✓ The eligibility conditions themselves should not go beyond those permitted pursuant to Article 1 (2) of the 1961 Convention. In this respect, the requirements that the person has been legally permanently resident (lith. teisėtai nuolat gyvena) and the requirement of lawful residence at the time of submission of the application (lith. turi teisę gyventi prašymo pateikimo metu) may not be used as a precondition for granting the Lithuanian citizenship. If Lithuania opts to continue relying on the person‘s attachemnt to the state territory, the condition of habitual resdience (lith. įprastinė gyvenamoji vieta) as set out in Article 1 (2) (b) of the 1961 Convention should be considered instead. Moreover, the full set of exclusion clauses set out in Article 22 of the Citizenship Law may not apply to stateless persons in the application procedure pursuant to Article 18 (2) of the Citizenship Law, ✓ Finally, Article 15 (2) should be aligned with the revised Article 15 (1) of the Law on Citizenship, and Article 18 (2) should include a clause clarifying that its application should be without prejudice to Article 18 (4) of the Law on Citizenship. • Taking into consideration the best interest of the child, to consider reducing the current 5 year period of residence as required by Article 18 (2) of the Law on Citizenship with a view to ensuring that the child acquires the nationality as soon as possible after birth. Facilitation of naturalization 33. Access to citizenship for refugees through naturalization is addressed in Article 34 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (hereinafter – ‘1951 Refugee Convention’). It reads as follows: “The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees. They shall, in particular, make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings”. This is predicated on recognition that a refugee required to remain outside of his or her home country should at some point fully integrate into the host society and participate equally in social and political life. A similar provision is found in Article 32 of the 1954 Convention Relation to the Status of Stateless Persons (hereinafter – ‘1954 Convention’). 34. According both to Article 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Article 32 of the 1954 Convention, the word “shall” implies a qualified duty on the Contracting States to facilitate “as far as possible” the naturalization of refugees and stateless persons, without prejudice to sovereign rights of the state. The articles stipulate that “in particular” costs should be reduced and the naturalization procedures expedited. It is, therefore, implied in Article 34 of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Article 32 of the 1954 Convention that the measures taken in order to facilitate naturalization of refugees and stateless persons include inter alia the easing of the conditions for naturalization, e.g. by reducing the period of residence required. 7