Conditions relating to the documentation or residence status of the parents Many countries in the Statelessness Index demonstrated some barriers to immediate, free birth registration either in law, policy or practice. A key barrier identified is that access to birth registration is often contingent on parents’ residence or documentation status. In Latvia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine, a child can usually only be registered if the parents (particularly the mother) are registered themselves with the authorities or are able to submit certain identification documents. In the Netherlands, a valid identification document is required for registration and, although certain options are provided for registering the birth of a child whose parents do not have residence status, if they are undocumented, this is difficult in practice. In Albania, Montenegro, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland parents may also face difficulties in practice if they are undocumented, particularly where the child is born abroad to national parents (in the case of Albania and Romania for example). According to the law in Germany, children must be registered immediately, but certain documents such as parents’ birth certificates, marriage certificates, and recognised passports may be required. Although the law allows for some flexibility, whether this flexibility is implemented in practice varies widely. If there is no marriage certificate, German officials may only register the name of the mother, which could lead to a risk of statelessness if the laws of her country of origin do not allow women to confer their nationality to their children (and the child does not acquire German or any other nationality). In Cyprus, there have been reports of undocumented parents being asked to present passports or other documents to prove legal stay before allowing birth registration to take place. Such evidential requirements clearly impact on access to birth registration for refugees and migrants whose documents may have been left behind, lost, destroyed or never issued in the first place. Conditionality of birth registration on the parents’ residence status also hinders access for migrants with irregular residence status. Children born in transit to Europe face barriers to birth registration, as, despite some recent positive judgments in Spain (see above), few European States have provisions in place for these children to acquire a birth certificate or equivalent documentation.23 The strict and numerous evidential requirements for registering children’s births in some countries also disproportionately impact on Romani 24 and other minority communities who can face difficulties meeting these requirements due to marginalisation and discrimination. Romani communities face intergenerational barriers to accessing documentation and are less likely to have their births registered than other populations in Europe. Despite legislative amendments and policy changes in recent years in attempts to simplify procedures and improve access to birth registration, challenges remain for Romani people, including deeprooted antigypsyism, discriminatory legislation and policies, and prejudicial attitudes of registry officials. Barriers to reproductive healthcare faced by Romani women also create difficulties for birth registration. Living in rural areas far from health centres, undocumented status, and lack of health insurance or financial means may lead to Romani women giving birth at home, leading to reduced access to birth registration due to the additional documentation required.25 Whilst there has been some recent progress in some countries, challenges accessing birth registration for Romani communities have been reported in Albania, Georgia, France, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine, among others.