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Legal situation of foreigners: the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania referred to the CJEU the question of the compatibility with EU law of a national requirement to present a visa or residence permit to a person who entered under the visa-free regime for Israeli citizens but who also holds Russian citizenship, which is subject to migration restrictions.

By decision of 7 May 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (SACL) referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling on the application of the Law on the Imposition of Restrictive Measures in the Context of the Military Aggression against Ukraine, which imposes a requirement for a Russian-Israeli national seeking to apply for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania to present a valid visa or residence permit, irrespective of the fact that she has entered the Republic of Lithuania under the visa waiver regime.

The present application relates to a dispute between the applicant, who is a citizen of Israel and Russia, and the defendant Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the latter's decision to annul the decision to accept the applicant's application for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania.

Article 3(3) of the Law on the imposition of restrictive measures due to military aggression against Ukraine provides that the acceptance of applications for temporary residence permits in the Republic of Lithuania from citizens of the Russian Federation through an external service provider abroad and in the Republic of Lithuania shall be suspended, with the exception of the citizens of the Russian Federation who hold a valid Schengen visa or a national visa or a permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, issued by the Visa Service of the Republic of Lithuania abroad or the Republic of Lithuania, or a permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, or a residence permit of another EU Member State.

The Migration Department indicated that the applicant, being a citizen of the Russian Federation, did not submit documents on her possession of a valid Schengen or national visa or residence permit issued by the Visa Service of the Republic of Lithuania abroad or in the Republic of Lithuania, or a residence permit issued by another Member State of the European Union. Therefore, the application for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania could not be accepted.

According to the applicant, there are no restrictions on Israeli citizens to enter and obtain a residence permit in Lithuania or any other migratory status, and it is therefore unfair, unreasonable and disproportionate to impose the abovementioned restrictions on a person holding any other citizenship besides Russian citizenship.

The legal framework relevant to the present case is laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (Regulation 2018/1806).

Annex I to Regulation 2018/1806, which sets out the list of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States, states in paragraph 1, inter alia: <...> Russia <...>.

Annex II to Regulation 2018/1806, listing the third countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement when crossing the external borders of the Member States for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, lists in Part 1, inter alia: <...> Israel <...>.

In the light of the circumstances of the case and the applicable legal framework, the question referred for a preliminary ruling by the Supreme Court is whether Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2018/1806, in conjunction with Annex II, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which is in force on a provisional basis, under which a Russian national seeking to apply for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania is subject to a requirement to present a valid visa or residence permit, notwithstanding the fact that she entered the Republic of Lithuania under a visa-free regime as a national of a State listed in Annex II to Regulation 2018/1806, in circumstances such as those established in the case at hand.

The administrative proceedings are pending receipt of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Administrative case No eA-1507-624/2025