BARRIERS TO SOLUTIONS | 19 COSTS OF OBTAINING DOCUMENTS The cost of obtaining papers is too high for people affected by conflict in Iraq. Economic vulnerability is a significant obstacle to obtaining legal identity and related civil documents. The financial cost of issuing, updating or renewing documentation was reported as the most significant barrier to accessing documentation by 58% of all respondents across Anbar, Ninewa, and Salah Al-Din. One displaced woman originally from Baiji in Salah Al-Din, currently living in Tikrit, reported having spent over 200,000 Iraqi dinars to obtain a civil ID for her family members, including for copies and transportation costs from Tikrit to the civil directorate, the Mayor’s Office, Local council/ Municipality, Intelligence Office as well as the mukhtar of her original neighborhood. Many of these offices are located in different places, requiring significant travel. With regard to the court process of formalising marriages, participants expressed their concerns regarding the costs of the process, which they considered to be too high, and were reportedly lower prior to the conflict. Respondents indicated they now needed to pay 50,000 IQD to complete a blood test in Tikrit General Hospital, as part of the process, noting that it was free of charge before 2014. Some respondents mentioned that such costs restrict them from even making a claim to receive their formalised marriage contracts within the court. Without these, they are not able to obtain birth certificates for their children. Civil documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, civil ID, nationality cards and passports in Iraq are all interlinked. Possessing one is often a prerequisite to obtain another, creating a ‘domino effect’ when one is missing. Adding another layer of high costs to processing civil documentation applications across the country respondents cited widespread corruption and requests for bribes. Many participants in focus group discussions noted that corruption and interpersonal connections, or wasta, influenced their ability to obtain civil documents, particularly in Mosul.