Source: http://cmr.jur.ru.nl/cmr/qs/family/Lithuania/
Timestamp: 2018-08-17 20:59:44
Document Index: 701120206

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 30', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 26', 'Art. 26', 'Art. 53', 'Art. 8', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 30', 'Art. 122', 'Art. 12', 'Art. 50', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 137']

CMR Questionnaires: Family Reunification Directive: LITHUANIA
This Form Data by LITHUANIA (29/11/2006)
answer Lithuania A: The Directive has been partially implemented in Lithuania. The norms of transposition are contained in the following legal acts:
Law on Legal Status of Aliens of the Republic of Lithuania No. IX-2206 of 29 April 2004 (entered into force on 30 April 2004) (hereafter Aliens Law). However, the Law does not formally transpose the norms of the Directive, as it has no reference to it. But it regulates the subject matter of the Directive.
(Published in 'State News' No. 73-2539, 2004. English version )
Draft Law on Amendments to the Aliens Law (hereafter Draft Law on Amendments) was pending adoption in the Parliament in November 2006. The Draft Law on Amendments refers to the Directive and formally transposes a number of its provisions.
(Lithuanian version only )
Order of the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania on Approval of the rules for issuance of temporary residence permits to foreigners and assessment of the marriages of convenience No. 1V-329 of 12 October 2005 (hereafter Order on Issuance of Temporary Residence Permits).
(Published in 'State News' No. 126-4509, 2005)
Order of the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania on Approval of the rules for issuance of permanent residence permits to foreigners and assessment of the marriages of convenience No. 1V-445 of 21 December 2005 (with amendments of 21 August 2006) (hereafter Order on Issuance of Permanent Residence Permits).
(Published in 'State News' No. 5-157, 2006)
The Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour on Approval of the amount of the means of subsistence considered sufficient for subsistence in the Republic of Lithuania for a foreigner, who applies for a residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania No. A1-203 of 25 August 2004.
(Published in 'State News', No. 133-4817, 30.08.2004)
answer Lithuania A: There has been no either political or public debate on the implementation of the Directive. Some discussions however have taken place within administrative structures and the Parliament concerning the issue whether to give or not to persons with subsidiary protection status the right to reunify with the family.
answer Lithuania A: As a result of transposition, the norms concerning marriages of convenience were introduced, as well as some restrictive provisions concerning the time limits for applying for family reunification for refugees as a condition to exempt them from certain requirements to be fulfilled (the later are mainly included in the Draft Law on Amendments). These amendments are likely to make the rules for third country nationals and their family members stricter. With suggested amendments the young families will be able to reunite only after they reach the age of 21 years. Among the positive developments are proposed amendments concerning exemption of refugees from certain general requirements for family reunification applied to all foreigners, a right of parents to reunify with unaccompanied minor granted refugee status with will be introduced.
answer Lithuania A: None of the administrative courts approached by the author of this Report mentioned any case under their examination currently or earlier where the Directive would be applied. There are a few decisions that deal with family unity or/and family reunification issues, but without a reference to the Directive. For instance, on 19 December 2005 Vilnius District Administrative Court adopted a decision in a highly politicized case concerning the appeal of a Russian national against refusal by the Migration Department of Lithuania to issue him with a residence permit. In adopting the decision, the court took into consideration the existing family relationship of the applicant in Lithuania, i.e. his wife, minor daughter, son and parents were residing in Lithuania, as well as economic relations of the applicant to this country. The Court came to the conclusion that there is no ground to restrict the human right of the applicant to respect of his personal and family life, right of the child not to be separated from the parent against his will, unless necessary for the interest of the child. The Court was of the opinion that in case of the expulsion of the applicant allegedly on the basis of threat to constitutional setup, Article 8(1) of the ECHR and Article 9(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child would be violated, as restrictive measures are not proportional to applicant's actions, a crime committed by him and purpose sought.
