are unable to attend public schools due to a lack of birth certificates, as will be further discussed in relation to the impacts of statelessness. There is hope that the universal civil registration stipulated under the new CRVSID Law will contribute to overcoming the exclusion of these communities, especially from birth and marriage registration. This will require much awareness raising during the rollout of the new law, both among local authorities and affected populations. Group censuses, registration and absence of naturalisation: The lack of proof of nationality or birth, however, does not mean that these populations are unregistered. In 2014, Cambodian authorities began implementing a so-called foreigner census, one aim of which was to identify and deport ‘illegal immigrants’. This nationwide registration process focused mainly on populations of Vietnamese origin. It is estimated that more than 10,000 were deported to Vietnam; most appear to be more recent immigrants.56 The longer-term residents who remained were required to apply for new Permanent Resident Cards (PRCs) governed by immigration law. The new cards were issued for a fee of 250,000 Riel per person (more than US$60), requiring renewal after two years for the same price. These documents identify their holders as ‘immigrant aliens’ having ‘Vietnamese nationality’ – underlining the official position that these people are not stateless but, in fact, Vietnamese nationals, without any verification of such a status with Vietnamese authorities. By the end of the registration campaign, in 2020, the Ministry reported that 89,471 Vietnamese individuals had applied for the Prakas recognising them as legal immigrant aliens, making them eligible to receive the new PRCs.57 Yet, the rights and entitlements under the new resident card remain unclear. Most card holders report that they cannot use the PRC for essential aspects of their lives.58 Many individuals have since renewed their cards multiple times – with an ever-larger number reaching the seven-year mark of lawful residence with the resident card where they become eligible for naturalisation under the law (the reduced three-year period stipulated under the law for people born in Cambodia is not widely known). So far, there is no information available and no effective pathway to naturalisation. Requests by the Vietnamese government to provide possibilities for naturalisation 56 Sovuthy Khy (2017) ‘Deportations of Vietnamese Dropped Last Year’, Cambodia Daily, 23 January 2017, 1. <https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/deportations-vietnamese-dropped-last-year-123878/> (8 July 2024) 57 Ministry of Interior, ‘Management of Foreign Immigrants in Cambodia’, Notification No 1990, 10 July 2020. 58 RWI Scoping Study 2023. 17