The level of integration of stateless persons Our survey underlined the fact that most stateless persons have very close ties with Kyrgyzstan and are adequately integrated into local communities. Most respondents from neighbouring states came to the Kyrgyz Republic to marry a Kyrgyz citizen (2,018 persons or 70 per cent). According to respondents, however, transborder marriages are decreasing in frequency because it is very difficult to legalize the new family member. The second largest group (745 persons or 26 per cent) of respondents who came from neighbouring states are ethnic Kyrgyz and / or natives of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic who returned to their historic homeland. The remainder (4 per cent) responded that they came to Kyrgyzstan to visit relatives, seek employment or for other purposes. An overwhelming majority of respondents would like to legalize their status and to stay in the Kyrgyz Republic on lawful grounds, as chart 1 shows. Chart 1: Plans of the surveyed stateless persons in the Kyrgyz Republic to get Kyrgyzstan citizenship 4240; 99% 47; 1% 3; 0% to live and work in Kyrgyzstan to return to the home country 67 per cent (2,888) of the persons interviewed for this survey came from neighboring states, while 33 per cent (1,402) were born on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The latter include both persons who possess only 1974 USSR passports and those who do not hold any identity or citizenship documents because they did not declare their affiliation to the Kyrgyz Republic in due time. Chart 2: Countries of origin of surveyed stateless persons 2667; 62% Uzbekistan 13; 0% 208; 5% Tajikistan Permanent residents of Kyrgyzstan 1402; 33% Other countries The Situation of Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR 19