(Decision of the Court in the Case No. 1-2-17/2005 (unpublished))
answer Lithuania A: The judgement has not yet have any legal effects on national legislaition or practice. On 28 November 2006 most recent amendments to the Aliens Law of 2004 were adopted and it does not contain any provisions that would explicitly or implicitly follow from the ECJ judgement.
answer Lithuania A: This clause is not being applied in Lithuania at the moment. Aliens Law only provides that a foreigner may enter into the Republic of Lithuania on family reunification ground if the family member has been lawfully living in the Republic of Lithuania for a continuous period of at least 2 years (Art. 30(1) of the Law). However, the provision of the Directive will be introduced with the adoption of the Draft Law on Amendments. It will be required that the person in certain cases of family reunification (when reunification is taking place with parents of the minor, spouse or partner, or relatives) had been residing in Lithuania for the last two years, have a residence permit valid for one or more years and reasonable perspectives of acquiring permanent residence in the country (underlined by the author of this Report). However, as the provision is not adopted yet and no public debate has taken place on this subject, it is impossible to envisage at this stage how it will be applied in practice.
answer Lithuania A: Lithuanian legislation as a rule prohibits dual nationality (except very limited situations), but should such a situation occur, the Aliens Law would not still be applied, because if confers the rights to aliens only. 'Alien' in the meaning of the Aliens Law is understood as any person other than a national of the Republic of Lithuania irrespective of whether he is a foreign national or a stateless person (Art. 2(32) of the Law). As the provisions of the Directive will be transposed by the Aliens Law, it can be inferred that mentioned persons will not be able to rely on the Directive.
answer Lithuania A: The legislation does not specify any explicit differences, except that if family reunification is requested by a third country national whose spouse is a citizen of Lithuania or a permanent resident, it must be verified if the marriage between them is not marriage of convenience (Article 43(3) of the Aliens Law).
answer Lithuania A: The right to family reunification is codified in the national law. Family reunification is defined by the Aliens Law as the entry into and residence in the Republic of Lithuania by family members of an alien who is not a national of the European Union residing lawfully in the Republic of Lithuania in order to preserve the family unit, whether the family relationship arose before or after the alien's entry (Art. 2(27) of the Law). Article 30(1) of the Aliens Law states that:
The spouse of an alien who is not an EU Member State national or the person who has concluded partnership agreement with the alien, the unmarried and dependent children of the couple or of one of them (adopted children) below the age of 18 years who remained residing in a foreign country may enter into the Republic of Lithuania for residence with the alien who has been lawfully living in the Republic of Lithuania for a continuous period of at least 2 years.
In addition, relatives according to direct ascending line who have been dependent for at least one year and unable to make use of the support of other family members residing in a foreign country are recognised as family members in accordance with the Law (Art. 2(26)). Furthermore, Article 40(1(3)) of the Aliens Law mention family reunification as a ground for issuance of a temporary residence permit. Present Article 30 of the Aliens Law will be repealed by the Draft Law on Amendments once approved, but the family reunification ground for issuance of residence permit in Lithuania will remain and will apply to the foreigner when:
His parents or one of them who are Lithuanian citizens, reside in the Republic of Lithuania;
In case of minor children, his parents or one of them or the spouse of one of them who has guardianship of the minor, resides in Lithuania with a residence permit;
His child, who has been granted refugee status and issued permanent residence permit, is residing in Lithuania;
His spouse or a person with whom a partnership agreement has been entered into and who has either Lithuanian citizenship or a residence permit, is residing in Lithuania;
He is a relative according to the direct ascending line of a foreigner, who has a residence permit;
His parents, who are no longer employed due to age or disability, reside in Lithuania with a residence permit;
Certain compelling circumstances occur in relation to termination of marriage or partnership or the death of a family member.
Aliens Act Lithuania, 2004
answer Lithuania A: No special rules are provided in this respect.
answer Lithuania A: Not applicable, because no special rules are provided for reunification with children over 15 years of age. The same rules apply for all children below 18 years of age.
answer Lithuania A: Lithuania did not have such exceptions envisaged in its legislation that has existed at the date of implementation of the Directive, thus it could be implied that these derogations cannot be used.
answer Lithuania A: Provision on the admission of unmarried partners has been implemented in national law to a certain extent. Namely, unmarried partners have a right to family reunification if they have concluded a partnership agreement. Partnerships between persons who have not entered into marriage relationships are regulated by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, but it does not yet work in practice, because the Partnership Law has not been adopted yet (information of November 2006), will be regulating these relationships in more detail. The Draft Partnership Law, once adopted will provide that the same rules for registration are applied mutatis mutandis as for the conclusion and registration of marriage. This means that partnership can be registered by the Civil Registry offices. Also, partnership can be registered on the basis of court decision, which can establish the factual partnership relations. Such decision may be adopted by the request of one of the partners, if factual partnership relations last for longer than one year period. Partnership in the meaning of the Code and the Draft Partnership Law is understood as cohabitation without registering a marriage (Art. 3.229 of the Code). The same rules and conditions for admission of unmarried partners who formalised partnership should be applied for family reunification.
