REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
IDENTITY CARD AND PASSPORT
LAW
23 December 2014 No XII-1519
(As last amended on 11 April 2019 – No XIII-2061)
Vilnius
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. This Law shall establish the purpose of an identity card and a passport, the terms of issue, replacement/renewal and validity of these identification documents as well as the data recorded therein.
2. The provisions of this Law have been harmonised with the provisions of legal acts of the European Union specified in the Annex to this Law.
Article 2. Definitions
1. Electronic identification certificate shall mean an electronic certificate that contains the technical data referred to in Article 5(1) of this Law and specified by the Minister of the Interior, confirming or allowing the identification of a person in electronic space.
2. Qualified certificate shall mean a qualified certificate, as defined in Article 2(15) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Electronic Signature, wherein the technical data referred to in Article 5(1) of this Law and specified by the Minister of the Interior may be recorded.
Article 3. Identity cards and passports, the purpose thereof
1. An identity card and a passport shall be the identification documents of a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: a ‘citizen’) confirming his identity and citizenship.
2. An identity card shall be designated for use in the Republic of Lithuania and may be used to travel to foreign states where identity cards are recognised as a travel document.
3. A passport shall be designated for travelling to foreign states and for use in the Republic of Lithuania.
4. The identity cards issued after 1 January 2009 may be used for confirming or establishing a person’s identity in electronic space and for signing electronic data.
5. Citizens residing in the Republic of Lithuania must hold an identity card or a passport from the age of 16 years if they are not in possession of a valid passport of a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or have not submitted documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport. Citizens who reside in the Republic of Lithuania and have attained the age of 16 years shall submit documents for the issue of an identity card or a passport to the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter: the ‘Migration Department’) in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 6(3) and (4) of this Law not later than within one month after they attain the age of 16 years.
6. Citizens under the age of 16 years, as well as citizens residing abroad shall have identity cards or passports issued at their request.
7. A citizen may hold both an identity card and a passport.
8. The forms of identity cards and passports shall be established by the Minister of the Interior.
Article 4. Period of validity of identity cards and passports
1. An identity card shall be valid:
1) not longer than for 5 years, when issued to a citizen under the age of 16 years;
2) for 10 years, when issued to a citizen aged between 16 and 75 years;
3) for 20 years, when issued to a citizen over the age of 75 years.
2. A passport shall be valid:
1) not longer than for 5 years, when issued to a citizen under the age of 16 years;
2) for 10 years, when issued to a citizen over the age of 16 years.
Article 5. Entries in identity cards and passports
1. The following data concerning a citizen shall be entered in an identity card and a passport according to the data of the database of the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Residents’ Register’):
1) name/names;
2) surname;
3) gender;
4) date of birth;
5) personal number;
6) citizenship.
2. A passport shall also include the place of birth (indicating the name of the state).
3. An identity card and a passport must contain the facial image of a citizen and his signature. A citizen who is unable to sign due to his physical disability or legal incapacity may be issued an identity card or a passport without his signature.
4. In addition to the data specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, an identity card and a passport shall also include:
1) date of issue;
2) name of the issuing institution;
3) date of expiry;
4) number.
5. Data in an identity card and a passport shall be inscribed in Lithuanian characters and the name/names and surname of a citizen – in accordance with the procedure established by laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania regulating the writing of names and surnames in identification documents.
6. A citizen’s nationality may also be inscribed at his written request in the passports issued after 1 January 2015.
7. The following shall be included in digital format in the identity cards issued after 1 January 2009: the data specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, a citizen’s biometric data required to confirm his identity, namely, the facial image and two fingerprints, as well as an electronic identification certificate and a qualified certificate.
8. The passports issued after 28 August 2006 shall include in digital format the data indicated in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, as well as a citizen’s facial image, while the passports issued after 29 June 2009 shall include in digital format the data indicated in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, as well as the citizen’s biometric data to confirm his identity, namely, the facial image and two fingerprints.
9. Personal identity cards and passports may, in the cases and in accordance with the procedure provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004, be issued without fingerprints included in digital format.
Article 6. Issue and replacement/renewal of identity cards and passports
1. Identity cards and passports shall be issued and replaced/renewed by the Migration Department, and where conditions laid down in the Consular Statute of the Republic of Lithuania are present – by diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: ‘consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania’) in accordance with the procedure established by the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
2. The Migration Department shall issue or replace/renew an identity card or a passport not later than within one month from the receipt of documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of the identity card or the passport, while a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania – not later than within two months from the receipt of documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of the identity card or the passport.
