Aşkın 235 that he is a Syrian citizen due to his father. In other words, with the requirement to be born in Turkey, people who do not acquire citizenship in any country are open to the interpretation of whether they will receive Turkish citizenship directly. However, this law article may cause controversy about the status of “Syrian” children born in Turkey. While the aforementioned article is open to interpretation, the competent authorities in Turkey think in the direction that their children will be a direct Syrian citizen because the homeland of parents is known (Gale, 2016, p. 24). In a parliamentary debate that confirms this situation, Süleyman Çelebi, a member of Parliament, raised the issue of Syrians’ transition to Turkish citizenship, and Muammer Güler, the interior minister of the period, answered the question. Güler, on the basis of Article 8 of the constitution, reminded them of the law; “The child, born in Turkey and unable to gain citizenship from any country due to its foreign parents and fathers, is a Turkish citizen by birth”. He also interpreted that “the children of Syrian refugees, born in Turkey, are not in the question of gaining Turkish citizenship because they gain Syrian citizenship due to their parents5“. With this statement, children born in Turkey from a Syrian mother and father are also considered as Syrian citizens in a de facto sense, although not registered. Even though the registration process is being carried out in Turkey, the fact that the registered Syrian children have not a State where they are citizens puts them directly under a stateless position. In the conceptualisation of de facto statelessness mentioned above, their citizenships, which are reduced to the verbal level, do not have any legal reciprocity. Therefore, the registration system in Turkey is literally the product of an initiative aimed at ensuring the supervision, safety, and coordination of Turkey in its internal affairs. This is particularly affecting individuals born as refugees or who have not been able to obtain the right to citizenship even though they born in their country and cannot prove it on a legal basis. In this regard, registration is a detection system that is used to prove that the person exists. At this stage of the process, it is observed that the problem of registered statelessness has emerged. “Registered statelessness” refers to the registration of the existence of persons born on the territory of another country and bound to a State as de facto. For this reason, to reach basic needs, the priority is concentrated in registration rather than citizenship. In other words, the problem of citizenship remains in second place with their registration so that the persons can stay at the borders of Turkey and benefit from the services offered to them. However, as mentioned in detail below, the Syrians in Turkey encounter some institutional problems at the registration of their newborn babies, but at some points, they seem reluctant. In Turkey, Syrian children are mostly born in hospitals. In the hospital, therefore, a birth of notification is given in accordance with the expression of the mother or father, including the name of the baby, date of birth, place of birth and the information of the parents. With this document taken from the hospital, a person goes to the migration directorate of the province. However, in normal circumstances, the mother’s declaration is not sufficient, but the father’s information documents including (birth registration certificate, ID, passport, etc.) or the father himself must be present during the declaration. Otherwise, registration will not be made. In spite of this, considering war conditions and fundamental human rights in Turkey, and in case of need, a certificate of registration is given to the baby after just verbal engagement, and the opportunity to benefit from the health, social services, and education is provided. 5 http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2-bin-543-suriyeli-evlenip-turk/gundem/detay/1818231/default.htm Copyright @ 2020 BORDER CROSSING Transnational Press London