Province
Country of
origin
Batken
Uzbekistan
Batken
Tajikistan
Batken
Kyrgyzstan
Batken
other countries
Osh
Uzbekistan
Osh
Tajikistan
Osh
Kyrgyzstan
Osh
other countries
Jalalabat
Uzbekistan
Jalalabat
Tadjikistan
Jalalabat
Kyrgyzstan
Jalalabat
other countries
Total, by age
0-4
15
2
193
0
6
0
219
0
17
0
546
0
998
5 - 11
16
6
203
0
4
1
545
0
11
0
541
0
1327
Men
12 - 17 18 - 59
9
0
69
0
7
1
291
0
3
0
321
0
701
67
41
109
0
62
43
433
5
312
6
644
0
1722
60 and
above
2
0
3
0
4
1
132
0
12
0
124
0
278
Total
109
49
577
0
83
46
1620
5
355
6
2176
0
5026
Total by
countries
of origin
412
110
968
0
840
88
3461
7
1576
9
4184
0
11655
The following two categories of stateless persons or persons in danger of becoming stateless
receive the least protection through current laws and therefore among the most vulnerable:
i. A considerable number of persons of foreign origin have been living on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic for more than ten years without acquiring a legal basis for their stay. They failed
to do so because of problems in the legislation and its implementation in the Kyrgyz Republic
or in other countries, and because they do not know the legal framework and procedures. Most
respondents in this category were (former) Uzbek citizens with expired passports, who cannot
acquire Kyrgyz citizenship because procedures for acquiring passports require valid identity
documents.
ii. Long-term residents of the Kyrgyz Republic who have not yet exchanged their 1974 USSR
passports for Kyrgyz passports also face legal problems. They cannot, for instance, initiate any
civil proceedings which have to be certified by a notary or registered by the state, obtain loans,
or travel beyond the borders of the Kyrgyz Republic. Nevertheless, usually they can dispose
of real estate that they have purchased earlier, have stable sources of income, and can freely
move within the country.
Stateless persons belonging to Categories 2 and 3 do not face any legal barriers to obtaining
Kyrgyz passports, but nevertheless encounter practical difficulties, such as red tape, the need
to resort to bribery, and great difficulties to prove permanent residence if they lose their USSR
passports. In addition, though the current citizenship law recognizes all of them as citizens of
the Kyrgyz Republic, all applications are in practice considered by the Conflict Commissions of
the provincial departments for passport and visa control, which complicates the procedures for
replacing old USSR passports with Kyrgyz passports.
The Situation of Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic: Findings of Surveys Commissioned by the UNHCR
33