month before the interview, he had received a letter from the Citizenship Commission informing him he was not granted citizenship because of his criminal record dating back to 1993: “The letter said that although my previous conviction had expired, the fact that I have a criminal record stays with me my whole life. It said I could try next year.” A.M. had been sentenced to six months imprisonment for what under the current criminal code would be considered a crime of little gravity. He went to a legal aid clinic where he was advised to write to the President directly instead of appealing the decision. “The lawyers read the letter and they didn’t understand the Commission’s decision themselves. There is no law that would deny citizenship in my case. I’m not a terrorist; I’m not a serial killer or a drug trafficker. I had just made a mistake,” he says. A.M. is deeply uncomfortable about his statelessness: “What if something happens to me? Will Lithuania take care of me? They will say, “You’re not a citizen of our country.” But I’m not a citizen of any country!” In the longer term, he wants to see himself as a Lithuanian citizen with full rights. If this does not happen, he would consider moving to a different country: “I don’t want to, but perhaps then I should go to a country where people are treated with dignity. But first I will try and do everything I can here.” In view of the above, it is recommended that Lithuania considers ways of facilitating the naturalization of stateless persons on its territory, such as stateless refugees, by, for example, reducing the number of years of residence required prior to being eligible for naturalization, and by reducing or waiving the application fees.385 Measures like increasing the accessibility to Lithuanian language courses and orientation classes on the content of the Lithuanian Constitution would also be welcomed. 4.3.5.2 OTHER MODES Persons who were citizens of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their descendants, can have their Lithuanian citizenship reinstated, whether they live in Lithuania or not.386 Lithuanian citizenship cannot be reinstated to those persons who are citizens of another State, unless they were deported from Lithuania or left Lithuania before 11 March 1990 or are descendants of such persons. They must also not fall under one or more of the exclusion clauses of Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship. Lithuanian citizenship can only be reinstated once.387 Persons “of Lithuanian descent”, i.e. persons with a Lithuanian parent or grandparent and who consider themselves Lithuanian and declare so by written statement,388 can be granted citizenship of Lithuania under the simplified procedure, that is without having to meet the conditions for naturalization.389 The person must have never been a Lithuanian citizen, must not hold the citizenship of another State, and must not meet any of the general exclusion clauses.390 The applications are submitted to the President of the Republic through the Migration Divisions of the Territorial Police Units or diplomatic institutions. The current fee is 50 Euros. 385 See further Observations by the UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries on the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ proposal no. 12-2398-02 introducing amendments to the Lithuanian Law on Citizenship, paras. 16-17, at: http://goo.gl/a9cIYt. 386 Article 9 of the Law on Citizenship. 387 The person may apply through the Migration Division of his/her Territorial Police Unit or diplomatic institutions if he or she resides abroad. The applications are submitted to the Minister of the Interior. The applicant must write a petition to reinstate citizenship, provide an identification document along with supporting documentary evidence of (an ancestor’s) links with Lithuania. The current fee is 41 Euro. 388 Ibid, Article 2(6). 389 Ibid, Article 2(14). 390 Ibid, Article 10 and 39. U N H C R S TO C K H O L M , M AY 2 0 1 6 83