Dual citizenship now allowed in Lithuania

  • 2008-06-30
  • In cooperation with BNS
VILNIUS- The Lithuanianparliament approved the new edition of the Citizenship Law, in which childrenof emigrants living in European Union (EU) and NATO member states will be entitledto dual citizenship.

A total of 78 MPs voted in favor of this bill, four voted against it andnine abstained.

The new Citizenship Law will come into effect after it is signed byPresident Valdas Adamkus.

According to the new law, dual citizenship will be granted to seven groupsof people, including citizens of EU and NATO member states; political deporteesand prisoners as well as three generations of their descendants; those, wholeft Lithuania during the Sovietrule (1940-1990) as well as their offspring; Lithuanians living in traditionally very populated"isles" in neighboring states; individuals who have been granted a Lithuanian passport alongside thedocument issued by another state; also children of Lithuanian citizens and citizens of other countries, which havesigned an international agreement with Lithuaniaon dual citizenship. Lithuania has no agreements ofa similar nature with any other country at this point.

At the time of discussing this controversy-ridden law, most debates arose overgranting dual citizenship to Lithuaniansliving in EU and NATO member states. Some MPs saw this provision asdiscriminatory with regards to those countrymen who emigrated to other nations,namely Australia,New Zealand andUkraine.

Some MPs, who did not approve of the bill, mentioned their intentions toaddress the Constitutional Court.

The new Citizenship Law also predicts that the issue of Lithuanian citizenship can beconsidered according to provisions valid prior to the Constitutional Court'sruling for individuals, who have presented their applications for Lithuanian citizenship before Nov. 16of 2006.

Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuaniacan be granted to an individual if they meet the following requirements: passan examination of the national language; have a document proving their rightfor permanent residence in Lithuaniaat the time of presenting their citizenship application, have lived in Lithuanian territory for the past tenyears, have legal means of getting by and passed the examination on basicknowledge of the country's Constitution.

According to the second part of the 12th clause of the Constitution, dualcitizenship is allowed as rare exceptions, however this issue is especiallyrelevant to Lithuanians livingabroad, as by accepting citizenship of their country of residence, they aredeprived of their right to a Lithuanianpassport.

In the fall of 2006, the Constitutional Court found that the country's mainlaw provides for dual citizenship as rare exceptions, declaring laws allowingdual citizenship as running counter to the Constitution.