to be established is required to submit an identity document along with an application for establishing nationality in the Kyrgyz Republic. As mentioned above, the only statelessness status determination procedure currently in the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic is the general provision under the 2008 Residence Permit Regulations, which confer the internal affairs bodies with the authority to make decisions on the statelessness status for individuals applying for residence permits for stateless persons. Thus para. 7 of the 2008 Residence Regulations requires a stateless applicant for residence permit to submit a document which can prove termination of any other previous citizenship, along with other application documents. However, for stateless persons from CIS countries the document could be replaced by a formal ‘opinion of the territorial subdivision of passport and visa control of Department of Internal Affairs’ recognizing the person as being stateless. Moreover, the 2000 External Migration Law and the 2008 Residence Permit Regulations require that the individual concerned obtain a status of immigrant document issued by the State Committee on Migration and Employment in order to be eligible for a residence permit for stateless persons (para. 24). The lack of valid identity documentation which is often the case for many stateless persons in the Kyrgyz Republic may result in further procedural obstacles or lead to failure of acquiring nationality by a child of a stateless person(s). Compliance with International Standards: While the provisions on acquisition of Kyrgyz nationality at birth prevent many instances of statelessness, some deviations remain with regard to Articles 1 and 4 of the 1961 Convention which cover the governing of issues of acquisition of nationality by any person either born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless or outside the territory to a national and would otherwise be stateless. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention sets forth a standard that a person born in the territory of a country should be granted that nationality at birth or by application if they otherwise would be stateless. The standard requires a procedure where the state has no discretion to turn down an applicant but where the claimant maybe required to fulfil specific requirements set out in the Convention. It should be noted that granting nationality at birth is in the best interest of a child and is in line with the right of each child to gain a nationality at birth under Article 7 of the CRC and Article 24.3 of the ICCPR. However, not all children born in the territory who would otherwise be stateless have a right to Kyrgyz nationality, for example in the case of foreign nationals residing in the Kyrgyz Republic, who under that state’s legislation cannot confer their nationality to their children. Similarly, as previously discussed, where stateless persons are not recognized as permanently residing in the Kyrgyz Republic. The migration legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic distinguishes between stateless persons who temporarily reside in the country and stateless persons who are permanent residents in the country (2000 External Migration Law, Article 15). The ‘permanent residence’ test to be met by stateless parents whose children were born in the Kyrgyz Republic excludes stateless persons who fall under the category of temporarily residing aliens. A child born to a stateless person on Kyrgyz territory whose permanent residency is in a different country or who has not yet received a permanent residence permit for stateless persons in the Kyrgyz Republic is considered stateless. As already outlined above, if a child has a Kyrgyz and a foreign parent who are in disagreement about the child’s nationality, such children could be rendered stateless. These gaps in the legislation would need to be addressed in order to ensure compliance with Article 1 of the 1961 Convention, as well as with existing obligations under Article 7 of the CRC and Article 24.3 of the ICCPR. Small Changes ‫ ـ‬Big Gains: An Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness in the Kyrgyz Republic 64