs.

7. Following up

We constantly follow up on your case and make sure any required information is provided during the evaluation process.

8. Lithuanian citizenship granted!

In about 6-12 months from submission of the application, you should be able to enjoy the amazing benefits of EU citizenship.

After you restored your Lithuanian citizenship, your spouse, unfortunately, would not be granted Lithuanian citizenship automatically. However, if you decide to move to any EU country, your spouse would be eligible for residence, work permit, and would be able to live in the EU together with you. After living in the EU for some time, they would be able to get a permanent residence permit, and eventually – citizenship. Actual citizenship rules differ from country to country, but for life and work purposes it is enough that one person has Lithuanian citizenship, which would allow you and your spouse to live and work anywhere in the EU.

Children born AFTER you restored your Lithuanian Citizenship acquire their Lithuanian citizenship automatically.

Children born BEFORE you restored your Lithuanian Citizenship wouldn’t automatically obtain their citizenship and would be subjected to a “3 Generations” rule.  According to the current legal requirement, you can get Lithuanian citizenship if one of your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents had Lithuanian citizenship, i.e. three generations back.

For example, if you’re restoring your Lithuanian citizenship based on a Lithuanian grandparent, your children have the right to reinstate their citizenships as well and their applications will need to be filed separately.

However, if your Lithuanian ancestor was your great-grandparent, your children (born before you restored it) won’t have a legal possibility of restoring their Lithuanian citizenship.

It’s important to take into consideration, that legal requirements change over time, therefore we always encourage our clients to apply for their Lithuanian citizenship as soon as possible, to not miss out on this lifetime opportunity for their future children.

We will need to find the documents proving that you are a direct descendant of a Lithuanian citizen. Usually, we require a copy of the applicant’s passport, birth certificate, one of the parent’s/grand-parent’s births certificates. In some cases, we require some additional documents such as marriage certificates (whenever the surnames were changed), and naturalisation certificates (if we need to prove name changes or other documents are not available).

We will provide you with the exact list of documents that are needed for the application after analysing your specific case and available documents. Each application is different and the list of documents needed varies depending on the circumstances. We always try to minimise the number of documents required from our clients. We usually search for documents, proving the Lithuanian citizenship of your ancestors, in Lithuanian and German archives ourselves.

There are no additional requirements after you have restored your Lithuanian citizenship. There’s no language requirement, i.e. no tests or exams, as well as you do not need to reside in Lithuania for a certain period after your citizenship has been granted.

With the reinstatement of your Lithuanian citizenship come all the incredible benefits of an EU national. You will have full and immediate access to all of them once you receive your Lithuanian passport.

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