Abdullah Athayi without citizenship or foreign citizens who are interested can apply for Afghan citizenship, but the government may accept or reject their applications based on its national interest. Article 15 of the law on citizenship lays down the following conditions: the applicant must 1) have reached the age of eighteen years; 2) have forwarded an application to acquire the citizenship of Afghanistan; 3) have lived for five years in the territory of Afghanistan; and 4) have not committed any crimes during his or her stay in the territory of Afghanistan. From a security point of view, it is very important to scrutinise and assess the background of applicants before approving their applications, especially because Afghanistan is located in the heart of Asia, enabling people to enter Afghan territory and pursue goals which may harm the national security of Afghanistan. It is difficult for the government to check people’s backgrounds and prove the status of their citizenship due to a lack of documents and of a proper system to track them. 3.1.2 Modes of loss of citizenship Over three decades of conflict in Afghanistan have led citizens to leave the country and many have renounced their Afghan citizenship. Afghanistan has been one of the world’s sources of migration since the 1980s, with millions of Afghans leaving their country of origin, residing in neighbouring and foreign countries and seeking asylum there. Consequently, the number of citizens losing their citizenship is higher than that of those acquiring it. In 2016, the Ministry of Justice announced that around 412 applications for renunciation of citizenship were assessed and sent to the Council of Ministers for approval.17 On 12 May 2016, the Minister of Justice reported 1773 applications, including from Hindu and Sikh communities, to the Council of Ministers and the President asked the Commission on Assessing Citizenship Affairs to facilitate the process.18 When renunciation of these people is approved, the government will normally submit a renunciation letter to the consulate or embassy abroad through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or inform the applicant if he or she is in Afghanistan. Voluntary renunciation takes place at the request of citizens who wish to abandon their Afghan citizenship. In order to do this, the person must meet certain requirements. He or she must submit a written application for renunciation, fill out a renunciation of citizenship form, provide fingerprints, present his or her tazkira, document a lack of criminal responsibility, and pay an amount equivalent to €25.19 Furthermore, he or she must not have obligations and financial responsibility towards government institutions, companies or other citizens, and not be accused of and/or indicted for criminal acts. Under article 25 of the law on citizenship, a renunciation of Afghan citizenship will not be accepted in the following situations: the applicant 1) has not fulfilled his duties and obligations towards Afghanistan; 2) has financial responsibilities towards government institutions and service-oriented organisations, joint corporations or other citizens and not fulfilling these would harm them; and 3) is accused of or indicted for criminal acts. If the applicants are abroad they can apply to an Afghan embassy or consulate and present a renunciation application together with their Afghan identity card and documents from the foreign country. If parents abandon their Afghan citizenship it does not affect their 17 Available at http://afgrefugees.com/11672. 18 http://aop.gov.af/english/1699/Islamic+Republic+of+Afghanistan%E2%80%99s+Cabinet+Meeting+Report+on +13+May+2015 19 http://embassyofafghanistan.se/english/renounce-of-citizenship/. 10 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2017/9 - © 2017 Author