answer Lithuania A: At the moment, the Aliens Law does not require the minimum age for admission of spouses. If the question arises concerning the age of the applicant, then the rules of the Civil Code would apply. This implies the application of the family concept, under which the marriage can be entered into only if the person has reached the age of 18 years (Art. 3.14 of the Code). This age can be reduced by the court decision, but by no more than 3 years, while in case of pregnancy, marriage can be entered as of 15 years of age by the court decision. When the issue of age reduction for the purpose of marriage is being considered the State Children Rights Protection institution has to issue a conclusion concerning the reasonability of age reduction and the compliance with the interests of the minor. However, in case of registration of partnership, no age reduction is possible (according to Art. 3(2) of the Draft Partnership Law).
Notwithstanding, some changes in the current situation are expected with the adoption of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Aliens Law. The minimum age requirement will be introduced by setting the age at 21 years. The amendment provides for a slightly different provision from the Directive. The Directive sets the range of years between the minimum and the maximum of 21 years, while the amendment sets a minimum of 21 year as a minimum age of marriage.
answer Lithuania A: Along with the application for family reunification the foreigner has to submit the following documents:
documents proving the family relationship (e.g. marriage certificate);
invitation to come to Lithuania;
document proving the citizenship of Lithuania of the family member or his permanent residence in Lithuania;
document confirming that he has sufficient financial resources to maintain himself in Lithuania;
document confirming that he has a place of living in Lithuania (owned or rented, or on the basis of confirmed obligation of the natural or legal person to provide him with accommodation during duration of the residence permit);
health insurance, valid for the period of stay in Lithuania (insurance can be submitted at a later stage also when decision to issue residence permit has already been taken);
in case of parents (foster parents) who are incapable for work or due to disability, the documents confirming the incapability.
Family members of the foreigner who arrive to live together with the family member who has a temporary residence permit, shall submit an application, above mentioned documents and documents certifying their marriage, partnership relations or that they are unmarried children below 18, or that they are direct ascending line relatives who have been dependent for at least one year and unable to make use of the support of other family members residing in a foreign country. According to existing rules for issuance of residence permits, all documents issued by the foreign states have to be legalized or approved with 'Apostille', unless the international agreements provide otherwise.
answer Lithuania A: The applicant has to pay the fees only when the decision to issue residence permit on family reunification ground has been taken, i.e. at the stage of issuance of the permit. The fee for the issuance of the temporary residence permit in case of family reunification is 250 Litas (approx. € 73). In comparison, the usual fee for temporary residence permit is 450 Litas (approx. € 131). This fee can be reduced by 100% in case of persons who are granted with subsidiary or temporary protection in Lithuania and some other cases.
answer Lithuania A: As a rule, the application for residence permit on family reunification ground has to be submitted by the foreigner to the consular office of Lithuania and submission should be in person or through a legally authorised representative. In a few cases the application may be submitted to the migration service or the Migration Department to the Ministry of Interior in Lithuania (e.g. when the foreigner comes from the country to which nationals visa-free regime is applied; in case of minors whose one of the parent resides in Lithuania; the foreigner is of a Lithuanian origin, etc.), but this is possible only if the person entered the country in a legal manner. There is no possibility for the foreigner's family member residing in Lithuania to submit the application in the country, unless the family member acts as a legal representative and the above mentioned conditions when the application can be submitted within a country are satisfied).
answer Lithuania A: Such time limit is established by the administrative regulations. The decision to grant temporary residence permit has to be taken not later than within 6 months from the receipt of the application by the Migration Department.
answer Lithuania A: The legislation does not provide any guidelines on that and practice is not clear in this respect.
answer Lithuania A: This exception of state security, public order and public health interests is provided in Article 30(4) of the Aliens Law, but the Law does not define these notions any further. In court practice the notion of state security and public order have been applied in foreigners' cases in such a way that the court would rely on the confidential certificate issued by the State Security Department stating the need to invoke these interests. The information would not be in most cases further analysed by the court, while the foreigner would never have access to such information, thus not able to respond to the allegations raised.
