Article 4 of the 1961 Convention requires granting nationality to children born abroad to a national where the child would otherwise be stateless. Similarly Article 1, states that nationality can be granted at birth or at a later stage upon application (i.e. a procedure where the state has no discretion if requirements are fulfilled). However, not all children in such situations who would otherwise be stateless acquire Kyrgyz nationality under the present legislation especially in instances of disagreement between a national and foreign which can result in cases of statelessness. A safeguard to prevent statelessness in such cases is therefore necessary. The provision on children born to unknown parents in Kyrgyz legislation is in line with Article 2 of the 1961 Convention which uses the term ‘foundling’, to refer to children who are not only born of unknown parents, but whose country of birth is also unknown. Prevention of statelessness in the migratory context: The 2000 External Migration Law provides that permanent residence permits and status of immigrant maybe granted to stateless persons arriving in the Kyrgyz Republic (Article 15 and 31). However, the law does not have any set procedure to establish the identity and nationality of such individuals, the only reference to this effect is the above-mentioned opinion on the stateless status of individuals which is to be issued by internal affairs bodies under the 2008 Residence Permit Regulations with respect to CIS residents (para. 7). In practice, the fact that every stateless person, who intends to permanently reside in the Kyrgyz Republic, has to acquire the status of immigrant (even if the person has not immigrated into the country), lengthens the process of documenting stateless persons residing in the country. In addition, in most cases, the burden of proof of nationality or lack thereof is placed on applicants, who have to apply to the authorities in their country of previous residence. Currently, there is no instituted policy which requires government authorities to co-operate with those of other countries for verification of identity. 2.4 Reduction of statelessness through acquisition of citizenship The Kyrgyz Republic did not statistically track how many stateless persons acquire citizenship annually. The situation of USSR passport holders that are at risk of statelessness, has improved under the provisions of the new 2007 Citizenship Law, as previously mentioned. The situation of residents from CIS countries (mainly living in mixed marriages), whose national passports have expired, however remains tenuous due to their invalid identity documents, and the need for valid ones in order to apply for naturalization. As mentioned, the Working Group is currently working to develop status determination procedures and advocating for their introduction at the level of by-laws such as regulations, instructions and orders of certain ministries and state institutions, in order to simplify the issuance of documents to individuals in this category. The 2007 Citizenship Law grants Kyrgyz citizenship to a child whose parents, at the time of the child’s birth, were nationals of the country (Article 12). The 2007 Citizenship Law recognizes children who permanently reside in the country and are officially under the patronage or guardianship of a national of the Kyrgyz Republic as nationals of the country (Article 19). The resolution of situations such as those where children have reached the age of 16 and have not obtained a national passport ending up as de-facto stateless contributed to the reduction of stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness. Although information on acquisition of citizenship is available in writing, no specific campaigns or outreach measures using mass media have been undertaken by the government 65 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic