AGREEMENT

AGREEMENT Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Croatia regarding the Readmission of Persons whose Entry or Residence is illegal The Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: Contracting Parties), desiring to develop the co-operation between the two Contracting Parties in order to ensure a better application of the provisions relevant to the transit of persons while respecting the rights and guarantees provided by the laws and regulations of the Contracting Parties in force, taking into account the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Convention of 4 November 1950 for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Convention of 28 July 1951 on the Status of Refugees, as amended by the Protocol of 31 January 1967 on the Status of Refugees, as well as all the other international agreements in this field, desiring to facilitate readmission of persons whose entry or residence is illegal and in the spirit of co-operation and on the basis of reciprocity, have agreed as follows: Article 1 Definition For the purposes of this Agreement a "residence permit" is a permission issued by the competent authority of one of the Contracting Parties which entitles the bearer to reside on its territory. A residence permit does not mean permission for temporary residence on the territory of one of the Contracting Parties pending asylum application resolvement. Article 2 Readmission of nationals of the Contracting Parties

1. Each Contracting Party shall readmit to its territory without any formality any person who does not or who no longer fulfils the conditions in force for entry or residence on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, provided that it is established or may be validly assumed that they possess the nationality of the requested Contracting Party. The same shall apply to persons who have been deprived of the nationality of the requested Contracting Party since entering the territory of the requesting Contracting Party without acquiring the nationality of any State.
2. The requesting Contracting Party shall readmit under the same conditions any person for whom a later check establishes that the person was not in possession of the nationality of the other Contracting Party and the provisions of Article 4, 5 and 6 of this Agreement cannot be applied to him/her.
3. For the purposes of this Article, persons defined in Paragraph 1 are obliged at every moment to produce proof of the date of entry onto the territory of the Contracting Party whose nationality they do not possess. In case of lack of proof they shall be considered persons whose residence is illegal in accordance to the legislation of the Contracting Party I whose territory they are on.
4. Border control authorities of both Contracting Parties shall inform each other of the Documents which prove the date of legal entry onto their territory. Article 3 Establishing of nationality
5. The nationality of the person to be readmitted shall be established on the basis of the following documents: - citizenship certificate or other document containing personal particulars and issued by the competent authority; - identification card; - passport or other travel document issued by the competent authority; - military service book; - document issued by the competent consular office; - seaman's book; - riverman's book.
6. Nationality may be assumed on the basis of: - documents defined in the preceding Paragraph whose validity has expired; - documents which have been issued by competent authorities of the requested Contracting Party and which contain the identity of the person in question (e.g. drivers license); - documents which have been issued by competent authorities of the requesting Contracting Party and which contain data on the nationality of the person in question even if their validity has expired - a photocopy of one of the above; - a statement of the person in question contained in records of administrative or Judicial authorities of the requesting Contracting Party; recorded statement of trustworthy witnesses.
7. If nationality is assumed but no document defined in Paragraph 2 of this Article exists, nationality may be established through consular authorities of the requested Contracting Party.
8. If nationality is confirmed consular authorities of the requested Contracting Party shall without delay issue the documents necessary for the persons readmission into the country of his/her nationality. Article 4 Readmission of third country nationals or stateless persons on the basis of advance notification
9. A Contracting Party shall on the basis of advance notification of the competent authorities of the requesting Contracting Party, without formality readmit a national of a third country or a stateless person who has illegally entered the territory of the requesting Contracting Party directly from the territory of the requested Contracting Party, if no more than seven days have passed since the illegal entry. 2 It shall be considered that the national of a third country has entered the territory of one t Contracting Party directly from the territory of the other Contracting Party if the entry can be proved. Article 5 Readmission of third country nationals on the basis of a request
10. A Contracting Party shall at the request of the other Contracting Party readmit a national of a third country who does not or who no longer fulfils the conditions of entry or residence which are applicable on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, if it is established that the third country national has entered its territory directly from the territory of the requested Contracting Party.
11. A Contracting Party shall at the request of the other Contracting Party readmit a national of a third country who does not or who no longer fulfils the conditions of entry or residence which are applicable on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party but is in possession of a valid residence permit, which has been issued by the requested Contracting Party.
12. The obligation of readmission defined in Paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply to third country nationals to whom the requesting Contracting Party has issued a residence permit upon their arrival to its territory. Article 6 Readmission of stateless persons on the basis of a request A Contracting Party shall upon the request of the other Contracting Party readmit a stateless person who has entered the territory of the requesting Contracting Party by use of a travel document issued by the requested Contracting Party entitling the return to the territory of the issuing Contracting Party and who does not or who no longer fulfils the conditions of entry or residence which are applicable on the territory of the requesting Contracting Party, or who has immediately before entering into the territory of the requesting Contracting Party resided in on the territory of the requested Contracting Party and has arrived directly from its territory after this Agreement has entered into force. Article 7 Time limits
13. The requested Contracting Party shall reply to readmission requests addressed to it without any delay and in any case not later than thirty days after the request has been submitted.