3. A citizen residing in the Republic of Lithuania must submit documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport in person to the Migration Department, while a citizen residing abroad – to a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania or to the Migration Department, except in the case provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article. Where consular functions are performed outside the premises of the consular post, the documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of the identity card or the passport shall be submitted to a consular officer or to an employee authorised by the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania. The procedure for submitting documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card and a passport to consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania shall be established by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
4. As regards the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport to a legally incapable citizen, his guardian or another legal representative shall apply therefor. If the person is unable to appear in person at the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania and submit documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport due to legal incapacity or disability, or due to serving of the sentence of arrest, a fixed-term custodial sentence or a life custodial sentence, or due to compulsory medical treatment at a mental health care institution as imposed by a court ruling, the Migration Department or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall verify the identity of this citizen and accept the documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of the identity card or the passport from him in accordance with the procedure established by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
5. An identity card or a passport shall be issued or replaced/renewed to a child who is under the age of 16 years on application of one of the parents/adoptive parents or a guardian/curator of the child. Where the parents of the child are divorced, an identity card or a passport shall be issued or replaced/renewed on application of one of the parents/adoptive parents with whom the child’s place of residence is established or, with the written consent of the latter, on application of the other parent/adoptive parent. Taking into consideration the interests of the child, the identity card or the passport may be issued or replaced/renewed without such an application, through the mediation of a state child rights protection authority. When submitting documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport for a child under the age of one, his appearance at the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be obligatory.
6. An identity card shall be replaced/renewed in the cases when:
1) a citizen changes the data specified in points 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 5(1) of this Law or the citizen is assigned a new personal number;
2) it is no longer fit for use;
3) it contains inaccurate records;
4) its period of validity has expired;
5) the citizen so requests.
7. A passport shall be replaced/renewed in the cases when:
1) a citizen changes the data specified in points 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 5(1) and Article (5)(2) and (6) of this Law or the citizen is assigned a new personal number;
2) it is no longer fit for use;
3) it contains inaccurate records;
4) its period of validity has expired;
5) passport pages designated for visas are full;
6) the citizen so requests.
8. When submitting documents for the replacement/renewal of an identity card or a passport, a citizen must submit to the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania his identity card or passport to be replaced/renewed, which shall be returned to him upon verifying the data.
9. A new identity card or a new passport shall be collected by a citizen or a person authorised by him, or any other legal representative, or a person specified in the citizen’s written application submitted to the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania together with the documents for the issue or replacement/renewal of the identity card or the passport. Where an identity card or a passport is collected by a person authorised by a citizen, he must produce his identity document and the authorisation; where an identity card or a passport is collected by a guardian or another legal representative of a legally incapable citizen, he must produce the documents confirming the above mentioned circumstances and his identity; and where an identity card or a passport is collected by another person specified in the citizen’s written application, a document confirming his identity must be produced. At the request and at the expense of a citizen residing in a foreign state, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania may dispatch a new identity card or a new passport by secure delivery chosen by that consular post. In this case, the citizen must notify the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania of the receipt of the new identity card or the new passport. The procedure for issuing an identity card or a passport to a citizen, dispatching by secure delivery chosen by a consular post and notifying about the receipt of an identity card or a passport shall be established by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
10. When collecting a new identity card or a new passport, the identity card or the passport to be replaced/renewed must be produced. When collecting an identity card or a passport containing the changed personal data, the current identity card and/or the current passport with no change of the personal data must be produced. These documents shall be marked as invalid and returned to the citizen or to the person authorised by him, or to the person specified in the citizen’s written application, or to his guardian or other legal representative if the citizen is legally incapable. In the event of refusal to accept the invalid identity card or the invalid passport to be returned, these documents shall be destroyed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the cases referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article, where a new identity card or new passport is dispatched by secure delivery chosen by the consular post, the identity card or the passport to be replaced/renewed shall not be submitted to the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania or to the Migration Department after the delivery of the new identity card or the new passport to the citizen. When collecting the new identity card or the new passport, it shall be possible not to produce the identity card or the passport to be renewed when these documents are invalid due to the expiry of the period of validity.
