who hold travel documents,152 a visa or residence permit153 or a permanent residence permit154 issued by the Lithuanian authorities. Lithuania thus has an obligation to accept the return of stateless persons who have a certain bond with Lithuania under the conditions outlined by these agreements. The acquisition and loss of Lithuanian citizenship is governed by the 2010 Law on Citizenship. Article 2(1) of the law defines a stateless person as “a person who is not a citizen of any state.”155 Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is defined as “a permanent legal relationship of a person with the Republic of Lithuania based on mutual rights and responsibilities.”156 Because of the substantial overlap between countries’ use of the words “national” and “citizen,” as well as the complexities of translation, it is assumed for purposes of this report that the Lithuanian definition under domestic law is to be interpreted in line with the 1954 Convention’s Article 1 definition, now customary international law. Under national law, stateless persons are considered aliens157 and are thus subject to the 2004 Law on the Legal Status of Aliens. Under current Lithuanian law, there are no rights granted to stateless persons on the grounds of their statelessness. Thus, stateless persons in Lithuania have no rights distinct from those accorded to aliens in the same circumstance. The rights of stateless persons in Lithuania are determined by the type of residence permit they hold and whether their stay is lawful under Lithuanian immigration law. 3.3 Statelessness determination procedure or other procedures in which statelessness status can be determined Lithuania does not have a dedicated statelessness determination procedure. There are, however, three contexts in which an inquiry into an individual’s nationality can be launched: regularization of a person’s legal status in Lithuania (ad 1);158 the asylum procedure (ad 2); and identity determination of “unreturnable” persons in the procedure on removal of unlawfully staying third-country nationals (ad 3). All three procedures are discussed in more detail below. 44 152 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Greece regarding the return of illegally residing persons, signed in Vilnius on 1 July 1999, Article 3; Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of Iceland regarding the return of persons who have entered or live in the State without a permission, signed in Reykjavik on 4 April 1997, Article 4.3; Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Portugal who have entered or live in the State without a permission, signed in Lisbon on 11 February 1999, Articles 3, 4. 153 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Moldova regarding the acceptance back of persons who have illegally arrived or live in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania or the Republic of Moldova, signed in Chisinau on 6 December 2001, Article 2; Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Latvia regarding the return of illegally residing persons, signed in Vilnius on 30 June 1995, Article 3.2. 154 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of Ukraine regarding the transfer and taking back of persons, signed in Vilnius on 23 September 1996, Article 3. 155 Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship, 2 December 2010-No XI-1196, Vilnius (hereinafter – Law on Citizenship), Article 2(1). 156 Ibid, Article 2(8). 157 Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 2(32). 158 Which occurs when a person does not have any identification documents but claims to be a resident of Lithuania. If a person is found to be born in Lithuania, if the person was already living in Lithuania before 15 June 1940, or when the person is a descendant of such persons, he or she can obtain citizenship or a permanent residence permit as a stateless person. M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N L I T H UA N I A