Lithuania · Citizenship
Lithuanian Citizenship for Founders
Naturalization in Lithuania takes a decade of lawful residence and permanent status both at filing and at decision. Dual citizenship is limited by the Constitution, and a 2024 referendum to widen it failed, so founders who naturalize must normally give up their first passport.
- Startup route
- Startup Visa Lithuania
- Minimum capital
- No fixed minimum; Innovation Agency confirmation required
- Permanent residence
- 5 years of uninterrupted lawful residence
- Citizenship
- 10 years of residence, holding permanent residence
Citizenship by naturalization
Lithuania grants citizenship by naturalization to adults who have lived in the country lawfully for the past ten years and hold the right of permanent residence when they apply and when the decision is taken. Applicants pass a state language examination and an examination on the fundamentals of the Constitution, show a legal source of income and must be stateless or agree to renounce their current citizenship. People aged 65 or over, people whose capacity for work is rated at 0–55 percent and some others with serious health conditions are exempt from the examinations. Refugees are spared the renunciation condition.
- Residence period
- 10 years of lawful residence
- Status needed
- Permanent residence at filing and at decision
- Exams
- State language and fundamentals of the Constitution
- Income
- Legal source of income
- Dual citizenship
- Not allowed for most naturalized citizens
Requirements
- Ten years of lawful residence in Lithuania immediately before applying.
- The right of permanent residence both when applying and when the decision is made.
- Passed examinations in the state language and the fundamentals of the Constitution, unless exempt.
- A legal source of income.
- Statelessness, or agreement to renounce current citizenship.
How to apply
- Hold permanent residence and complete ten years of lawful residence.
- Pass the state language examination and the Constitution test.
- Submit the naturalization application through the Migration Department.
- Complete the renunciation of other citizenship as the decision requires.
Dual citizenship and the 2024 referendum
Article 12 of the Constitution states that, apart from individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of Lithuania and another state at the same time. The Law on Citizenship uses those exceptions mainly for people of Lithuanian descent, former exiles, children who acquire two citizenships at birth and people who obtain a foreign citizenship automatically through marriage. A proposal to relax the rule went to a referendum on 12 May 2024, alongside the presidential election, and was not adopted. Founders who naturalize therefore give up their previous passport unless one of the narrow exceptions applies.
Questions and answers
Can founders keep their original citizenship when becoming Lithuanian?
In most cases, no. Naturalization requires the applicant to be stateless or to agree to renounce their existing citizenship, and the Constitution allows dual citizenship only in individual cases set by law. Those cases centre on Lithuanian descent, exiles and their descendants, children with two citizenships from birth and automatic acquisition through marriage, not on business migration.
Who is exempt from the citizenship exams?
Applicants aged 65 or over, people whose capacity for work has been rated at 0–55 percent, people of pensionable age assessed as having high or moderate special needs, and people with serious chronic mental disorders do not sit the state language and Constitution examinations. All other applicants must pass both before applying.
Can citizenship be obtained through investment in Lithuania?
No. Lithuania has no citizenship-by-investment program. Founders and investors follow the ordinary naturalization rules: ten years of lawful residence, permanent residence status, both examinations, a legal income and, in most cases, renunciation of any other citizenship.
Official sources
- Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania - Seimaswww.lrs.lt
- Law on Citizenship (English translation) - Seimas of the Republic of Lithuaniae-seimasx.lrs.lt
- Migration Yearbook 2024 - Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interiormigracija.lrv.lt
- Referendum on Retention of Citizenship - Central Electoral Commissionwww.vrk.lt
Reviewed October 2026. Immigration rules change often. Confirm the current requirements with the official authority or a licensed adviser before applying.
Your path in Lithuania.
Startup visa
Innovation Agency Lithuania confirmation letter after an expert review
02Temporary residence
2-year residence permit, renewable for 3 years on re-confirmation
03Permanent residence
After 5 uninterrupted years, with language and Constitution exams
04Citizenship
10 years of residence plus permanent status; prior citizenship renounced