14. The requested Contracting Party shall accept the persons whose readmission has been approved to without any delay, and in any case not later than ninety days upon approval. Upon application by the requesting Contracting Party this time limit may be extended by the time necessary to deal with legal or practical obstacles. Article 8 Time limit of the readmission obligation The application for readmission must be submitted within a maximum of six months by the Contracting Party noting the illegal entry and/or presence of the said national of a third country or stateless person on its territory. Article 9 Transit passage for the purpose of expulsion
15. A Contracting Party shall upon the request by the other Contracting Party allow transit over its territory to third country nationals who are being expelled by the Contracting Patty requesting transit.
16. The Contracting Party requesting transit shall be responsible for the continuation of passage of third country nationals to their country of destination and shall readmit these nationals if for whatever reason expulsion cannot be carried out.
17. The Contracting Party requesting transit shall guarantee to the other Contracting Party that the third country national granted transit possesses a travel document which will enable the person to arrive to the country of destination.
18. The Contracting Party which has initiated the expulsion measure must inform the requested Contracting Party whether it is necessary to ensure escort for the person being expelled. The requested Contracting Party may: - decide whether to ensure escort from its own personnel - or ensure escort in cooperation with the Contracting Party which has initiated the expulsion measure.
19. A request for transit may be denied if: - the third country national is faced with judicial consequences in the country of destination because of his race, religion, nationality or affiliation to a certain social group or because of his /her political views; - the third country national is exposed to the threat of a judicial proceeding and conviction on the basis of the Penal Code of the country of destination for a criminal act committed before transit; - the third country national cannot be accepted or a criminal proceeding has been instigated in the country for which transit is requested. Article 10 Costs
20. The costs of transporting persons in accordance with Articles 2, 4, 5 and 6 of this Agreement shall be borne by the requesting Contracting Party up to the border of the requested Contracting Party.
21. The costs of transit up to the border of the country of destination and possible costs of return transport shall be borne by the requesting Contracting Party in accordance with Article 9 of this Agreement. Article 11 Exchange of information Information on individual cases which must be provided to the other Contracting Party in order to implement this Agreement may concern only the following: a) the personal particulars of the person and if necessary of the person's family members (name, last name, previous names, nicknames or pseudonyms, date and place of birth, sex, current and pervious citizenship/nationality); b) Passport, identity card or other travel documents (number, date of issue, issuing authority, place of issue, period of validity, territory of validity); c) other details needed to identify the person; d) residence permits and visas issued by the Contracting Parties or by third countries itinerary, stopping places, travel tickets and other possible travel arrangements; e) information on the reasons for denying transit, defined in Article 9, Paragraph 5 of this Agreement. Article 12 Implementation provisions
22. With the entering into force of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall notify each other through diplomatic channels on the bodies competent for the implementation of this Agreement, as well as on the possible changes as regards these bodies, stating the addresses and other information to facilitate the communication.
23. The competent bodies shall meet when necessary and decide on the way of communicating, as well as on the practical details necessary for the implementation of the present Agreement.
24. The competent bodies shall make other decisions necessary for the implementation of this Agreement, i.e.: - on the information, accompanying documents and evidence necessary for readmission; as well as on the measures for the implementation of transit; - on choosing the border crossings, and on the exact arrival time, so that extradition and readmission can be carried out; - on the conditions for transit transportation of third country nationals escorted by competent bodies of the Contracting Parties; - on evidence and reasons on the basis of which it is possible to prove or consider possible that a foreign national has arrived directly from the territory of one of the Contracting Parties to the territory of the other Contracting Party. Article 13 Relation to other international agreements The provisions of the present Agreement shall not affect the obligations of the Contracting parties arising from other international agreements. Article 14 Final provisions
25. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the month in which the last written notification is received through diplomatic channels that all the preconditions required by the internal legislation of the Contracting Parties have been fulfilled for entering into force of this Agreement.
26. Each Contracting Party may temporarily suspend this Agreement, except Article 2, on the ground of the protection of State security, public order or public health, by notifying the other Contracting Party in writing. The suspension shall become effective on the day of receiving the written notification.
27. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time. Each Contracting Party may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Contracting Party in writing through diplomatic channels. The denunciation shall become effective on the first day of the month following the month in which the notification thereof was received by the other Contracting Party. Done at STOCKHOLM on 28 MAY 1998 two originals, in the Lithuanian, Croatian and English language, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence in interpretation, the English text shall prevail. ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA