in situations of State succession for habitual residents, should not require written affidavits, even though States are generally advised to keep written records of all decisions on nationality. • The fees for acquiring, retaining, losing, recovering or certifying nationality, and for related administrative and judicial reviews, should be reasonable, as should documentary requirements. Laws and practices that particularly affect women Some States automatically alter a woman’s nationality status when she marries a non‑national. A woman may then become stateless if she does not automatically receive the nationality of her husband or if her husband has no nationality. A woman can also become stateless if, after she receives her husband’s nationality, the marriage is dissolved and she loses the nationality acquired through marriage, but her original nationality is not automatically restored. To avoid these problems: • The CEDAW grants women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain nationality. In accordance with the principles contained in the convention, the husband’s nationality status may not automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless, nor make mandatory her acquisition of his nationality. • In States where women do not have equal rights with men and may automatically lose their citizenship when they marry, or where women have to renounce their former citizenship when they marry, those States should introduce provisions into their citizenship legislation enabling women whose marriages have been dissolved to automatically reacquire their former citizenship through a simple declaration. Automatic loss of nationality Some States automatically revoke the nationality of an individual who has left their country or who resides abroad. Revocation of nationality, which can occur just a few months after the individual’s departure, is often associated with faulty administrative practices in which the individual concerned is not made aware that they risk losing their nationality if they do not register regularly with the country’s authorities. If the individual is a naturalized citizen, rather than one who had been born in the State or who acquired nationality through descent, even regular registration may be insufficient to guarantee that nationality will not be revoked. Statelessness is often a direct result of these practices. To avoid this problem: • Article 7(3) of the 1961 Convention stipulates that an individual shall not lose their nationality, and so become stateless, on the grounds of departure, residence abroad, failure to register or any similar ground. The 1961 Convention includes an exception to this principle concerning naturalized citizens who reside abroad for more than seven consecutive years. These individuals must express to the appropriate authority their wish to retain their nationality, for example, through renewal of their passport. States should thus adequately inform naturalized citizens 39