Lithuania wants to revoke citizenship to dual citizens in the country who show support for aggressors and present a threat to national security.
A proposal to strip dual citizens of their Lithuanian citizenship if they support aggressors and present a threat to the country has already been drafted by the Ministry of Interior, with the latter pushing for changes to be introduced into the country’s law as soon as possible, Schengen.News reports.
Commenting on the proposal to tighten the rules, the Minister of Interior of Lithuania, Agnė Bilotaitė, said that people who support aggressors, as well as those who are engaged in anti-Lithuania activities, cannot hold the country’s passport.
The Minister further noted that the changes will also permit the authorities to use additional tools for the purpose of protecting national security.
Persons engaged in anti-state activities and supporting aggressor countries cannot be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. These amendments provide the state with tools to protect the interests of national security.
Limitations to Be Introduced for Those Who Want to Obtain or Restore Lithuanian Citizenship, Too
The amendments to the law also want to limit the possibility of persons presenting a threat to Lithuania’s national security to obtain or restore Lithuanian citizenship and expand the ground for loss of citizenship.
In its proposal, the Ministry also noted that Lithuanian citizenship should be revoked to those who publicly support a foreign state that threatens the security of Lithuania or of any other EU member states and their allies.
Amendments to the Citizenship Law of the Republic of Lithuania propose to revoke the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania from persons who have dual citizenship, but pose a threat to the security of the Lithuanian state, publicly support a foreign state that threatens the security interests of Lithuania and other European Union states and their allies.
In case someone poses a threat to Lithuania and supports a foreign state that threatens the security of Lithuania, it has also been proposed that the citizenship be revoked regardless of the basis on which it was obtained.
Lithuania already made some changes to its Citizenship Law last year. The changes were then applied to revoke the citizenship of Lithuania of a Russian ice dancer, Margarita Drobiazko.
However, so far, some people serving in the Russian armed forces and participating in politics in Russia have had their citizenship restored. The proposal would mean that all of these will be stripped of their Lithuanian citizenship.
