There is no legal definition of what is meant by “transient foreigner” in the Constitution. In practice, recognition of Chilean nationality is usually made when a birth is registered. In the case of a child of parents who are “transient foreigners,” this status (hijo de extranjero transeúnte) is noted in the birth registry entry of the child, indicating that the child has not acquired Chilean nationality. It is for the Department for Foreigners and Migration (Departamento de Extranjería y Migración, or DEM) of the Ministry of the Interior to confirm whether a child born in Chile is a national or not.82 In 1982 the Chilean Civil Registry issued a service order that “transient” meant a person who was a crew member, a tourist, or a person with irregular migration status who had spent less than one year in the country. From 1996, the definition of “transient foreigner” was greatly extended, when a new instruction included the child of any person who was in a situation of irregular migration in the country. In 2002, the definition was changed again, to include those whose residence application had been rejected or who had been expelled from the country. However, the Supreme Court repeatedly ruled that the child of an irregular migrant would acquire nationality at birth in most cases (when its parents demonstrated that at the time of birth, they were not in transit in the country, but had the intention – “vocación” – of remaining), and that the only categories clearly excluded were tourists and crew members.83 Despite the administrative changes in the definition, the number of children officially recorded as having transient parents remained relatively stable, at 100 – 300 children a year. It was not known how many of these were also stateless.84 In 2014, the Civil Registry issued two resolutions on the advice of the DEM, which stated – in line with the definition established by the Supreme Court – that only the birth certificates of the children of tourists or crew members would record the “transient” status of their parents. Any other child with this annotation already recorded on the birth registry entry could apply to the Civil Registry to have it removed.85 In addition, in August 2014, a group of senators, led by Isabel Allende of the Socialist Party but including opposition members, proposed a bill to amend the Constitution in order to allow parents of a child born in Chile to opt on the child’s behalf for Chilean nationality at any time, without waiting until majority, and regardless of the parents’ migratory status.86 In the lower house, another bill was put forward on the interpretation of the constitutional reference to transeúnte, confirming the Supreme Court rulings that the term refers only to tourists and crew members, and did not include any restriction on the rights to nationality of children whose parents had any other immigration status.87 In 2015, the Civil Registry adjusted its 2014 resolutions based on administrative criteria adopted by the DEM, retaining the ruling that only the children of tourists and crew members would be recorded as “transient,” but now providing that those affected by previous interpretations of the term “transient foreigner,” who wished to correct the record could be referred to the DEM for confirmation of nationality.88 A new draft law on migration with amendments to the definition of transeúnte was also reportedly under discussion in the Government (not public as at February 2017).89 82 Ministerio de Justicia, Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación, Resolución número 102 exenta, de 2015. – Sobre inscripción de nacimiento con anotación de hijo extranjero transeúente y deja sin efecto resoluciones N° 3.207 y N° 3.509 exentas, de 2014. 83 The Supreme Court jurisprudence is collected at the website of the Dirección de Estudios de la Corte Suprema: http://goo.gl/tq5SiB. See also Rodrigo Godoy Araya, Comentarios de jurisprudencia de la Corte Suprema y el Tribunal Constitucional sobre derechos humanos de las personas migrantes durante el año 2013, Anuario de Derechos Humanos, No. 10, 2014, page 139-150. 84 Statistics on Hijos de extranjero Transeúntes supplied by Chilean Nationality Directorate, July 2015. 85 Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación Dirección Nacional, Instruye sobre anotación que indica, Resolución Núm. 3.207 exenta, 8 August 2014 and Resolución Núm. 3.509 exenta, 1 September 2014, both in the Diario Oficial Núm. 40.977, Año CXXXVII – Nº 815.596 (M.R.), 8 October 2014. 86 Senado de Chile, Proyecto de reforma constitucional, Boletín N° 9.500-17, 12 August 2014; see also Senate Press Release, Niños de extranjeros nacidos en Chile: podrían optar a nacionalidad: Un grupo transversal de senadores redactaron un proyecto en esa dirección, el que será analizado por los integrantes de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos, 15 September 2014. 87 Cámara de Diputados, Proyecto de ley interpretativa de la constitución, Boletín N° 9831‐07, 6 January 2015. 88 Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación Dirección Nacional, Sobre inscripción de nacimiento con anotación de hijo de extranjero transeúnte y deja sin efecto resoluciones n° 3.207 y n° 3.509 exentas, de 2014, Resolución Núm. 102 exenta, 20 March 2015, Diario Oficial, Núm. 41.121, Año CXXXVIII – Nº 815.596 (M.R.), 31 March 2015. 89 Government of Chile, Iniciativas y avances del Departamento de Extranjería y Migración 2014-2015, 2014. 20 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS