The 76-year-old man, who was declared dead by a court in 2001, turned to Lithuania's embassy in Moscow in early December 2020, asking for help to return to his home country.
Vilnius City District Court said the former sports commentator had been identified from photos by his brother and son.
Eitvydas Bajarunas, Lithuania's ambassador to Russia, told BNS that the court's ruling was the first step on Paulaitis' journey back to Lithuania.
"The court returned the man from the dead to the world of the living," he said. "When his data are entered into the database, our consuls will have the right to issue him a return document."
Paulaitis, who had until recently lived in Vladimir, some 200 kilometers from Moscow, was last week temporarily housed in unused embassy premises that are fit to live in, the diplomat said.
The man was brought there by people were taking care of him until recently.
"We let him in," he said. "My colleagues and I are buying food for him at our own expense. We are taking care of him."
The embassy and the man's relatives will look at how to bring him safely back to Lithuania, according to Bajarunas.