The legal basis for the acquisition of Kyrgyz citizenship
Key provisions of citizenship are enshrined in the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and
elaborated by the law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic (21 May 2007), which came into
force on 1 June 2007, and by Presidential Decree #473, Regulation on the Procedure for Consideration of Citizenship Issues, of 25 October 2007.
Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic are:
1) persons possessing citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic at the date when this law
entered into force;
2) former citizens of the USSR who have been residing permanently in the Kyrgyz Republic for five years before applying for a Kyrgyz passport and who have not applied for
citizenship of any other state;
3) persons who obtained Kyrgyz citizenship in accordance with the present law.
Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic is obtained (Article 11):
1) by birth if one or both parents are Kyrgz citizens (see below);
2) through the acquisition of citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic;
3) through the restoration of citizenship;
4) on the grounds foreseen by international treaties legally in force.
Acquisition of Kyrgyz citizenship by birth (Article 12).
A child born to two citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic is also a Kyrgyz citizen, irrespective of his
or her place of birth. If only one parent has Kyrgyz citizenship, the citizenship of the child shall
be defined with the written consent of the parents. A child born to a Kyrgyz citizen and a stateless or unknown person becomes a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic. A child born to stateless
parents permanently residing on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic also becomes a Kyrgyz
citizen. A child found on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic also acquires Kyrgyz citizenship if
both parents are unknown.
Other ways to acquire Kyrgyz citizenship
According to Article 13 and 14 of the law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, there is a
simplified procedure to acquire Kyrgyz citizenship within three months as an alternative to the
general procedure, which should take no longer than six months.
Thanks to bilateral agreements, citizens of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Ukraine, and Tajikistan can apply under simplified procedures. The same procedure also pertains to applicants of Kyrgyz ethnicity (Article 14, paragraph 2).
The application fee for acquisition or renunciation of Kyrgyz citizenship is 2000 KGS, but according to Resolution of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic #412 of 17 September, 2007
this is reduced to 100 KGS for ethnic Kyrgyz, refugees and forced migrants.
Changes in citizenship become effective from the moment the President of the Kyrgyz Republic issues the relevant decree (Article 37).
All types of national passports and birth certificates issued by the Kyrgyz Republic for Kyrgyz
citizens, as well as other documents proving identity as a Kyrgyz citizen (Article 9) are considered to be documents certifying Kyrgyz citizenship.
The Situation of Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR
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