in Lithuania or had been living there for most of their lives. Those who were imprisoned at the time did not have access to the “zero option” procedure. Those who were underage at the time and were not “of Lithuanian origin” needed the engagement of at least one of their parents in order to acquire Lithuanian citizenship. However, if the parents failed to initiate an acquisition procedure or if the child did not maintain contact with them, they became stateless. Those who are “of Lithuanian origin”49 can apply for citizenship through a simplified procedure50 or have their citizenship “restored” as described elsewhere in this report, but all others, even if they were born in Lithuania, would need to go through a process of naturalization. Most of those who moved to Lithuania in the early 1990s came from former Soviet Republics. In the context of contemporary migration, the origins of stateless persons may be more varied. Although there are no official statistics or analyses, the Lithuanian migration authorities consider that many of those who reside in the country with temporary residence permits are Latvian “non-citizens”. There are also recent migrants from North Africa and the Middle East, among whom there may be stateless persons who have been granted refugee status and subsidiary protection by Lithuania. Under the Immigration Law of 30 September, 1991, stateless people are to be considered “aliens.” In 1996, 1998, and 2004, the acquisition of permanent residence permits was facilitated for those aliens who had not obtained one already,51 but few stateless persons obtained such permits (table 1). In order to apply for citizenship they would have to go through non-automatic modes of acquisition, such as naturalization or restoration of citizenship. Table 1: Number of stateless persons who reported their unlawful stay in Lithuania under the “amnesty” laws of 1996, 1998 and 200452 Year 1996 1998 2004 Number 12 113 23 The stateless population in Lithuania is heterogeneous and dispersed both geographically and across social groups. For the purposes of this study, stateless persons in Lithuania can be categorized in five broad groups, although there may well be stateless persons falling outside of these descriptors: 1. Persons who were born or had resided in the Lithuanian SSR, but did not for whatever reasons obtain Lithuanian citizenship during the “zero option” period from 1989 to 1991, and who never acquired the citizenship of any other State and became stateless, though they remained permanent residents of Lithuania. Other stateless permanent residents of Lithuania include permanent residents who had indeed obtained Lithuanian or another country’s citizenship but became stateless due to renunciation or loss. 2. Persons with “unresolved” legal status who became stateless under the same circumstances. Such persons now are either undocumented or have an expired Soviet passport and/or birth certificate. Their stay in Lithuania is considered unlawful. 20 49 A person of Lithuanian origin’ is defined in Article 2(6) the Law on Citizenship of the Lithuanian Republic of 2010 as “a person whose parents or grandparents, or one of his parents or grandparents are or were Lithuanian, and who considers himself Lithuanian and declares so by a written statement.” 50 Law on Citizenship, Article 2(14) and Article 39. 51 Temporary Law on issuing permanent residence permits to aliens who arrived to live in Lithuania after the entry into force of the Immigration Law, 1996; Law on the Implementation of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens of 17 December 1998, Article 3; Law on the Implementation of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens of 29 April 2004, Article 2. These laws essentially entitled foreigners who settled in Lithuania before 1 July 1993 to apply for a permanent residence permit subject to certain conditions. 52 Lithuania, Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior, Migration Yearbook 2004, Vilnius, 2005, p. 79. 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