Russian and Belarusian nationals have started a petition against ongoing delays on their Lithuanian citizenship applications.
Yevgeny Shapovalov, 21, came to Lithuania from Belarus with his parents when he was aged 1. In 2023, he applied for Lithuanian citizenship.
“It's strange to live in Lithuania with another citizenship when you’re so connected to the country, I don’t plan to go anywhere,” said Shapalov. “I received a letter like the other people, saying that, since you are a citizen of an unfriendly country, the period may be longer [and] there is nothing we can do.”
His mother’s application for citizenship has also been pending for almost two years.
Arvydas Anušauskas, Lithuania’s former defence minister and now a member of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence, said the country should continue taking the war in Ukraine into account and carefully consider the applications of nationals from Russia and its ally Belarus.
“[Citizenship application] is not a matter of life and death that cannot be resolved later,” he said. “I think that people who have permanent residence permits in Lithuania have all the rights like all citizens. Yes, they don’t have voting rights, but they do have social guarantees and everything else.”
Viktor Voroncov, a Russian national who has lived in Lithuania for two decades and acquired the country’s nationality, called the current delays hypocritical amid increased labour immigration from other countries.
“People have been checked seven times by the State Security Department (VSD) and we don’t give citizenship to people who have integrated into society, but we invite people from Central Asia, so how can we check those people?” Voroncov said.
He has now collected 500 signatures for a petition on citizenship and will hand it over to the country’s president, Gitanas Nausėda.
In a written comment, the President’s Office said there is an increased number of citizenship applications, with over 700 people currently in line. Therefore, the process has been taking longer than usual.
MP Giedrius Surplys also said people applying for nationality should understand that the war in Ukraine has put an increased emphasis on security.
“However, what makes us different from Russia and Belarus is that [...] law is respected in this country. If a person meets the criteria, if a person has lived in Lithuania for 10 years, has passed the exam on the history of Lithuania, knows the basics of the constitution and history, then he has the right to expect citizenship,” said Surplys.
According to the data of the Migration Department, over 62,000 Belarusians and more than 15,000 Russian citizens currently live in Lithuania.
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