Lithuanian Citizenship by Descent — The Practical Guide

Turn Lithuanian roots into real options. This guide explains the route, the documents, the timeline, and how to avoid common pitfalls—so you can go from “maybe eligible” to approved with confidence.

Why Lithuanian citizenship?

• Live & work across 27 EU countries without employer sponsorship hurdles.

• Study on local terms at public universities throughout Europe (many English-taught programs).

• Family mobility: include children where the law allows; pass rights forward.

• A real Plan B for careers, education, health, and retirement.

The route (restoration by descent)

Lithuanian law allows many descendants to restore citizenship even if they were not born in Lithuania. In broad terms, eligibility often exists where a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent was born in Lithuania (or in a territory under Lithuanian administration at the time) and left before 1990. There is no language exam and typically no requirement to relocate. We confirm your exact path first.

What we usually gather

• Identity & family: your passport/ID, long-form birth certificate; marriage/divorce if relevant; children’s documents if included.

• Evidence of Lithuanian origin: birth/marriage records from state archives; residence records; cross-border files where borders shifted.

• Linking the chain: documents that connect each generation—even with multiple spellings (Yiddish/Russian/Polish/Lithuanian/English).

• Compliance: certified translations, notarizations, apostilles—formatted to the authority’s specs.

No documents? EuroWise’s genealogy team finds the records in archives and registries.

Timeline & steps

1. Eligibility check & legal strategy

2. Archive research & retrieval (Lithuania and abroad)

3. Case build (translations, notarizations, apostilles)

4. Submission & tracking

5. Approval & registration

Most cases complete in 18–24 months (official timelines vary). We keep you updated at every step.

Why EuroWise

• Strategy first (lawyer-led eligibility check)

• Archive-backed (we locate, verify, and translate the records)

• Attorney-reviewed (built to authority standards)

• Transparent (a dedicated contact; real updates)