A Granddaughter Reclaims Lithuanian Citizenship — and Her Family’s Story

“Restoring my Lithuanian citizenship was much more than obtaining a second citizenship. It was a way of reconnecting with my family’s history.”

I obtained my Lithuanian citizenship through my grandfather. He left Lithuania in 1926, when he was only two years old, together with his parents and siblings. The family arrived at the Port of Santos aboard the Gelria steamship, which had departed from Amsterdam.

My grandfather was born in Seirijai, in Alytus County, in southern Lithuania. The family left Lithuania during a very difficult period, when many people were facing the hardships brought by war and poor living conditions. Like so many others, they were seeking a better and more peaceful life.

For my citizenship application, I initially had my grandfather’s Brazilian foreigner identification card, his baptism record, and the passenger list documenting the family’s arrival in Brazil.

The archival research in Lithuania then uncovered additional records, including passports and visas issued to the family for their journey to Brazil. These documents were extremely important in establishing my grandfather’s connection to Lithuania.

In Brazil, I had to obtain the original versions of the required documents, including my grandfather’s death certificate, my father’s documents, my own birth certificate establishing the line of descent connecting me to my grandfather, and my passport. All of these documents had to be properly notarized and apostilled.

There were some discrepancies in the documentation, including a variation in our surname and a difference in my grandfather’s recorded date of birth. Nevertheless, the documents and the overall historical evidence were sufficient to establish the connection.

“The legal assistance I received, particularly from lawyer Ieva, was exceptional. She handled every potential objection with great professionalism.”

From the beginning of the process until my application was submitted to the Lithuanian Migration Department, it took approximately six months. About one year after the application was submitted, I was notified that my Lithuanian citizenship had been recognized.

The legal assistance I received, particularly from lawyer Ieva, was exceptional. She handled every potential objection with great professionalism and was able to address and bridge the gaps that existed in my documentation in an incredibly thorough and effective way.

I am extremely grateful for her work, and I am certain that I would not have been able to complete the process without her support. The process is complex and involves many details that, without proper legal assistance, can cause applicants to become stuck for months or even years, sometimes resulting in significant additional costs to resolve issues that could have been addressed correctly from the beginning.

Beyond the legal process itself, the experience was incredibly meaningful to me. Searching for and collecting all the documents felt like bringing my family’s history back to life. In a way, I was able to honor the memory of my ancestors and reconnect with the journey they undertook so many years ago.

Learning more about what they went through made the experience even more meaningful. They left Lithuania facing difficult circumstances, hoping to find a better and more peaceful life. I am grateful that Brazil welcomed them with open arms, and I am equally grateful that, generations later, I had the opportunity to reconnect with the country they left behind.

Restoring my Lithuanian citizenship was therefore much more than obtaining a second citizenship. It was a way of reconnecting with my family’s history, preserving their legacy, and carrying a part of that history forward into the next generations.