The Ombudsperson identifies shortcomings when application for international protection is submitted to the Lithuanian embassy in Belarus

The applicant, who filed a complaint with the Seimas Ombudsman, indicated that the staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Belarus had repeatedly refused to accept her asylum application. After failing to submit her application at the embassy, ​​she wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Migration Department for assistance, but according to the applicant, these appeals were not adequately responded to.

The first time the asylum application was submitted orally at the embassy. The applicant was explained that her application did not meet the admissibility criteria, as a copy of a valid travel document was not submitted. The second time the woman submitted the application by email, but it was not signed with a qualified electronic signature, so it remained unexamined.

Seimas Ombudsman stated that the embassy had a duty to request that the deficiencies be corrected and to inform the applicant about the consequences of failing to confirm identity, and after the deficiencies have been eliminated, to respond in writing, clearly and with arguments within the time limit set by law. It is worth noting that the applicant was not provided with all the information about the documents that must be submitted through the mission.

The Ombudsman also identified violations of good public administration in the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Migration Department. The applicant addressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russian and received a response on the same day that the application must be submitted in the official Lithuanian or English language, but the Ombudsman emphasized that the ministry, in turn, should have requested the elimination of the shortcomings of the submitted application in accordance with the established procedure. Meanwhile, the Migration Department provided only general information, without explaining the procedure for submitting an application through diplomatic missions, although the applicant requested exactly that.

The Seimas Ombudsperson's Office reminded that all public administration entities are bound by the principle of responsible governance (good public administration) and they must act proactively, diligently and attentively. Since asylum procedures are characterized by complexity, it is the duty of institutions to explain in a comprehensible manner all requirements and necessary or further actions.