Hence, Article 28 of the 1954 Convention does not permit discretion in the issuance of travel documents to
“lawfully staying” stateless persons.
Under current Lithuanian law, a stateless person who is a temporary or permanent resident of Lithuania and
does not possess a valid foreign-issued travel document may be issued a stateless person’s travel document
(emphasis added).291 Procedures for the issuance and renewal of a Stateless Person’s Travel Document
are outlined in the Rules of issuing the Stateless Person’s Travel Document, approved by the Minister of
the Interior on 24 November 2005.292 For a stateless person to obtain a travel document in Lithuania, the
residence permit must be valid for at least four months at the time of the request, and the period of validity
of the travel documents may not exceed the period of validity of the residence permit. The maximum period
of validity of the Travel Document is two years.293
If a stateless person is to be returned or expelled to the country of origin but does not possess a valid travel
document, SBGS issues a temporary travel document. Such a travel document is issued if the country of
origin has no diplomatic presence in Lithuania and if it accepts the person with such a document. The
temporary travel document is valid for thirty days from its issuance and only for the duration of the travel.294
“Unreturnable” persons may be given a temporary travel document in the course of the removal procedure
if they have no valid travel documents and if the country of origin agrees to accept the document: the
document is only valid for the duration of the travel.295
Figure 8: The number of Stateless Person’s Travel Documents issued or renewed 2007-2012296
Number of Travel Documents issued
297
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
1,029
1,219
1035
715
402
633
Stateless persons and migration agencies staff interviewed for this report have identified two main problems
with travel document for stateless persons. First, the document is only valid for two years and then must be
renewed. This is a major issue for those who have to travel often for business purposes or to visit family in
other countries. Prior to 2004, the document could be “extended” at the migration agency for a small fee,
but now a new document must be issued in Vilnius and collected at the local migration agency for the full
fee of 100 LTL (30 EUR).
291
Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, Article 38 (1).
292
New version of the Order of 2011, as amended on 22 December 2011 and 24 September 2013.
293
A stateless person must submit the request at a territorial migration agency, which examines it and asks the Centre of Identity
Documents to issue it. The timeframe for the issuance of the document is twenty days under a regular procedure and seven days
under an urgent procedure. The cost for the Travel Document is 100 LTL (30 Euro) and 150 LTL (45 Euro) respectively. The fee
cannot be waived. However, according to the Law on Fees persons below the age of 16 years receive it free of charge.
294
Order of the Minister of the Interior No. 1V-429, 24 December 2004, on the confirmation of rules of making and implementing
decisions to oblige an alien to leave, on their expulsion, return and transit through the territory of the Republic of Lithuania (new
version of the Order of 15 May 2012 as subsequently amended), paragraph 10.
295
Order of the Minister of Interior No. 1V-429, 24 December 2004, on the confirmation of rules of making and implementing
decisions to oblige an alien to leave, on their expulsion, return and transit through the territory of the Republic of Lithuania (new
version of the Order of 15 May 2012 as subsequently amended), paragraph 10.
296
Lithuania, Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior, Migration Yearbook 2012, Vilnius, 2013, p. 64.
297
Ibid.
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