According to data from the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, by 2014, a total of 13,679 children had acquired nationality on the basis of the procedure adopted in 1998.58 However, nationality was still not attributed to those children at birth. Furthermore, agreement of both parents of eligible children was also needed, presenting an obstacle in cases where one parent could not obtain the consent of the other. Moreover, children above the age of 15 were not eligible. In 2003, further reform to the law provided access to Estonian nationality for adopted children, on application by an adoptive parent with nationality. On 3 June 2014, the Estonian Parliament passed an amendment which made it easier for young persons above 15 years of age to apply for citizenship as long as they had been living in Estonia for at least eight years (regardless of whether or not they held a residence permit or enjoyed the right of residence during this time). These individuals could be granted citizenship if they had not become permanent residents of another country and had valid residence permits or right of residence at the time they were granted citizenship. From 1992 to the end of 2015, the population with undetermined nationality was reduced from approximately 500,000 to 82,561 persons.59 Available statistics covering the period between the years 2000 and 2015 indicate that naturalizations accounted for approximately 50 per cent of the reduction in the number of “persons with undetermined citizenship” during these years, with the remaining reduction due to other factors including deaths, emigration and acquisition of citizenship of the Russian Federation or other countries.60 Further reform was undertaken in 2015 based on a political agreement between the parties making up a coalition government. In January 2015, the Estonian Parliament adopted several other important amendments to the Citizenship Act, two of which relate directly to the nationality of children. First, a child born in Estonia would acquire Estonian citizenship by naturalization at birth if one of his or her parents had been legally resident in Estonia for at least five years prior to the birth of the child and was not considered a citizen by any other State. This rule applied retroactively to qualifying children under the age of 15 upon entry into force of the law on 1 January 2016.61 Secondly, the amendment attributed nationality by naturalization at birth to children born in Estonia to parents of “undetermined nationality” – a significant step towards preventing future generations from being born stateless.62 According to information provided by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, at the end of 2016 there were 961 children who could acquire Estonian citizenship pursuant to this amendment. It is estimated that some 300 children with undetermined citizenship are born in Estonia each year. Despite these commendable changes to the law, challenges still remain for stateless children who have already turned 15 and for others whose parents do not hold the status of “person of undetermined nationality” but are stateless or cannot transmit their nationality to their children.63 Estonia is not a party to the 1954 Convention or to the 1961 Convention. 58 ENS Report on Estonia, page 8. 59 See Republic of Estonia, Ministry of the Interior, ‘Citizenship and Migration’: https://goo.gl/anFylH. 60 UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Estonia, 2016, page 16. 61 Also, children who hold dual nationality cannot be deprived of Estonian nationality until the age of majority, when they must choose. This second provision is especially important for those children who may in principle be entitled to Russian or other nationality, but have difficulties in obtaining recognition of that nationality. 62 For example, Report by Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, following his visit to Estonia, from 25 to 27 March 2013, Council of Europe, CommDH(2013)12, 20 June 2013. 63 This includes children of refugees and undocumented migrants, as well as children of the perhaps 2,000 people of “undetermined nationality” who have had their legal residence in Estonia revoked – for example, because they were convicted of a crime – but who hold no status in any other country. Moreover, the category of nationality granted to the children of parents of undetermined nationality under the act is that of a naturalized person – whose nationality may be more easily taken away than if a person is born of parents who are nationals who acquired citizenship by jus sanguinis at birth. 15 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS