Naturalization applicants must prove habitual residence in Côte d’Ivoire for the five years preceding the submission of a request (Article 26). The residence requirement is reduced to two years for a foreigner born in Côte d’Ivoire and for those who render important services to Côte d’Ivoire, such as through artistic, scientific, or distinguished literary talents, or the introduction of useful industries or inventions (Article 27). Only persons having reached 18 years of age can apply to naturalize (Article 29),86 with the exception of minors who qualify for naturalization under Article 28(1) and (2). Several categories of persons can naturalize without fulfilling any minimum residence requirement pursuant to Article 28. These include the following: (1) a foreign minor child born outside of Côte d’Ivoire, if one of his or her parents acquires Ivorian nationality through the other parent during his or her lifetime; (2) the minor child of a foreigner who acquires Ivorian nationality who does not otherwise acquire Ivorian nationality as a matter of right under Article 46 [married minor children or a minor child who served in the armed forces of his or her country of nationality]; (3) the wife and adult children of a foreigner who acquires Ivorian nationality; (4) [abrogated]; (5) or a foreigner who has rendered exceptional services to Côte d’Ivoire or for whom naturalization presents an exceptional interest for Côte d’Ivoire The following requirements for naturalization apply to all applicants, except for a person who has rendered exceptional services or presents exceptional interests to Côte d’Ivoire: a person must be of good conduct and moral character (Article 31), of healthy mind, and after a physical exam, judged not to constitute a burden or danger to society (Article 32). Acquisition of nationality through naturalization is accorded by decree and after investigation. A successful applicant must maintain habitual residence in Côte d’Ivoire at the time a naturalization decree is signed (Article 25). Requirements regarding the physical exam of a foreign applicant for naturalization and the fees are established by decree (Article 33). Although Côte d’Ivoire’s five-year residency requirement for naturalization is not in itself onerous, the requirements of Article 31 and 32 run the risk of discrimination in violation of Article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.87 No facilitated avenue for naturalization exists for stateless persons. Very few foreigners have successfully acquired Ivorian nationality by naturalization. It is also difficult to state the exact number of those who have done so. In 2015, the Ministry of Justice published a digitized official database containing all decrees of naturalization that have been published in the Official Journal, the government’s official legal register or gazette. According to this database, 32,819 people acquired nationality through naturalization between 1962 and 2012 through 7,121 signed decrees published in the Official Journal. The number of decrees is inferior to the number of those naturalized as minor children eligible to acquire subsidiary Ivorian nationality through the naturalization of their parents pursuant to Article 45 of the Nationality Code were subsumed in the decrees concerning their parents.88 Note that this figure only counts once the collective naturalization decree of 8,133 persons of Burkinabè origin signed by President Bédié in October 1995 and published in a special edition of the Official Journal in January 1996. Furthermore, 86 Those who are at least 18 years old can apply to naturalize without prior authorization, whereas minors between 16 and 18 can apply to naturalize through the parent with paternal authority or a legal guardian acknowledged by law (Article 30). Minors less than 16 years old can only apply to naturalize through a foreign parent or legal guardian who maintained at least five years of habitual residence in Côte d’Ivoire (Article 30). 87 Côte d’Ivoire ratified this convention in January 2014. 88 Information contained in this paragraph has been confirmed by the Ivorian Ministry of Justice in e-mail correspondence with the author and UNHCR in April 2016. 24