SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA stateless.2907 Since dual nationality is prohibited in Myanmar, many people could become stateless as a result of revocation of citizenship.2908 Administrative barriers Aside from discriminatory legislation and lack of legal safeguards, corruption perpetuates the issue of statelessness in Myanmar.2909 The processing of citizenship applications has lacked transparency and consistency.2910 In some cases, citizenship applications have required Rohingyas to have their ethnicity listed as ‘Bengali’, which is not only a stigmatizing term, but can lead to denial of citizenship as ‘Bengali’ is not included on the list of 135 ethnic groups.2911 Field research has shown that both majority and minority ethnicities experience difficulties in processing citizenship applications, including having to pay bribes to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population (MoLIP), attend several appointments with MoLIP, and provide extensive documentation of their identity, their parents’ identities, and their grandparents’ identities in order to process an application.2912 It is extremely difficult for poor communities to be able to fulfil these requirements of this process, effectively excluding them from accessing citizenship.2913 Muslims are particularly targeted for being forced to pay higher charges for citizenship applications.2914 While legislation stipulates that the fee for a citizenship card costs around 4 cents in USD, Rohingyas have been reported to pay upwards of 350-420 USD.2915 The extensive documentation required for the process also excludes a third of the population in Myanmar (54% being women) who do not possess a legal identity or identity documentation.2916 In the past decades the provision and withdrawal of civil registration documents has been complex, discriminatory, and a key component of the persecution of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.2917 It has been argued that it is the 254 SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA Aside from discriminatory legislation and lack of legal safeguards, corruption perpetuates the issue of statelessness in Myanmar. The processing of citizenship applications has lacked transparency and consistency. In some cases, citizenship applications have required Rohingyas to have their ethnicity listed as ‘Bengali’, which is not only a stigmatizing term, but can lead to denial of citizenship as ‘Bengali’ is not included on the list of 135 ethnic groups. implementation of the 1982 Citizenship Law and the failure of the government of Myanmar to facilitate the naturalization of Rohingya populations, and the degradation of the documented status of Rohingya that is also a key cause of statelessness within Myanmar (not simply the discriminatory law alone).2918 The CRC identified that administrative barriers such as lack of awareness of “the importance of birth registration; a non-user-friendly system; a lengthy process to obtaining birth certificates at the township level; unofficial fees associated with the birth registration system; the existence of the local order restricting marriages for Rohingya people; and the practice aimed at reducing the number of their children” contribute to a large number of Rohingya children remaining unregistered.2919 Children born to parents of unregistered marriages are considered illegitimate and are excluded from receiving official documentation.2920 Administrative barriers to marriage registration, such as lengthiness of the process, corruption and discrimination, have lowered access to marriage registration for many Rohingyas.2921 The inability to register a marriage perpetuates the lack of registration for Rohingya children and has led to women resorting to dangerous abortions and couples fleeing the country.2922 People living in remote areas in Myanmar also experience barriers to accessing birth registration.2923 Myanmar’s birth registration rate was reported to UNICEF as 81% as of 2016.2924 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Philippines Laws Citizenship Law Jus sanguinis provisions The citizenship law of the Philippines operates through a jus sanguinis structure with children born to a citizen parent or parents within or outside of the territory considered citizens.2925 Naturalized citizenship In March 2022, the Supreme Court of the Philippines introduced a new policy to facilitate and streamline the naturalization of stateless persons and refugees,2926 an act supported by several UN agencies and representatives.2927 The Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons, the first of its kind in the world, provides both a simplified and expedited naturalization procedure for stateless persons and refugees.2928 Included in the Rule are provisions ensuring protection against discrimination for refugees and stateless persons2929 and protecting family unity of refugees and stateless persons2930. A stateless person or refugee is eligible to apply for naturalized citizenship through this process if they have resided in the Philippines for at least 10 years, are financially stable, of good moral character, and can speak and write in one of the principal Philippine languages.2931 Under the Rule, a joint petition may be filed by a refugee or stateless person together with his or her spouse and children.2932 The Rule also provides that unaccompanied minors may apply for citizenship with the aid of governmental agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or other relevant agencies.2933 This is in line with the Philippines's commitment to uphold children's right to nationality under international agreements.2934 It appears that no petition has yet been filed under the Rule as of May 2022,2935 but it is said that more than 800 people are expected to benefit from it.2936 The Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons, the first of its kind in the world, provides both a simplified and expedited naturalization procedure for stateless persons and refugees. 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