they can afford to buy property with 15-square meters of space per family member in the population centre of their choice. Kazakhstan also requires that applicants for permanent residence produce proof that they have no tax payments outstanding.220 Although Tajikistan makes no financial solvency demands, it too requires applicants for permanent residence to have no unpaid taxes.221 Turkmenistan also requires evidence of a source of income from stateless persons applying for permanent residence, but sets no target.222 Kazakhstan exempts some categories of stateless person from its financial solvency requirements: for example, those who arrived before the Directive was published in 2003 and those arriving now from Belarus, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, if they were born in Kazakhstan; permanently resident there; or if they have relatives there who are Kazakh nationals. This group can apply for citizenship and permanent residence on arrival in a summary procedure agreed by bilateral treaty.223 Indigenous groups repatriating to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan by official invitation are also exempt from financial solvency criteria.224 These groups are the Oralmany and Kairylmany, respectively, some of whom may be stateless. Section 6.7 of this report outlines the residence and property rights afforded to the Oralmany and Kairylmany as “socially protected groups”. Stateless persons arriving for permanent residence in Kazakhstan from other parts of the Central Asian region – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan – must still meet the financial solvency requirements. Each of the five States charges a fee for processing applications for permanent residence permits. This can vary so much that it may deter some groups of stateless persons from applying. Kyrgyzstan charges 20-25 times the national tax index to process applications from the CIS, and 5-6 times more to process applications from further afield.225 Tajikistan levies a fee that is twice the average national wage, and charges for temporary registration until the permanent document is issued.226 UNHCR spoke with a stateless person in Tajikistan who claimed he paid 100 Somoni227 in stamp duty to acquire a permanent residence permit, and another from the CIS, who said she pays 35 Somoni228 Using these figures, the financial solvency requirement is set quite high and would cover more than five years’ residence on an average minimum monthly wage. 220 A stateless person who has a written agreement for housing from an individual or legal entity need not produce this sum. At meetings with UNHCR in southern Kazakhstan, stateless persons without their own housing reported they had rental agreements and so fulfilled the requirements. Undocumented stateless persons, however, were in a difficult position. Because they did not have a valid identity document, they could not conclude a civil law transaction for housing. Article 62, 2003 Regulation No 1185 ‘On Approval of the Rules for Confirming Financial Solvency during a Period of Residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan of Foreigners and Stateless Persons who are Applying for Permanent Residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan’ demands applicants prove they have paid all their taxes. 221 Article 27 B(n) 1999 Law No 218 ‘On the Rules of Stay for Foreigners and Stateless Persons’ in Tajikistan, as amended in 2008. 222 Paragraph 12, 2002 Regulation No 5833 ‘On the Procedure for Granting Permanent Residence Permits in Turkmenistan’. 223 Agreement between the Republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation on a Simplified Procedure for Acquisition of Citizenship, dated 26 February 1999. 224 2003 Regulation No 1185 ‘On Approval of the Rules for Confirming Financial Solvency during a Period of Residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan of Foreigners and Stateless Persons who are Applying for Permanent Residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan’. 225 Article 5(k), 1994 Decree No 521 ‘On Stamp Duty Rates in Kyrgyzstan’, as amended in 2007. Kyrgyzstan exempts persons wholly dependent on social welfare from paying stamp duty according to Article 44, 2008 Regulation No 626 ‘On the Procedure for Issuing Residence Permits in Kyrgyzstan’. Uzbekistan also exempts persons dependent on State benefits from paying stamp duty, according to Article 33, Enclosure 2, 1999 Regulations UP-2240 ‘On Residence Permit in the Republic of Uzbekistan Intended for a Foreign Citizen, Residence Permit in the Republic of Uzbekistan and a Certificate Intended for a Stateless Person’. 226 Article 4(3), 2005 Law No 217 ‘On Stamp Duty in Tajikistan’, as amended in 2006. The average minimum wage in Tajikistan in June 2009 was 60 Somoni (about 14 US Dollars), according to the National Committee for Statistics in Tajikistan http://www.stat.tj/english_tables/table_20.xls. 227 Approximately 22 US Dollars, according to the 30 April 2011 exchange rate. 228 Approximately 8 US Dollars, according to the 30 April 2011 exchange rate. ~ 35 ~