The road is over. I wrote my first “Guide to a Passport” post just under six months ago, and in that time I’ve been in contact with governmental agencies of three nations at varying levels. I’ve read laws, I’ve made ill-prepared phone calls, I’ve scanned in documents. It was a process. But it paid off, since this morning I received the electronic version of the decision made on 22 June 2009 (short of five months to the day of the start of the process) by the Department of Migration of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. It reads, at the end:
n u s p r e n d ž i u, kad:
1. Moacir Pranas De Sa Pereira … įgyja Lietuvos Respublikos pilietybę, įgyvendinus jo teisę į Lietuvos Respublikos pilietybę kaip asmens, turėjusio Lietuvos pilietybę iki 1940 m. birželio 15 d. ir išvykusio į kitas valstybes 1940 m. birželio 15 d.–1990 m. kovo 11 d. okupacijų metu, vaikaičio.
Note the 1940–1990 date range given there. It turns out that it was important, after all, to demonstrate that my grandparents did not leave Lithuania until after 1940. In fact, the announcement very conveniently describes precisely which pieces of information were used in rendering the decision:
- My mother’s birth certificate, which I explained here.
- The 1942 census record demonstrating that my grandparents were living in Alytus, explained here.
- The proof of my grandfather’s serving in the Lithuanian Army and finishing Utenos “Saulės” high school, which I explained here.
- The 1948 list of Displaced Persons traveling from Bremen to Canada via England, which I explained here.
In other words, the messing around with the Michigan death certificate and attempts to get information from Canada and/or the USA regarding landing papers was not necessary. The documents provided by the various Lithuanian Archives and by the International Tracing Service in Germany were sufficient, when added to my own and my mother’s birth certificates.
The Chicago Consulate has written me that I should expect my passport in two – four weeks. That will make the ultimate post of this guide.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Congratulations! What was the final cost for the whole process? I know I could go back and add up the numbers from previous posts but I am lazy. Also chuffed that it cost me $675 to become a US citizen last year, but that’s what I get for waiting so damn long.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Jasmine, it ended up being about $166. We’ll see if there are any other fees incurred. It’s too bad I couldn’t have gotten my passport before my trip to Lithuania–my bank account out there is holding about $100 hostage (a required min bal for non-citizens).
July 11th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Very interesting, I am doing the same thing, However it seems you are a tri-national as well with Canadian Nationality too. have you thought about that?