11. When a citizen loses his identity card or passport, he must report the loss to the county police headquarters, the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania. A citizen residing in the Republic of Lithuania who has lost his identity card or passport may be issued a temporary certificate. The form of and procedure for issuing this certificate shall be laid down by the Minister of the Interior.
12. When an identity card or a passport is lost, rendered unfit for use or the period of validity expires, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania may issue a document permitting the citizen staying in a foreign state to return to the Republic of Lithuania. The form of and procedure for issuing this document shall be laid down by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
13. Where an identity card or a passport is lost, rendered unfit for use, the period of validity expires or a citizen staying in a foreign state does not hold a valid travel document, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania may, at the request of the citizen wishing to continue the journey, issue a temporary travel document, i.e. a temporary passport that is valid for a period not exceeding one year. A citizen must, when collecting a new identity card or a new passport or as soon as the reasons for which he was issued with the temporary passport has ceased to exist, return this document to the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania or to the Migration Department. The form of a temporary passport shall be defined by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the procedure for issuing it shall be laid down by the Minister of Foreign Affairs after consultation with the Minister of the Interior.
14. Upon finding an identity card or a passport of another citizen, a person must deliver it to the county police headquarters, the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 7. Invalidity of identity cards or passports
1. An identity card and a passport shall become invalid upon expiry of the period of validity of these documents, following declaration of their invalidity or death of a citizen.
2. An identity card and a passport shall be declared invalid if:
1) they belonged to a person who has lost citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania;
2) they have been lost;
3) the identity card has been replaced on the grounds set out in points 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Article 6(6), and the passport has been replaced on the grounds set out in points 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Article 6(7) of this Law;
4) the citizen fails to collect them within one year from the date of issue;
5) the circumstances preventing the issue of the said documents transpire;
6) they have been falsified;
7) a new identity card or a passport with the changed personal data have been issued to the citizen.
3. A person who has lost citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania as well as a person in respect of whom, after he has been issued with an identity card or a passport, the circumstances preventing the issue of these documents transpire must return the identity card or the passport to the Migration Department or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania. The consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall forward the returned identity card or passport to the Migration Department.
4. The identity card or the passport of a deceased citizen shall be returned to the Migration Department directly, through a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania or a health care institution that has established the fact of the person’s death.
5. An identity card or a passport shall be declared invalid by the Migration Department or, in the case provided for in the Consular Statute of the Republic of Lithuania, by a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania. The Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall determine the procedure for declaring an identity card and a passport invalid, forwarding these invalid documents to the Migration Department and destroying them.
Article 8. Seizure of identity cards or passports
1. It shall be prohibited to seize a citizen’s identity card or/and passport, except for the cases provided for in this Law or other laws.
2. A law enforcement institution or, in the case of a citizen staying abroad, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, having established that the citizen uses the identity card or the passport declared invalid on the grounds set out in points 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 of Article 7(2) of this Law or uses the identity card or the passport of another citizen, must seize these documents and forward them to the Migration Department.
3. A law enforcement institution or the court shall seize the identity card and/or the passport of a citizen who is arrested as well as from a citizen who has been imposed a custodial sentence. The identity card and/or the passport shall be returned to a citizen who has been released from arrest, who has been paroled from a place of detention or who has served his sentence.
Article 9. Liability
Persons who have violated this Law shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 10. Entry into force and implementation of the Law
1. This Law, except for Article 6(13) and paragraph 4 of this Article, shall enter into force on 2 March 2015.
2. Article 6(13) of this Law shall enter into force on 1 July 2016.
3. Passports of the Republic of Lithuania issued prior to 1 January 2003 shall remain valid until the date of expiry indicated therein.
4. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall, by entry into force of this Law, adopt legal acts implementing this Law.
Article 11. Repealing of laws
The following legal acts shall be repealed:
1) Republic of Lithuania Law No IX-577 on Identity Cards with all amendments and supplements thereto;
2) Republic of Lithuania Law No IX-578 on the Implementation of the Law on Identity Cards with all amendments and supplements thereto;
3) Republic of Lithuania Passport Law No IX-590 with all amendments and supplements thereto.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
President of the Republic Dalia Grybauskaitė
Annex to
the Republic of Lithuania
Identity Card
and Passport Law
LEGAL ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IMPLEMENTED BY THIS LAW
1. Council regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States (OJ 2004 L 385, p. 1) as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 444/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2009 (OJ 2009 L 142, p. 1).