On 15 July 2005 Vilnius District Administrative Court in its decision balanced the foreigner's family relations in Lithuania against his threat to national security and public order and concluded that the refusal to issue him residence permit was not necessary in a democratic society. The Higher Administrative Court of Lithuania analysed the definition of national security and public order in a case of a Chechen applicant who was asking for the application of alternative measure to detention pending his expulsion and who had a minor child residing in Lithuania. The National Security Department was claiming in the case that the applicant poses a threat to national security of Lithuania, because he was maintaining relations with persons suspected in terrorist activities, against whom investigations have been going on. Concerning the public order, the argument was that the applicant was charged with several administrative offences and thus it allegedly proves that he is not abiding by the laws of Lithuania and thus shows disrespect to the society and poses danger to the public order. The Court in its decision of 21 July 2005 (Administrative Case NO. N6-1556/2005) was of the opinion that the lower court by stating that the applicant poses danger to national security, relied only on the letter of the National Security Department, while it should have verified the information. Therefore, the Court repealed the decision of the first instance court and returned the case for reconsideration.
answer Lithuania A: No comparison can be made due to lack of information on the notion of these interests in the national law and confidential application in practice.
answer Lithuania A: The Aliens Law mentions this requirement among the conditions that have to be fulfilled for granting of a temporary residence permit in the country (Art. 26(1(3), including the situations of family reunification. This requirement may not be applied to refugees, persons with subsidiary or temporary protection in the country.
answer Lithuania A: The monthly amount that is considered sufficient for living within the context of residence permit, is fixed at one minimal monthly salary, while for family members the requirement is fixed at 50% of one minimal monthly salary. The minimal salary in Lithuania constituted 600 Litas (approx. 174 euros) in November 2006. The level of required income for spouse is 50% of one minimal monthly salary, which in November 2006 rate would be approx. 300 Litas. As far as I understand the provision this extra amount applies to any member of the family - spouse or children. Thus if the family is composed of 3 persons, the income requirement would be calculated as follows:
head of family - 600 litas
spouse - 300 litas
child - 300 litas
Total - 1200 litas
This is the calculation according to my understanding based on the original version of the provision stating this requirement, as the legislation does not specify that. Worthwhile mentioning that the Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour, which contains specification of income requirement has been recently replaced by a new one, No. A1-22 of 29 January 2007 and now the requirements are as follows:
for foreigners who intend studying, engaging in vocational training - 0,5 of minimal monthly salary (MMS);
for foreigners below 18 years of age - 0,5 of MMS (half of minimal salary);
other foreigners - 1 MMS
answer Lithuania A: Housing requirement is in force (refer to Art. 26(1(4)) of the Aliens Law). No further requirements as to the space (square meters) are specified in the laws. The Migration Department has not responded to this question as concerns their practice, when asked by the author of the Report.
answer Lithuania A: There is no specific requirement in the legislation that family members shall comply with integration measures. However, if a family member who has been living in Lithuania without interruption and knows the state language, as well as passes the state language exam, he may be granted permanent residence permit one year earlier (Art. 53(6) of the Aliens Law). In normal circumstances, they have to reside uninterruptedly for at least five years before a permanent residence permit may be granted.
answer Lithuania A: Refer to preceding answer concerning reduction of residence requirement for permanent residence permit by one year in case of knowledge of state language and passing of state language exam. As there is no integration requirement as such, there are no negative sanctions envisaged by the legislation.
answer Lithuania A: Not applicable, as there is no integration requirement.
answer Lithuania A: Such waiting period is established by the legislation. Article 30(1) of the Aliens Law provides that the foreigner should have resided in Lithuania for at least 2 recent years before family reunification application could be filled. This is rather opposite to the requirement of the Directive (Art. 8(1), which states a period of no longer than 2 years. The same law also provides that considering the capacities of reception for family members of a foreigner, a waiting period of no longer than 3 years since submission of application for family reunification may be established.
answer Lithuania A: Generally, the definition of family reunification refers to
the entry into and residence in the Republic of Lithuania by family members of an alien who is not a national of the European Union residing lawfully in the Republic of Lithuania in order to preserve the family unit, whether the family relationship arose before or after the alien's entry (underlined by the author of this Report) (Art. 2(27) of the Aliens Law).
However, as concerns refugees, there is a differentiation of treatment applied for family reunification for persons whose family relationship predates the entry to Lithuania and those whose family relationship has been established after the entry to Lithuania. Those refugees whose family relationship has been established after the entry to Lithuania are not at all entitled to family reunification under the Aliens Law (Art. 30(3)). In accordance with the Draft Law on Amendments, the requirement of residence with the perspective of obtaining a permanent residence would not be applied to a foreigner in case of reunification with a person granted refugee status in Lithuania.
answer Lithuania A: No, because according to Article 30(2) of the Aliens Law, family reunification right is not granted to asylum seekers and persons with subsidiary protection or temporary protection status in the country. However, the right to family reunification in case of persons granted temporary protection is regulated by another article in the Law, which contains this right with regard to family members who were separated from the foreigner due to events after which he was granted temporary protection in Lithuania (Article 94(4) of the Aliens Law).
