a citizenship and cannot benefit from the protection of a state. Such people are considered stateless persons de jure. On the other hand, this definition would appear to be wider than the international definition. All people who are not citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic under the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic and do not have documents that confirm their affiliation to citizenship of another State are recognised as stateless. 3.2.2 Persons excluded from the 1954 Convention The Preamble of the 1954 Convention states that stateless refugees fall under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and therefore do not require protection under the 1954 Convention. Kyrgyzstan has acceded to the 1951 Convention,3 and therefore stateless refugees located on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic are covered by the 1951 Convention. Besides defining stateless persons, Article 1 of the 1954 Convention defines persons to whom the Convention does not apply (despite the fact that they do not have citizenship) for defined reasons, either because they do not need such protection, as they already receive international protection or internal assistance, or because they do not have the right to international protection because of crimes they have committed.4 Nevertheless, if stateless persons have been ensured legal residence in the state and have been granted more rights than those provided under the 1954 Convention, in particular full economic and social rights equivalent to those enjoyed by citizens of the State, and they are protected from deportation and expulsion, it is not necessary to apply the provisions of the Convention to such persons, though in practice they are stateless persons. Thus, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Law 175 On State Guarantees to Ethnic Kyrgyz Returning to their Historical Homeland of 26 November 2007, ethnic Kyrgyz who are foreign citizens or stateless persons, who voluntarily chose to return to their historical homeland, are granted the status of kayrylman until they acquire citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic. The State provides subsidies for resettlement, allocates land plots for free immediate use, with subsequent transfer of the property when they become citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. They are also allocated interest free loans for building houses, receive citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic in a simplified procedure, have quotas for entering higher and secondary specialised educational institutions, schools and pre-school institutions, and are given assistance to find jobs and improve their qualifications, as well as receiving medical assistance, pensions and social allowances, and other benefits. In this way, the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic gives the above persons greater rights than those envisaged under the Convention. The main criterion for this is Kyrgyz ethnicity. The legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not make exceptions for persons who receive protection or assistance from organs or agencies of the United Nations. Such an organ, falling under this provision of the Convention, and the only United Nations institution at the current time is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. In accordance with Article 39, point 2 of the Law On Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic, persons living in the Kyrgyz Republic who are not citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic are given residence permits by internal affairs bodies as foreign citizens or stateless persons. Residence permits can be refused based on the grounds envisaged in Articles 16 and 34 of Law 61 On External Migration of 17 July 2000 (with the latest amendments). 3 4 The Kyrgyz Republic acceded by lower parliamentary chamber regulation 241-1 of 30 October 1995 and upper chamber regulation 255-1 of 6 March 1996. The Convention came into force for the Kyrgyz Republic on 6 January 1997. These categories have already been discussed in a previous paragraph. 39 Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic