20 In Morocco, it is not a requirement to show legal residence in the country to register a child. In practice, however, officials responsible for civil registration may require a ‘residence certificate’. This is a document issued by a local government authority that confirms factual rather than legal residence; it is also required for the campaigns for regularisation of migrants initiated in 2014. Although these are supposed to be issued without charge, in some cases it appears that fees are demanded. To obtain a certificate of residence, a person will need to show a rental contract—which can be very difficult to produce for migrants who rent together in large groups, and move frequently. Parents’ identity documents Preventing Statelessness Among Migrants and Refugees I’m an irregular migrant, I have no rights, and my child is in the same situation as me. If I register the birth, I’ll reveal my own status and I risk being identified. Here in Morocco there is misery, but at least no conflicts. a — Nigerian I have not delivered yet but I am scared I will face a problem because I know others who were in my situation and were not granted a birth certificate. My passport is expired. I do not have residency (in Egypt). I also do not have any communication with the father of the child. — Nigerian I’m in a serious situation. I can’t get an identity document that allows me to register my three children with the Moroccan authorities…. It’s very difficult, especially since I come from Côte d’Ivoire, and I don’t want to have anything to do with the embassy for many reasons you can understand. — Ivorian In Egypt, many parents among our participants were prevented from registering a birth because they themselves lacked any identity documents: both a currently valid residence permit and current identity documents are required. However, it is very common for migrants to arrive, particularly from Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea without identification documents of any kind for themselves or their children. If they have no asylum or refugee document issued by UNHCR, or if their claim has been rejected, or if they cannot approach their consular authorities—because they fear to do so (even if they have not claimed refugee status) or are rejected as non-nationals—then they cannot register the births of their children born in Egypt. In Morocco, a parent’s lack of identity documents also hindered birth registration of their children: although not formally required by the decree implementing the civil registration law (which requires only a birth notification and marriage certificate, for Muslims), this requirement was seen as the greatest obstacle to birth registration by the migrants themselves, given the difficulty and expense of obtaining documents from their consulates. Birth Notifications In both countries, lack of an official birth notification from a registered health facility or practitioner created significant barriers to birth registration: without this notification, it is much harder to prove to the satisfaction of the authorities that the child is connected to the parents. In Morocco, if there is no birth notification the civil status authorities must conduct an