answer Lithuania A: Family members of a refugee who is unaccompanied minor are not entitled to family reunification under the current legislation. If adopted, the Draft Law on Amendments will introduce such a right to parents of the minor who is granted refugee status.
answer Lithuania A: No alternatives to official documents in case of lack of official documents proving the family relationship are explicitly provided in the legislation. However, according to the Order on Issuance of Temporary Residence Permits if questions concerning the issue of documents arise, the consular officer or authorised representatives of the Migration Department or migration service may invite the foreigner for an interview, request to submit additional explanations and additional documents (paragraph 16 of the Order). Furthermore, the Migration Department may oblige to perform a DNA test to confirm kinship. According to the Aliens Law, the performance of a DNA test may be requested only in case the foreigner is not able to prove the kinship relationship otherwise (Art. 122 of the Aliens Law). The expenses related to the performance of the DNA test shall be covered by the foreigner except for the asylum applicants whose DNA test expenses shall be covered by the state.
The Migration Department did not respond to the question raised by the author of this Report as to which alternatives they use in practice.
answer Lithuania A: Refugees or their family members are explicitly exempted by the legislation from the document of health insurance, requirement of sufficient means of subsistence, place of accommodation and the requirement to produce a list of visits and stays in foreign states. No exemption from the residence requirement is envisaged for refugees, contrary to provisions of Art. 12(2) of the Directive. Furthermore, they may be exempted from certain requirements for admission to the territory of Lithuania, e.g. possession of a valid travel document and/or a visa of the Republic of Lithuania.
According to the Draft Law on Amendments, health insurance, income and accommodation requirements may be not applied to the family members of a refugee if they applied for family reunification during the first 3 months from granting of refugee status. Also, waiting period, 1 year residence permit and perspectives for permanent residence permit requirements are not applied in case of refugees according to draft legislation. In case of a minor granted refugee status, parents would be exempted from all the requirements.
answer Lithuania A: No information is available as to practical application of this provision. The author of this Report did not receive the explanation as concerns the practice from the Migration Department on this point.
answer Lithuania A: In principle, the legislation does not bar the admitted family members from employment. They are even exempted from the requirement to obtain a work permit according to Article 58(1(1)) of the Aliens Law.
answer Lithuania A: At the moment Lithuania has not made use of the exception under Article 14(2) of the Directive, in that it does not restrict the access to employment for family members of the foreigner admitted under family reunification procedure.
answer Lithuania A: According to legislation, the general rule is that temporary residence permit is terminated in case of termination of the marriage (Art. 50(1(4) of the Aliens Law). The family member may remain in Lithuania only if s/he has a right to reside in Lithuania on some other grounds. Therefore, the current legislation does not envisage a possibility for family members to get autonomous residence permit unless there are legal grounds other than family reunification to remain in the country. However, if a foreigner has been residing with his family member in Lithuania for uninterrupted period of the past 5 years with a temporary residence permit, he may obtain a permanent residence permit in Lithuania. Furthermore, there are plans to introduce an autonomous residence permit for the persons in particularly difficult circumstances in the Draft Law on Amendments (these circumstances should be related to termination of marriage or partnership or death of a family member). It is envisaged, that residence permit on this ground would be issued for a period of one year.
answer Lithuania A: There is no time limit for obtaining autonomous residence permit if the foreigner complies with grounds other than family reunification justifying the issuance of a residence permit. However, for the permanent residence permit, a period of uninterrupted residence for the past 5 years with the family is required. According to the Draft Law on Amendments, an autonomous residence permit in situations of particularly difficult circumstances may be issued with the condition that the request for family reunification should have been submitted before the occurrence of difficult circumstances, if the foreigner had not yet have a temporary residence permit. If the residence permit has already been issued on family reunification ground, the request should be submitted not later than within 6 months from the occurrence of difficult circumstances.
answer Lithuania A: The legislation only states the requirement that the foreigner who applies for extension of residence permit should have sufficient resources. However, it is believed that this provision leaves a room for interpretation in practice in the manner prescribed by the Directive.
answer Lithuania A: According to explicit provisions of the Aliens Law, termination of a marriage or partnership is a basis for termination of the residence permit. Nevertheless, the situations of persons formally not terminating the marriage, but not indeed living in a real marital or family relationship are not explicitly dealt with by the legislation. Also, nothing is said about children, thus presumably it would apply in the same way as for the spouse. Draft Law on Amendments envisages that the issuance or extension of the temporary residence permit may be refused if a foreigner who arrived to Lithuania on the basis of family reunification is no longer residing in a real family or marriage relationship.
