Child’s visitations

Temporary visiting - permanent, short-term, planned meetings at weekends, holidays or during a child’s holidays with a child in a children’s care institution, foster family or foster care centre. 

For a child whose ties with family and relatives have been broken, this friendship is very important, as the child receives individual attention, is able to visit a family environment, and sees a different family model to the one he or she had when growing up with biological parents.

Temporary visits also promote a child’s trust in others and in himself, a sense of responsibility and a positive self-image. 

The principles, conditions and procedures for the release of a child under the care of a social care institution, a foster family or a foster care centre for a temporary visit by a natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania or in a foreign state shall be laid down in the Description of the Procedure for the Release of a Child Under the Care of a Social Care Institution, a Foster Family or a Foster Care Centre for Temporary Visitation.

The purpose of letting the child stay temporarily:

- with a natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania, including the child’s relatives - permanent short-term planned meetings on weekends, holidays and/or during the child’s holidays with a child who is being cared for in the Institution, a foster family or a foster care centre, with the aim to help the child to establish emotionally secure relationships with an adult;

- with a relative permanently residing in a foreign country - short-term planned meetings during holidays and/or vacations of up to 3 months with a child growing up in an institution, family home or care centre, in order to preserve the link with the biological family, if this is in the best interests of the child and/or can help the child establish an emotionally secure relationship with an adult;

- with a natural person permanently residing in a foreign country - short-term planned meetings during holidays and/or vacations of no more than 3 months with a child growing up in the Institution or in the foster family, with the aim of introducing the child to the traditions of the country, its language and culture, and of establishing friendly relations with the youth of that country;

- with the parents, one of the parents - planned meetings in the context of the implementation of a family support plan drawn up by the case manager, if the child’s parents have changed their inappropriate behaviour towards the child and there is no real risk to the child’s physical or mental safety, health or life and there are no social risk factors remaining, or if the child’s parents are making efforts to change their behaviour, or if there are other reasons for which there are reasonable grounds to assume that there is a realistic prospect of the child’s being reintegrated back into the family in future. 

Principles of temporary visits 

Putting the best interests of the child first, listening to his or her views, ensuring his or her safety and meeting his or her needs. Temporary visits include visits to the child’s home, trips to the countryside, the city, events, and the opportunity to spend weekends, holidays or holidays in the family’s/person’s home.

If you decide to invite a child living in a social care institution, foster family or foster care centre to your home, you should be aware that you do not have to spend every weekend with them. It is important to agree with the child on further meetings, and to let them know if you can’t meet them, so that they trust you and don’t feel rejected and not wanted. The agreement with the children’s guardian (carer) may include specific dates when the child is to be welcomed as a guest.

People who want to help children growing up in social care institutions, foster homes or care centres to spend their leisure time in a meaningful way, and to establish friendships and support them, can choose to take in a child who is being cared for in an institution.

You can also take in people who are undecided about adoption or guardianship (care) - for example, if they do not have a stable source of income, do not have experience of raising children, or have already raised their own children.

It is important to know that:

Older children are allowed to have temporary visits, as the purpose and principles of temporary visits can already be explained to children of this age. A younger child will not understand that he or she will not be living permanently with the person who takes him or her in as a temporary guest, that the person will not be his or her family, but just a friend.

* A natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania may temporarily host a child not younger than 7 years of age, except when:

- the child is allowed to stay temporarily with a natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania together with his/her minor parents or one of them;

- the child is allowed to stay temporarily with his/her parents or one of his/her parents, but not younger than 3 years old. In the case of an indefinite or temporary restriction of parental authority, which the parents have not applied to the court to have lifted, the child may not be allowed to visit his/her parents or one of the parents. The release of a child in temporary care to visit his/her parents or one of the parents is decided at a case management meeting.

- the child is allowed to stay with relatives temporarily, but must be at least 3 years old;

- to keep siblings separate, but not younger than 3 years of age if the children are allowed to stay together with the same natural person;

- the child is allowed to stay temporarily with the persons who have applied to adopt him or her, but not younger than 3 years old.

