A Study of Statelessness in South Sudan - 2017 aspires to maintain a presence in each of the country’s thirty-two new states, many offices are not operational due to logistical constraints and security concerns; the majority of applicants from field locations find themselves obliged to travel to headquarters in Juba in order to process their application, at significant financial cost. The breakdown in South Sudan’s capacity to register births has posed another challenge, necessitating formal age assessments as an alternative to birth certificates, pending the approval of the Civil Registration Bill. Finally, contextual factors specific to South Sudan also contribute to the risk of statelessness. Widespread displacement resulting from an ongoing internal armed conflict undermines the ability of applicants to fulfil the requirements of applications for nationality certificates. Poverty also undermines access to nationality certificates procedures: in light of the financial crisis, the DNPI has recently increased fees in response to inflation, barring access to nationality certificates for an increasing number of potential applicants. Awareness of importance of nationality certificates and relevant procedures is also limited, especially in rural areas. Populations at Risk of Statelessness Limited efforts to raise awareness on behalf of the DNPI have concentrated predominantly on urban, educated segments of the population; despite work by mobile teams, populations in rural areas are less likely to be in possession of nationality certificates. Meanwhile, costs incurred throughout the application process can prevent vulnerable and low-income individuals from accessing nationality certificates, while displaced persons face further challenges in fulfilling necessary requirements. A South Sudanese woman proudly displaying her newly issued South Sudanese identity card. © UNHCR / Rocco Nuri Challenges to access to nationality certification also relate to ethnicity. Trans-boundary 3