A recent investigation by LRT has led to significant changes in Lithuania’s Citizenship Law to prevent Russian nationals working for the Kremlin from obtaining Lithuanian passports. However, experts warn that significant loopholes still remain.
The LRT Investigation Team discovered that thousands of Russian nationals have received Lithuanian citizenship due to their descent from Lithuanian political exiles deported to Russia by Stalin. Some of these individuals are currently serving in the Russian military or employed by strategic government-controlled companies in Russia. This revelation exposed a lack of safeguards in Lithuania’s laws against granting citizenship to foreigners who may pose national security threats.
The President’s Office acknowledged that these loopholes had been overlooked.
“Were there grounds for raising these issues before? Maybe when the issue of sanctions evasion was raised,” said Kęstutis Budrys, the president’s senior security adviser. “The fact that there are gaps in terms of national security has not been so clearly documented, and that should be acknowledged.”
The Interior Ministry conceded that current regulations provide no means to reject applications from individuals potentially working for the Russian government. However, they emphasized that existing institutions should have prevented granting citizenship to Russian soldiers.
“If a person serves in the army of another country and does not have the permission of the Lithuanian government, that person loses his or her Lithuanian citizenship even when that’s the only citizenship he or she has,” explained Deputy Interior Minister Agneta Ladek.
Following the LRT investigation, the ministry promptly drafted amendments to the Citizenship Law, introducing additional screening measures for applicants. Yet, these proposed changes have faced criticism from the President’s Office for being insufficient.
“If you do a job for which Russia requires loyalty, and if the Russian state considers you to be a loyalist, then we should in principle question how that person can be loyal to the Republic of Lithuania,” Budrys stated.
The State Security Department (VSD), Lithuania’s main intelligence agency, also criticized the amendments, asserting that they fail to prevent security threats from becoming Lithuanian citizens.
In response, the Ministry of the Interior defended the proposed law.
“I would like to stress that before the amendments, it was practically impossible to deny citizenship to a person [who meets the criteria] under the Citizenship Law. It doesn’t matter what the citizen has done,” said Deputy Minister Ladek. “And with this proposal, we are giving tools for the state to defend itself.”
However, the proposed changes have sparked concerns among those with dual Lithuanian-Russian citizenship. Andrei, whose grandfather was a Lithuanian exile, has resided in Lithuania since 2021.
“Now, I am afraid that my citizenship may be replaced by a residence permit. With voting rights but a residence permit that can be revoked at any time,” Andrei expressed.
Additionally, another loophole in the current Citizenship Law has been exploited by Lithuania’s wealthiest man, Gediminas Žiemelis, chairman of the Avia Solutions Group board. As a descendant of political exiles, Žiemelis, despite being born in Vilnius, has acquired Turkish citizenship while retaining his Lithuanian passport, a privilege most Lithuanians do not have. The Lithuanian constitution bans dual citizenship, but the law allows exceptions for descendants of exiles.
Žiemelis confirmed to LRT that he obtained the Turkish passport to facilitate the purchase of a company and plans to apply for two more nationalities. He has also been a tax resident of the United Arab Emirates for several years.
Authorities promise that the new amendments will close the “Žiemelis loophole.” After considering all comments, the changes are expected to be approved by the parliament in the autumn session.