Asylum seekers are not required to have a passport to register marriage

Foreigner’s registration card may be presented to prove the identity of the asylum seeker.

Article 1.25(2) of the Civil Code stipulates that a marriage shall be registered in the civil registry offices of the Republic of Lithuania if at least one of the parties to the marriage has his/her habitual place of residence in Lithuania or if at least one of them is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania at the time of the marriage. Pursuant to Article 15 of the Law on Registration of Civil Status Acts, the couple wishing to marry shall personally submit an application for registration of the marriage. When applying for registration of a marriage, foreigners must submit a legalized document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin certifying that there are no obstacles to the marriage under the law of the country of origin. Foreigners must also present documents confirming their legal presence in the Republic of Lithuania. Pursuant to sub-paragraph 13.2 of the Rules on registration of civil status records, when a person applies for registration of civil status acts, a document confirming the identity of the person referred to in sub-paragraph 14 of the Rules must be submitted to the civil registry office, among other things, unless the applicant applies to the civil registry office through the information system for the declaration of the metrication and declaration of residence, and the identity of the applicant is confirmed by means of electronic authentication. Paragraph 14 of the Rules stipulates that a valid travel document or a document confirming the right to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, or a residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania, if the foreigner has lost a travel document or a stateless person, a refugee or a foreigner who has been granted subsidiary protection does not have a valid travel document, must be submitted to confirm the identity of the foreign state citizen. The Rules further elaborates that the foreigner’s registration certificate may also be presented to prove the identity of the asylum seeker if the asylum seeker does not have a valid travel document.

Article 12 of the ECHR, building on the right to private life, provides that a man and a woman of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family in accordance with the laws of the country governing the exercise of this right. According to international human rights standards, the family is recognised as an essential part of society and must be supported and protected. This norm is enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights (Article 16.3), the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 23.1), the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 10.1), and the Preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UN Human Rights Committee, established to monitor the implementation of the Covenants, points out in General Comment No 19 that the right to found a family includes the right to live together.  Denying asylum seekers their right to marry would be considered unproportionate and discriminatory.

The UN Committee on Racial Discrimination, in its General Recommendations No 30 on discrimination against non-citizens, has stated that “under the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, differential treatment on the basis of nationality or the legal status of a foreigner constitutes discrimination if the criteria set do not pursue a legitimate aim and are not permissive in the light of the objectives and purposes of the Convention”.

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