36. Following independence, only a small number of ethnic Chinese acquired Brunei Darussalam citizenship - around 9,000 people.31 Currently, at least half of the ethnic Chinese population in Brunei Darussalam have not obtained citizenship to Brunei Darussalam and are likely to be stateless.32 37. The main causes of statelessness for this population are that ethnic Chinese: I. II. III. are not included in the specific ethnicities provided for in the Brunei Nationality Act 1961, may not be able to provide the required evidence to establish their legal residence in Brunei Darussalam, and/or meet the language criteria for citizenship.33 38. This is despite ethnic Chinese populations often having intergenerational links to the territory of Brunei Darussalam.34 Stateless Persons’ Access to Permanent Residency and Citizenship 39. Stateless populations in Brunei Darussalam have differing access to rights, depending on whether or not they are registered by the Government of Brunei Darussalam as “permanent residents”.35 40. Stateless permanent residents in Brunei Darussalam can access some but not all of rights enjoyed by Brunei Darussalam citizens.36 For example, stateless permanent residents do not have access to fully subsidized health care or higher education.37 Additionally, they cannot own property, land or a business in their own right but rather must be sponsored by a Brunei citizen.38 Testimony from stateless individuals compiled by The Brunei Project throughout September 2018 demonstrates the impacts of such restrictions: “My parents purchased land in Belait District more than 30 years ago with their hard-earned money and built a house for our family. Yet none of us are able to legally put our names on the paper work. We were required to ask one of my father's relatives to put their name on the 31 Zhao Shengnan, ‘Stateless residents fight for sense of belonging in Brunei’, China Daily USA (online), 19 December 2013 <http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2013-12/19/content_17184934.htm; Minority Rights Group International, Brunei Darussalam: Chinese <https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chinese>; 32 Minority Rights Group International, Brunei Darussalam: Chinese <https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chinese>; 33 Minority Rights Group International, Brunei Darussalam: Chinese <https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chinese>; Alana Tolman, Brunei’s stateless left in a state of confusion (8 April 2016) New Mandala <http://www.newmandala.org/bruneisstateless-left-in-a-state-of-confusion/>; Interviews conducted by The Brunei Project in September 2018 with stateless persons residing in Brunei. 34 Amanda Cheong, Citizenship as a Link Between the Individual and the State: The Case of Stateless Chinese-Bruneian Immigrants (5 November 2012) Voice of the Children http://voc.org.my/blog/blog/2012/11/05/citizenship-as-a-linkbetween-the-individual-and-the-state-the-case-of-stateless-chinese-bruneian-immigrants/; Minority Rights Group International, Brunei Darussalam: Chinese <https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chinese>. 35 U.S. Department of State, 2012 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Brunei Darussalam (19 April 2013), 9 <https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204188.htm>. 36 U.S. Department of State, 2012 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Brunei Darussalam (19 April 2013), 9 <https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204188.htm>. 37 U.S. Department of State, 2012 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Brunei Darussalam (19 April 2013), 9 <https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204188.htm>; Alana Tolman, Brunei’s stateless left in a state of confusion (8 April 2016) New Mandala <http://www.newmandala.org/bruneis-stateless-left-in-a-state-of-confusion/>. 38 U.S. Department of State, 2012 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Brunei Darussalam (19 April 2013), 9 <https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/eap/204188.htm>.; Alana Tolman, Brunei’s stateless left in a state of confusion (8 April 2016) New Mandala <http://www.newmandala.org/bruneis-stateless-left-in-a-state-of-confusion/>. 7