The determination of citizenship in removal procedures and those intended to resolve an individual’s legal status is largely based on inquiries sent to the country or countries with which the individual enjoys a relevant link, such as birth or previous residence.159 Under the 1954 Convention, establishing whether an individual is considered as a national under the operation of the law of the concerned State requires a careful analysis of relevant legislation and the practice of its application. This is because a State may not in practice follow the letter of the law. The reference to “law” in the definition of statelessness in Article 1(1) therefore covers situations where the written law is substantially modified when it comes to its implementation in practice.160 3.3.1 Competent authority While there are many institutions involved in direct or indirect assessment of nationality, or lack thereof, in most cases the initial contact between a stateless person and the authorities is with migration agencies or the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), while most decision-making falls under the competencies of the Migration Department. Ad 1) status regularization procedure Lithuania has a process it refers to as having a person’s legal status “resolved.” A person must have his or her legal status “resolved” when he or she has no valid identification documents or residence permit but claims either to have been born in Lithuania or to have resided in its territory prior to 1993. The Migration Division of a Territorial Police Unit will attempt to reconstruct the person’s biography to establish whether the person was a citizen before 15 June 1940 or a descendant of a Lithuanian citizen born prior to 1940. If so, the individual is considered to have retained an indefinite right to Lithuanian citizenship.161 If it cannot be established that they were a citizen before 15 June 1940 or are a descendant of a Lithuanian citizen born prior to 1940, their legal status will be “resolved” through the issuance of a residence permit. If the person concerned meets the criteria for citizenship, he or she is given the choice between being granted a permanent residence permit as a stateless person or receiving Lithuanian citizenship. If the individual chooses the latter, he or she will obtain citizenship through one of two procedures, depending on the individual’s circumstances. One way to obtain citizenship is through the simplified procedure, which does not require the applicant to meet any of the conditions of the naturalization procedure. The other procedure is to have citizenship restored. After submitting administrative forms, paying fees, and receiving confirmation from the State, the person will be issued a national identity card (tapatybės kortelė). If, in the course of the regularization procedure, an individual does not meet the criteria for citizenship, there will be an assessment of nationality, or lack thereof. The competent authorities are the Migration Divisions of the Territorial Police Units (migration agencies), the Migration Department, and the Minister of Interior. The migration agencies collect the data and look into the relevant facts, while the Migration Department assesses whether the applicant is eligible for citizenship or a residence permit. The Minister of Interior makes citizenship-related decisions, including decisions on the reinstatement of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, as provided by Article 32 of the Law on Citizenship. Courts have competency to establish the judicially relevant facts, if need be. In cases of undocumented imprisoned persons, social rehabilitation specialists at the prison facility, in cooperation with the migration agencies and the Migration Department, undertake the procedure on behalf of the undocumented person. 159 Interviews with staff members of the migration agencies in Mažeikiai, 22 August 2012; Vilnius, 27 August 2012; Šalčininkai, 4 September, 2012; Švenčionys, 5 September, 2012; Visaginas, 29 August 2012. 160 Ibid, p. 12, para. 24. 161 Law on Citizenship, Article 9(1). U N H C R S TO C K H O L M , M AY 2 0 1 6 45