The architect who sought medical attention lost his life: his Lithuanian citizenship was revoked

Tomás, who lives in the capital, asked not to publish his real identity (real name is known to the editors – Delphi), emigrated to Israel with his family in 1995, where he received Israeli citizenship.

In 2004, the family returned to Lithuania, established themselves in our country, and founded a company.

Tom recently broke his leg and needed to see a doctor.

“They tell me you don’t have insurance. How come I don’t have it? After all, I pay compulsory health insurance and other taxes. I even called my accountant to find out, she assured me that we pay taxes properly. However, later I still heard at the polyclinic that I have to pay 70 euros for a visit as a foreigner,” he said.

After starting to find out what happened here, Tomas called Sodra, whose representatives directed him to the State Sickness Fund, and the latter, who assured him that his identity document was invalid, referred him to the Migration Department.

“They said – come, we’ll explain, maybe there’s a mistake,” he recalled.

However, after going to the Migration Department and, as he says, spending an hour and a half in a live queue with a broken leg, Tomas found out that there was no mistake – he no longer has Lithuanian citizenship.

“I was told that – yes. They took away the passport and, as they say, sent it,” the interviewer said.

A sheet was printed for him, in which it is written that Tomas has lost his Lithuanian citizenship since April 17.

“I stumble towards the exit. The broken leg doesn’t hurt anymore, it hurts somewhere in the heart area…”, this is how Tomas described his feelings after visiting the Migration Department in a Facebook post.

And talking to Delphi he didn’t hide that he felt bad.

“My mood right now is that I don’t want to do anything anymore. You want to rest,” he said.

Tomas says that before returning to Lithuania, our country’s ambassador in Israel urged him to apply to the embassy for the preservation of Lithuanian citizenship.

“When we got ready to return to Lithuania while living in Israel, we went to the Lithuanian embassy. We were told at the embassy that we have to apply for the preservation of citizenship. We made those requests. They sent replies to the wife and children that everything was fine. And because of me there was a lack of documents,” he said.

The man continued that after returning to Lithuania, he visited the Migration Department, where he found out that there was a confusion in the documents regarding his place of birth, as it was written in one place that Tomas was born in Vilnius, and in another – in Klaipėda.

“I say – what’s the difference?” They told me that my passport is valid and, they say, live with it,” the man recalled.

According to Tomas, while living in Lithuania, his passport was changed twice, the last issued passport was supposed to be valid until 2026.

The fact that new passports were issued to him was a sign that the Migration Department no longer had any questions about his place of birth.

His family members still have Lithuanian citizenship, and he himself intends to apply for a permanent residence permit in Lithuania.

In response Delphi The Migration Department told Tom’s citizenship story from the beginning.

According to the answer, in 2005 the Migration Department received a letter from the Office of the President of Lithuania, which stated that the Citizenship Affairs Commission recommended informing Tom (that is, a person who acquired the citizenship of another country before January 1, 2003, but did not report it in accordance with the law) competent authorities) that the procedure for preserving Lithuanian citizenship may be applied to him.

In 2006, the Migration Department claims to have informed Tom in writing that the issue of preserving Lithuanian citizenship can be resolved in two ways.

The first is when he renounces his Israeli citizenship.

The second is if he does not renounce his Israeli citizenship, but, in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Law in force at the time, if he submits documents proving the birth of one of his grandparents before 1940. June 15 held Lithuanian citizenship.

The Migration Department claims that in 2006 all this information was clarified and handed over to Tom himself.

“The person’s file contains his signature, testifying to the transfer of this information. Thus, the Migration Department properly informed the person about the possibilities available to him at that time and the ways to solve the issue of his Lithuanian citizenship. However, since receiving this information, Tomas has never again applied to the Migration Department for the preservation of Lithuanian citizenship and has not provided the necessary data, even though he had all the information,” the department says.

The department assures that in 2018, it sent a letter to Tomas’ declared address with a request to submit a report on the acquired citizenship of another state and to clarify the information regarding compliance with the requirements of the Law on Citizenship.

“That is, Tom was asked for data with which he could justify the right to multiple citizenship. The Migration Department did not receive any response from Tomas to this letter,” the reply states.

The department says that a repeated request was also sent to Tom in August 2023. But that letter was returned because the recipient didn’t pick it up at the post office, according to the department.

“It should be noted that the fact that Tomas was previously issued and changed Lithuanian passport does not release this person from the obligation to provide the necessary information about the right to multiple citizenship. He did not fulfill this duty and did not cooperate with the Migration Department, which sought to resolve his citizenship issue, although he had all the information since 2006,” the department says.

As a result, the department continues, Tom lost his citizenship.

“The Migration Department also informed Tom about this – on April 17 of this year. “At the address of his declared residence in Lithuania, he was sent a notification about the loss of Lithuanian citizenship and an extract of the order,” the department states.