Zahra Albarazi for authorities to grant or deny the granting of nationality, are often ambiguous, such as ‘can’ and ‘may. More troublingly is that in some MENA states instances of unfettered discretion appears to also extend to decisions on the withdrawal of nationality. 3.2. Renunciation, lapse and deprivation of nationality This section will analyse the ways in which someone may cease to have the nationality she or he once had. It will be divided into three modes of loss: renunciation, where an individual voluntarily chooses to have their citizenship withdrawn; lapse, where an individual loses their nationality automatically because of a criterion outlined by law; and deprivation, where an individual is stripped of her or his nationality through the discretion of the state. Renunciation of nationality The ability to renounce citizenship, mostly in order to take up a new nationality through naturalisation elsewhere, is provided for very differently in the nationality laws in the region. Many laws do not mention renunciation at all, as for example in Iran, where there is no criterion that sets the rules for Iranians to renounce their nationality; therefore an Iranian citizen can never decide to not be Iranian. However, nearly half of the countries in the MENA region have a provision in their nationality legalisation which regulates and allows for renunciation. Most of these will only allow a person to renounce their nationality if s/he already holds or has been guaranteed the acquisition of nationality of another state. One example of this is Lebanon which states that: “The Lebanese woman who marries a foreigner remains Lebanese until she requests the striking off of her registration in the census records on account of acquiring the nationality of her husband”. 61 The woman therefore has to have acquired another nationality before renunciation can be completed. However, there are four countries in the MENA region where no such safeguard exists – these are Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar. In these states it is possible to renounce the nationality even if it is not guaranteed the individual has acquired another nationality (i.e. even if statelessness results). Lapse of nationality Lapse of nationality is also a possibility in many of the nationality provisions. This is where nationality is lost as a direct and automatic consequence of particular circumstances which are outlined in the law. This provision exists for example in Article 11 of the Emirati law and a similar article is in the Kuwaiti nationality law. In Syria, another type of loss is prescribed for, where Article 21 sets out that if the person has left indefinitely for a non-Arab country and has resided there for more than three years, he or she could lose nationality (although in practise this is not implemented). Among the most common ones is the prohibition of dual nationality. Dual nationality is prohibited in the sub-region of the Gulf: in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the 61 Decree no 15 Lebanese nationality law, Article 6. Note that article 8 of Lebanon law does also provides for the automatic loss of nationality where a Lebanese national voluntarily acquires a new nationality. 16 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp. 2017/3- © 2017 Author(s)