*A natural person residing in a foreign country may be temporarily visited by a child of at least 10 years old, unless:

- the child is allowed to stay with relatives temporarily, but must be at least 6 years old;

- the aim is to keep siblings together, but not younger than 6 years old if they are allowed to stay with the same natural person;

- the child is allowed to stay temporarily with persons residing in a foreign country, who are included in the list of persons wishing to adopt whose permanent residence is in a foreign country, foreign nationals and stateless persons, by the Commission which selects the persons who are the best suited to the child’s needs, whose permanent place of residence is in the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - the List), and the persons who are eligible to adopt a child included in the List of Potential Adoptable Children meeting the special criteria, have been selected by the Commission of the Republic of Lithuania as the adoptive parents who are most suitable for the best interests of the child and who are included in the List, but the child shall be at least 5 years old.

Only children who are under permanent guardianship (care) can be allowed to visit a natural person living abroad.

If you want to have a child from a social care institution, foster family or foster care centre stay with your family, you must apply to the Child Rights Protection Division in your place of residence and submit the following documents for the child to be allowed to stay with you temporarily:

1) a written request for the child to be released as a temporary visitor (enclosed);
2) written consents for the child’s temporary stay from the persons living with him/her over the age of 16; 
3) a copy of the health certificate (Form 046/a) in the form prescribed by the Minister of Health;)

You do not have to take part in the General Guardianship and Adoption Training and Counselling (GIMK) programme, but you will be subject to an assessment of your suitability to take in a child as a temporary visitor.

How is it checked whether a person can temporarily take in a child?

The verification of the suitability of a natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - a natural person) to receive a child as a temporary guest (initial assessment, recommendation and conclusion) shall be carried out within no more than 30 calendar days from the date of submission of the application for the child’s temporary admission to the Child Rights Protection Division of his/her place of residence.

1) Child Rights Protection Division:

1.1) check that the natural person is not one of the persons to whom it is forbidden to allow a child to visit temporarily;

1.2) apply to the Information Technology and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation in order to obtain a certificate on the criminal record of a natural person (whether he/she has been convicted, whether his/her conviction has expired or whether he/she has not been convicted);

1.3) in cooperation with persons certified by the Service, ascertain whether the natural person is able to receive the child as a temporary guest (ascertain the natural person’s living conditions; the natural person’s ability to meet the child’s needs; whether the persons living with the natural person agree to the child’s temporary visit);

1.4) after receiving a recommendation on the suitability of a person to receive a child as a temporary guest from a person certified by the Service, draws up a conclusion on the suitability of a natural person to receive a child as a temporary guest and submits it to the natural person;

1.5) after adopting a positive conclusion, provides the natural person with a list of social care institutions, foster family, foster care centres (hereinafter - the child’s guardians (carers));

2) after drawing up a negative opinion on the readiness of the natural person to receive the child as a temporary guest, it shall be submitted to the natural person within 3 working days, stating the reasons for the decision and the procedure for appealing against it. No further action is taken on the release of the child to stay temporarily with a natural person. A natural person in respect of whom the Child Rights Division has drawn up a negative conclusion on the readiness of a natural person to receive a child as a temporary guest may reapply for the release of the child as a temporary guest only after the reasons specified in the conclusion on the readiness of a natural person to receive a child as a temporary guest have ceased to apply.

A natural person, after receiving a positive conclusion about his/her suitability to take a child as a temporary guest, applies to the chosen guardian of the child from the list provided to him/her by the Child Rights Protection Division.

Child’s guardian (carer):

1) offer the natural person a child, if the natural person has not applied for a specific child whose needs he or she is best able to meet;

2) concludes an agreement with a natural person on the release of a child cared for in an institution, a foster family or a foster care centre to a natural person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania or in a foreign state.

It is important to understand that it is the family that is chosen for the child, not the child for the family. 

Download the “Visitations” brochure.