answer Lithuania A: National legislation contains both the provisions on fraud and also on marriages of convenience. These situations amount to the establishment of valid grounds for termination of a residence permit (whether temporary or permanent) (refer to Articles 35 (1(4)), 50 (1(1 and 3)) and 54(1(1 and 3)) of the Aliens Law). The definition of a marriage of convenience is provided in the Aliens Law (Art. 2(6)). It is defined as a marriage concluded between a national of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreigner legally resident in the Republic of Lithuania and a foreigner who is not a national of an EU Member State with the sole aim of obtaining for the foreigner a residence permit or authority to reside in the Republic of Lithuania and not seeking to create other legal consequences of marriage prescribed by the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
According to the Order on Issuance of Temporary Residence Permits (paragraph 32, as well as paragraph 27 of the Order on Issuance of Permanent Residence Permits), all marriages, entered into during the recent 5 year period before submission of application and raising reasonable suspicion should be scrutinized. One of the circumstances leading to recognition of a marriage as of convenience is that family members have never met before (paragraph 33.4 of the Order). However, such requirement may run counter certain traditional practices prevailing in some countries of origin and thus be considered as too wide definition of a marriage of convenience. Information on practical application of checks is not available to the author of this Report.
answer Lithuania A: Specific elements, such as family relations with the persons in the Republic of Lithuania, the period of lawful residence in Lithuania, social, economic and other connections with Lithuania, etc., are taken into consideration under the Aliens Law only in the removal procedures. Article 128 (1) of the Law envisages that these circumstances should be taken into account before adopting a decision on deportation of the foreigner from Lithuania. Though in this case the family relations can be taken into account, the Law fails to specify how foreigner's family relations may prevent deportation.
answer Lithuania A: The sponsor and his family members are entitled under national legislation to have a negative decision reviewed. Appeal against the negative decision may be submitted to the administrative court within a period of 7 days from the day of adoption of such a decision (Art. 137 of the Aliens Law). The decision of the administrative court may be further appealed to the Higher Administrative Court within the same deadline. The administrative courts examine the appeals in substance (facts and law issues, i.e. full review). (Refer to Paragraph 13 of Article 15(1) and Article 136 of the Law on Procedure for Examination of Administrative Cases No. VIII-1029 of 14 January 1999, 'State News' No. 13-308, 1999.)
B.39 top Q: Article 18 (judicial review)(2)
answer Lithuania A: No. However if it concerns refugees/asylum seekers, usually the Lithuanian Red Cross lawyers would provide legal aid free of charge.
answer Lithuania A: In the view of the author of this Report, the main strength of the Directive is that it codified for the first time in the European Union the explicit right of the foreigners to family reunification, which could otherwise earlier only be invoked on the basis of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Secondly, the Directive is progressive, as it takes into account the specific situation of refugees, who are not normally able to comply with all family reunification requirements as applied to all other foreigners in normal circumstances.
Among the main weaknesses that could be mentioned is the fact that the Directive fails to guarantee the explicit right to family reunification for persons granted subsidiary protection status in the Member States. Furthermore, the limitations on the family reunification of children and additional requirements applied to unaccompanied minors above 12 years of age make the provisions of the Directive questionable in view of international obligations of Member States under international instruments (in particular, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and others).
answer Lithuania A: -
answer Lithuania A: The following document is provided:
Law on the legal status of Aliens (official translation), 29 april 2004
answer Lithuania A:
5(5) unclear The legislation on the status of foreigners does not contain provisions to this effect, while the practice on how the principle of best interests of the child is applied in family reunification cases is not clear.
10(3)(a) violation There is no right to family reunification for unaccompanied minors envisaged in the legislation. However, this situation will change with the adoption of Draft Law on Amendments to the Aliens Law.
11 no transposition
13(1) unclear The legislation does not mention the need to provide every facility for obtaining requisite visas and in practice it is not clear if any assistance is provided to all applicants.
14(1) unclear The access to vocational guidance, initial training and retraining is not fully guaranteed.
15 correct transposition However, it should be noted that differently from the Directive, which requires a period of residence of no more than 5 years, national legislation states the requirement of minimum of 5 years of uninterrupted residence as a requirement for autonomous residence permit.
16(1)(b) correct transposition Once Draft Law on Amendments to the Aliens Law is adopted