Since the beginning of this year, almost 2,000 people have been selected for screening to analyse the flows of passengers travelling from Lithuania to Russia or Belarus and back, the authority said.
It turned out that 1.7 thousand of these travellers hold multiple Lithuanian and Russian or Lithuanian and Belarusian citizenship or are Lithuanian citizens and have a temporary residence permit in a foreign country on legal grounds.
The checks revealed that six Lithuanian citizens not only withheld the fact of acquiring Russian citizenship, but also had no right to multiple citizenship at all.
None of these persons cooperated with the Migration Department and responded to requests to submit documents proving their right to have multiple citizenship.
A citizen of Lithuania, who has acquired citizenship of another country, is required to notify the Migration Department in writing within two months. The one failing to fulfill this obligation faces a fine ranging between EUR 300 and EUR 850 punishable under Article 532 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė highlighted the work done by the country’s services.
„There are certain algorithms that have been agreed upon and our officials are carrying out certain actions, and those actions have led to the resolution of these specific cases,“ Bilotaitė told reporters in Vilnius district on Wednesday.
„If there are any more of such cases, they will probably come to light. We hope that this is a message to such people that they will be identified and that there will be appropriate consequences,“ the minister added.
Certain amendments to the procedure for granting and withdrawing citizenship have already been drafted and will be presented to the Cabinet shortly, she said, without elaborating further.