Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Iran has been successfully secured for the child born in such circumstances, the husband is then entitled to apply for residency of Iran.36 Facilitated naturalisation is also possible for those who have rendered exceptional services to the state. According to Article 980, “those opting for Iranian nationality who have rendered services or notable assistance to public interests in Iran…, or who have attained high intellectual distinctions or who have specialised in affairs of public interest may be accepted as nationals of the Islamic Republic of Iran, without the observance of the requirement of residence.” Pursuant to Article 980, for example, there have been discussions in the Iranian Parliament about granting Iranian nationality to Afghan recruited soldiers who fought in Syria and Iraq,37 however no law has been implemented yet. 3.4 Deprivation of Nationality The Iranian Constitution states that, “Iranian citizenship is the indisputable right of every Iranian, and the government cannot withdraw citizenship from any Iranian unless he himself requests it, or acquires the citizenship of another country.”38 Article 988 of the Nationality Law states that renunciation of nationality is only allowed if: the person is at least 25 years old; completed military service and the Council of Ministers agrees to the application for renunciation39 Additionally, the individual has to agree to renounce all rights to land or land through inheritance.40 According to Article 988(3), the Iranian nationality of the wife and children of the person who renounces his nationality will not be affected. This article does not provide safeguards against people rendering themselves stateless, as proof of another nationality is not required before the acceptance of the renunciation application. It is very common in countries that retain gender discriminatory laws for it to be assumed that it is a male who will renounce his nationality and therefore his wife who would need protection from this loss. The Iranian Nationality Law is no exception, and it is not clear how the law would be applied if a female decided to renounce her nationality. 4. CIVIL REGISTRATION AND DOCUMENTATION PRACTICES 4.1 Marriage Registration Iranian women married to non-Iranian men residing in Iran face significant barriers to marriage registration. There are two main barriers to marriage registration: the requirement to seek special permission from the Government for an Iranian woman to marry a foreign national, and the requirement of both spouses to present legal documents, including passports, visas and birth certificates. According to Article 1060 of the Civil Code, the marriage of an Iranian woman to a foreign national is only possible, “even in cases where there is no legal impediment, upon special permission of the Government”.41 The foreign husband must have a valid passport and visa and the Iranian woman must submit required legal documents to the Ministry of Interior in order to seek the Government’s 36 Centre for Human Rights in Iran (2019) New Legislation, If Approved, Will Give Citizenship Rights To Children Born to Iranian Women available at: https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/05/new-legislation-if-approved-will-give-citizenship-rights-to-children-born-to-iranianwomen/ 37 Tasnim News (2008) Conditions for Granting Citizenship to Families of Martyrs and Afghan Victims / Gulzar Martyrs is not a Personal Property to be Abused by Martyrs, available at: https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1395/11/19/1321318/ 38 Iranian Constitution, Article 41. 39 Iranian Nationality Law, Article 988(1), (2), (4). 40 Iranian Nationality Law, Article 988(3). 41 Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Retrieved from https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ir/ir009en.pdf. 9