his/her country of nationality which would ensure that the child obtains citizenship of that country upon birth.71
This condition is also not included in the exhaustive list of reasons for which such an application can be refused
according to Article 1 (2) of the 1961 Convention. Therefore, Section 29 (4) of the Citizenship Act is not compliant
with the 1961 Convention.
Article 2 of the 1961 Convention concerning foundlings is implemented in two provisions of the Citizenship Act. The
first provision relates to children younger than three years found in the Czech territory whose identity could not be
established. Such children acquire Czech nationality on the day they were found, unless it would be discovered
within six months that they are nationals of another state.72 The second provision relates to foundlings older than
three years whose identity could not be established due to their young age or disability. These children would
acquire Czech nationality upon application filed by a guardian, unless it would be discovered within six months
from when they were found that they are nationals of another state. 73 There is no age limit for foundlings to acquire
nationality and the provisions are in line with the standards set out in the 1961 Convention.
The Citizenship Act does not allow for the loss of nationality on the ground of acquiring nationality of another State.
Dual nationality is, thus, accepted. The only way to lose Czech nationality is by renunciation, i.e. a declaration by
a person to voluntarily renounce nationality. Even then, a person who renounces Czech nationally will lose it only
after providing a document proving that he has acquired nationality of another State.74 This provision is in line with
Article 7(1)(a) of the 1961 Convention.
The duty to facilitate naturalisation of stateless persons defined in Article 32 of the 1954 Convention is included
in the Citizenship Act and is formulated in the same way as in the case of recognized refugees. The facilitation
resides in the fact that the standard requirement of five years of permanent residence prior to applying for the
citizenship may be waived75 as well as the requirement that a person has not represented a significant burden on
the social welfare system in the past three years.76
71
Section 29 (4) of the Czech Citizenship Act.
72
Section 10 of the Czech Citizenship Act.
73
Section 30 of the Czech Citizenship Act.
74
Section 40 (9) of the Czech Citizenship Act.
75
Section 15 (1)(h) of the Czech Citizenship Act.
76
Section 15 (5) of the Czech Citizenship Act.
UNHCR Czech Republic
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