Documents of stateless persons The survey showed that many stateless persons do not possess valid identity documents, and thus have no possibility to legalize their status. They therefore belong to a vulnerable population group which cannot register or undertake any legal actions. The chart below illustrates the documents which respondents possess. Chart 3: Identity documents of interviewed stateless persons a b c d a - total, region 1974-template USSR passport b - Osh Oblast invalid Uzbek passport c - Jalalabat Oblast invalid Tajik passport d - Batken Oblast USSR birth certificate other documents no documents Only the most recent and most important document was marked in the questionnaire. Order of importance: expired passports from Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, 1974-template USSR passport, USSR birth certificate, other documents, and no documents. A very small percentage of respondents managed to obtain legal documents for their stay in the Kyrgyz Republic (residence permits, registration etc). Many stateless persons (1,643 persons – 38 per cent of those interviewed) had applied for legalization to authorities, but almost all were rejected. Only 151 or 9 per cent of applicants were legalized. Of all respondents not originally living on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic only two had applied for and received an entry visa. 2,666 respondents arrived without visas and 220 came from countries whose citizens do not need an entry visa. The Situation of Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR 21