SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RESOLUTION
ON THE PROCEDURE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON CITIZENSHIP
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania resolves:
1. The Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship shall enter
into force on 11 December 1991.
2. To establish that documents confirming citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania which persons had until 15 June 1940 shall
be their domestic or foreign passports of the Republic of
Lithuania retained by them, their birth certificates, as well as
archival or other documents confirming the fact.
3. To establish that under this Law, a person shall be
considered as permanently residing in Lithuania if he or she:
- has been registered in the register of permanent residents
of the Republic of Lithuania;
- and has acquired living quarters in Lithuania by the right
of ownership or leased same for an indefinite period, or is the
owner's or tenant's family member;
- and is employed in Lithuania under employment contract or
has another paid occupation in Lithuania, is somebody's dependent
or is paid a pension legally due to him or her in Lithuania;
- and pays on the territory of Lithuania income tax, and
other taxes established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania,
or is exempt therefrom in the manner established by law.
4. To establish that persons who are citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania under this Law and serve in the army of
another state (except persons conscripted by force), or are
employed as officers of state power or state governing bodies of
another state, must terminate said service within the period up
to 1 March 1992 or may apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Lithuania for permission to temporarily
continue their service.
After the expiration of the term, or upon being refused
permission, the person shall be recognised as having severed
actual links with the Republic of Lithuania, and shall lose
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania in the manner
established by this Law.
5. To state that persons serving in the armed forces,
internal troops and state security structures, as well as other
law enforcement and repressive structures of the Soviet Union
which have been unlawfully stationed and operating in Lithuania
since 15 June 1940, may not be considered as permanently residing
or employed in Lithuania.
6. To establish that the registration of foreigners who are
legally permanently residing in Lithuania, and who have passports
of the USSR, shall be performed by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. Said persons must apply,
not later than by 1 July 1992, to agencies of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania for permits to
reside permanently in Lithuania. The permits must be issued
within one month from the day of application.
Said persons must have their internal passports of the USSR
changed for foreign passports of their [respective] states by 1
July 1992.
7. To state that with respect to persons specified in
Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship,
citizenship of the Soviet Union shall be invalid.
8. Upon issuing the passport of a citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania, passport agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
must check whether the person has been issued a Citizen of the
Republic of Lithuania Certification Card or a Certification
Testifying to the [Person's] Decision to Acquire Citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania on valid and lawful grounds. A person
who has been issued Republic of Lithuania citizenship documents
on invalid or unlawful grounds may not be issued the passport of
a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania until the issue of his or
her citizenship is resolved in pursuance of this Law.
9. Persons specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of part 1 of
Article 1 of this Law, who have not signed the Pledge which is to
be signed upon being issued a Citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania Certification Card or a Certification Testifying to the
[Person's] Decision to Acquire Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania shall be issued passports of a citizen of the Republic
of Lithuania or any other citizenship document only after said
persons have signed the Pledge.
Upon issuing said persons with citizenship documents,
passport agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs must
require [the persons present] and check documents proving that
the persons meet the requirements set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2
of part 1 of Article 1 of this Law.
10. From the day of entry into force of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship, passport agencies of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania must cease the
issuance of internal passports of the USSR.
To establish that during the period until the passports of
the Republic of Lithuania are issued, citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania shall use a Citizen of the Republic of Lithuania
Certification Card or a Certification Testifying to the
[Person's] Decision to Acquire Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, and their current passports.
11. To commission the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania to determine the documents confirming the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by 1 March 1992.
12. Priority in issuing passports of a citizen of the
Republic of Lithuania shall be given to persons who are 16 years
of age and receive a passport for the first time, to political
prisoners, deportees, and participants in the resistance
movement, as well as to persons who by 17 September 1991 had
returned their passports of the USSR to passport agencies of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs or submitted applications concerning
their refusal of the passports of the USSR.
13. This Resolution shall enter into force on 11 December
1991.
Vytautas Landsbergis
President
Supreme Council
Republic of Lithuania
Vilnius
10 December 1991
No. I-2080