Your rights, in plain terms

Under Lithuanian law:

  • a parent who does not live with the child has the right and the duty to stay in contact and take part in the child’s upbringing;
  • the child has the right to direct and regular contact with both parents, wherever the parents live;
  • the parent the child lives with must not obstruct that contact. Doing so is treated as an abuse of parental rights;
  • you have the right to information about your child from the school, doctors and other institutions.

Living abroad does not reduce these rights. It changes what is practical.

How a court sets contact

If parents cannot agree, a Lithuanian court sets the schedule. The rule is clear: the court must give the parent who does not live with the child the widest possible involvement. Contact can be reduced to a minimum only if more contact would harm the child.

Before going to court, Lithuanian law requires parents to try mediation, except in cases of domestic violence. The court then hears the child, if the child is able to express views, and receives an opinion from the child protection service.

What a long-distance schedule usually looks like

When a parent lives in another country, weekly visits are rarely realistic. Schedules for parents abroad typically combine:

Holiday blocks

For example, two to four weeks in summer, alternating Christmas and New Year, part of the Easter and autumn breaks.

Visits in Lithuania

Long weekends when the parent comes to Lithuania, with notice set in advance.

Regular calls

Video calls at fixed times, such as twice a week, so the child knows when to expect them.

Special dates

Birthdays, school events, name days.

The right mix depends on the child’s age. Very young children usually need shorter, more frequent contact. School-age children can manage longer stays, often in the parent’s country.

Adapting contact to the child’s age

What works for a toddler does not work for a teenager. Courts and child psychologists generally look at it like this:

Babies and toddlers

Long separations from the main carer are hard for very young children. Shorter, more frequent visits, often in Lithuania, work better than weeks abroad. Video calls help the child recognise the parent’s face and voice.

Pre-school and primary school

Children can usually manage longer stays, including in the other parent’s country, once they know the place and routine. A familiar toy, regular calls home and a predictable schedule make it easier.

Teenagers

Their own plans, school and friends matter more. A teenager’s views carry real weight in court. Flexible arrangements, agreed with the young person, tend to last longer than rigid ones.

Whatever the age, consistency matters more than quantity. A parent who calls every Tuesday without fail often builds a stronger bond than one who promises long visits that keep being postponed.

Details that prevent disputes

Most conflicts come not from the big decisions but from vague wording. A good agreement or court order answers:

  • Who travels with the child, and from what age the child can fly as an unaccompanied minor.
  • Where handovers happen: airport, home or a neutral place, and at what time.
  • How far in advance flights and dates must be confirmed.
  • Who pays for travel, and how costs are shared.
  • What happens if a visit is missed because of illness or flight cancellations.
  • Passports and travel documents: who keeps them and when they are handed over.
  • Return date for stays abroad, written down clearly.

Keeping a child abroad after the agreed return date can be treated as wrongful retention, which is a form of child abduction. A clear return date protects both parents.

An example

Andrius lives in Oslo. His daughter, aged eight, lives with her mother in Vilnius. They agree a schedule: three weeks in Norway every summer, one week at Christmas in alternating years, the autumn break in Lithuania, and video calls every Tuesday and Sunday at 7 pm. Andrius pays two-thirds of the flights, because he moved. His daughter flies with him until she is twelve. Flights are booked at least six weeks ahead, and the agreement is approved by the court so that it can be enforced if needed.

When contact is blocked

If the other parent cancels visits, does not answer calls or refuses handovers:

  1. Keep a record: dates, messages, missed calls, cancelled flights and their cost.
  2. Make a written proposal to resolve it, or suggest mediation.
  3. Enforce the order: if there is a court decision or court-approved agreement, a bailiff (antstolis) can enforce it.
  4. Ask for a change: persistent obstruction can be a reason to ask the court to change the schedule or, in serious cases, the child’s residence.

One thing not to do: do not stop paying child maintenance because contact is being blocked. The two obligations are separate. Unpaid maintenance builds up as a debt that can be enforced against you, and it weakens your position in any later case about contact.

If the order comes from a court in another EU country, it can usually be enforced in Lithuania directly. See using a foreign court decision in Lithuania.

If the other parent moves

If the parent the child lives with wants to move to another country with the child, they need your written consent or a court decision. See moving abroad with a child from Lithuania. Settle how contact will work in the new country before the move, because later changes may have to be made by the courts there.