In our focus - Relex Law Firm

June 16, 2026

Study residence applications cannot be rejected on the basis of speculation, assumptions, or subjective doubts

Recent ReLex case highlights a recurring problem in the practice of the Lithuanian Migration Department: the rejection of study residence permit applications based on speculative assumptions rather than objective evidence. The applicant had been studying in Lithuania since 2020 and had previously been granted a temporary residence permit for the purpose of studies. He had […]...

May 09, 2026

ReLex Cases Shape the 2025 Case Law Review of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania

We are proud that the cases represented by ReLex feature prominently in the 2025 case law review of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, contributing significantly to the development of judicial practice in asylum, migration, and foreigners’ legal status matters. These decisions underscore ReLex’s strong role in advancing the protection of fundamental human rights, including […]...

March 20, 2025

Logging permits are separable from the forest management project and can be challenged in court; interim protective measures must be imposed

In recent ReLex cases, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania overturned established court practice of rejecting challenges to the legality of logging permits based on their derivative nature, and confirmed the need for interim protective measures when the legality of such permits is questioned. While public opposition to increasing deforestation is quite visible, court practice […]...

January 20, 2025

Local communities – custodians of their cultural and natural heritage

Community involvement is crucial in the maintenance and protection of tangible and intangible heritage. The essential sense of ownership cannot be achieved without taking into consideration community needs and ensuring effective participation. By today‘s order the Regional Administrative Court has granted temporary protection to modern architecture building whose listing as immovable cultural heritage has been […]...

January 20, 2025

The requirement to denounce existing citizenship must be reasonable

Many countries around the world still do not allow multiple nationalities. The requirement to renounce one’s nationality to obtain a passport from another country is still the rule rather than the exception. Indeed, it can become an insurmountable obstacle as governments cling to their citizens. Some of conditions may be purely formal, others are made […]...

December 03, 2024

UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances underlines the importance of the official acknowledgment of violations both as form of redress and in terms of guarantees of non-repetition

In their preliminary observations following the country visit to Lithuania the Working Group notes with concern that, despite the unanimous recognition by multiple international mechanisms of Lithuania’s involvement in the extraordinary renditions programme, which entailed the enforced disappearance of at least five individuals, there has not been until today an official acknowledgment by Lithuanian authorities […]...

November 28, 2024

Migration authorities and courts have a duty to raise of their own motion any infringement of the principle of non-refoulement resulting from the enforcement of the decision revoking residence rights

In the light of the surrender of Vasily Veremeychik to the Belarussian authorities we cannot stress enough at ReLex the duty of the national authorities to consider all individual circumstances while taking decisions related to the legal status of foreigners. The aspects of the threat of persecution are of particular importance when deciding on revoking […]...

October 31, 2024

Family members of vulnerable groups of foreigners, such as refugees, cannot be deported, Supreme Administrative Court says

Refugees may require support of their family members, even those whose presence in the country is declared illegal pending execution of removal. Refugees who left their home because of persecution often suffer from discrimination in the countries where they have found refuge. This often comes in the form of narratives centered on a phobia of […]...

January 01, 2024

Application for international protection must be registered even pending criminal investigation

Application for international protection must be registered even pending criminal investigation Directive 2013/32/EU establishing minimum standards on procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status is applicable to all asylum seekers, even those who were detained by the court pending criminal investigation. People in need of international protection must be ensured access to legally safe and […]...

December 07, 2023

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 […]...

November 30, 2023

Recent practice of the Migration Department limits asylum seekers’ right to legal representation

The Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association on 15 November 2023 unanimously agreed that refusal to grant access to asylum case files constitute a restriction of the lawyer’s practice. The Bar shall prepare an appeal to the Migration Department. The decision is taken based on ReLex complaints regarding denied access to the case files. The […]...

September 23, 2023

Right to request the removal reviewed

The circumstances of foreigner’s life might change so can the deportation decision. When a decision to remove a foreigner is taken it is usually based on established lack of economic, social and family ties with the country in question. The law establishes a possibility for judicial review of the decision taken. A foreigner will be […]...

August 16, 2023

Six months’ time-limit to decide on applications for international protection is the law, EU law. EU member state cannot modify the implementation of an EU directive at choice

Asylum seekers cannot hang in limbo for too long. The time limit for the Migration Department to decide on an asylum application is 6 months from the date the application is received. There is no right to extend such deadline whatever arguments advanced to that end concluded today Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania in ReLex […]...

June 26, 2023

Humanitarian visa as a pathway to apply for international protection

Humanitarian visas allow people in need of international protection to enter a country, where they will be able to apply for asylum, including through accelerated procedures. From August 2020 Lithuania issued more than 800 humanitarian visas to members of Belarus opposition. According to the Migration Department, between 2020 and 2023, 757 Belarussians applied for international […]...

June 07, 2023

The automatic detention of foreigners is illegal. Detained foreigners may be entitled to compensation

The foreigners whose freedom has been automatically restricted have the right to claim compensation for damages for illegal detention. In today’s ruling, the Constitutional Court declared Article 5 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners (the Law) as of 13 July 2021 to be contrary to Article 20 of the Constitution in so […]...

May 31, 2023

Prolonged residence at IDP camp does not constitute a ground for rejecting asylum

IDP camps cannot be considered as safe haven from violence and persecution. A standard approach of assessing asylum applications must be set to determine the place of origin/place of former habitual residence prior to displacement. UNHCR’s Guidelines on International Protection No. 12 underlines that the presence of internally displaced persons, including those who are receiving […]...

May 24, 2023

Families with children cannot be detained in migration procedures – CRC Committee

Although Reception Standards Directive 2013/33/EU does not outjudge the possibility of detaining a minor in asylum procedures, United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child – CRC – remains consistent that no child can be detained in migration procedures. Article 11 (2) of the Directive allows detention of minors as a measure of last […]...

February 07, 2023

Depriving asylum seekers of the right to appeal the decision of the Migration Department puts in question the effectiveness of the asylum procedures in Lithuania

The notion of effective remedy, established by Article 13 of the European Convention for Human Rights requires independent scrutiny of the claim that there exist substantial grounds for fearing a real risk of treatment contrary to Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention, given the irreversible character of the removal. Actions of the Government returning persons […]...

January 19, 2023

No, you do not need to report your whereabouts to the Migration Department for more than 18 months, confirmed Supreme Administrative Court

During the declared migration emergency, in case of illegal entry to the territory of the Republic of Lithuania the foreigner can be detained for 6 months, regardless of whether the application for international protection has been submited. If the circumstances indicating the threat of illegal migration can be established, measures alternative to detention can be […]...