Lithuania: Knowledge Base profile
Published 25 March 2024
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About: Lithuania
This document contains useful information about Lithuania which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.
Contacts
If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.
If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.
Publication
Below is information on when this version of the document was published:
- version 2.0
- published for Home Office staff on 21 March 2024
Changes from last version of this document
This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.
Lithuania: names
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Lithuania.
Naming conventions exist in Lithuania and are strictly adhered to. Names in Lithuania consist of:
- 1 forename (vardas)
- a surname (pavarde)
Names will not include letters that are not found in the Lithuanian alphabet, the letters not in the Lithuanian alphabet are:
- Q q
- W w
- X x
Male surnames usually end in a consonant, female surnames usually end in a vowel and can show marital status. For example:
| Male | Married woman or widow | Unmarried woman |
|---|---|---|
| Paulauskas | Paulauskienė | Paulauskaitė |
| Bimbirys | Bimbirienė | Bimbirytė |
| Adamkus | Adamkienė | Adamkutė |
| Mielkus | Mielkienė/Mielkuvienė | Mielkutė |
| Kulėšius | Kulėšienė | Kulėšiūtė |
Change of name
Name changes are allowed in Lithuania.
When a woman gets married, she can choose to use the short form of the surname which does not disclose marital status. This usually ends –ė instead of –ienė/-aitė. For example, Adamkus –> Adamkė.
Lithuania: nationality
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Lithuania.
Dual nationality is allowed in Lithuania.
This is only allowed when a person gains foreign nationality through birth or adoption and is under 21 years old. Once the person reaches 21 years old they must decide which nationality they want to retain.
There are other exceptions which can be determined on a case by case basis by Lithuania authorities.
Lithuania: legitimacy and parental responsibility
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Lithuania.
Legitimacy
Lithuania does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means that all births are considered legitimate, whether a child’s parents are married or not.
Parental responsibility
Both parents have parental responsibility whether they are married or not.
Lithuania: adoptions
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoptions in Lithuania.
Adoption is legal in Lithuania.
Lithuania: gender recognition
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Lithuania.
Transgender citizens are not recognised in Lithuania.
Lithuania: civil partnerships and marriage
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Lithuania.
Civil Partnerships and same sex marriages are illegal in Lithuania.
Only civil marriages are legal in Lithuania.
Lithuania: documents
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Lithuania.
All documents issued before 1991 will be documents issued by the former Soviet Union and will be written in Russian and Lithuanian.
Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, HM Passport Office cannot accept Multilingual Standard Forms (MSFs) issued by member states. An MSF will:
- contain a reference to the convention signed at Vienna on September 8 1976, this may be on the reverse of the document
- be marked as a Formul A (birth certificate), normally in the top right corner on the front of the document in the language of the country where the document was issued
- there will also be marriage certificates and death certificates that will have a different Formul version that is also not acceptable
These documents are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and not a full, original certificate.
Birth certificates
Birth certificates are issued after every birth in Lithuania. Births must be registered within 3 months of birth.
If there is an error on the certificate, it will be re-issued with the correct information.
Marriage certificates
Marriages must be registered within 1 month. Late registrations within 14 days are allowed. If they are not registered, they are considered void.
Death certificates
Death certificates are issued by the Civil Registry Offices under the authorisation of the Ministry of Justice. A death must be registered within 3 days.
The passport of the deceased foreign national is retained by the local municipality at the time of the death registration and is then forwarded to the embassy.