Lithuania decides on passport names

Nov 10, 2009
Oskars Magone

VILNIUS - The Lithuanian Constitutional Court has passed its ruling on the controversial issue of spelling in passports, leaving many people with Polish surnames upset.

The court ruled that passports would have to keep the Lithuanian spelling of names on the main page. or on ID cards - the original spelling will only be allowed on additional documents such as visas. Lithuanian and Latvian often drastically change the spelling of names to match with local pronunciation.

The decision has disgruntled many of Lithuania's large ethnic Polish population who feel that bastardized versions of their names represents discrimination, alfa.lt reported.

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