Rohingya refugees – like all refugees in Malaysia – are not officially recognised as such and instead are considered ‘illegal’ migrants under the country’s Immigration Act. Despite this, authorities do allow refugees and asylum seekers to register with UNHCR, and those who are given a UNHCR identity card are offered some basic legal protections. In practice, the large numbers of people seeking asylum means that obtaining a UNHCR card can be a lengthy process, although the agency prioritises registration of vulnerable people (including separated or unaccompanied children) as well as those in detention. While they are awaiting formal registration, refugees are given an official ‘under consideration’ letter, which informs the authorities that UNHCR is assessing their claim to being a person of concern. Neither the card nor the letter grants any official legal status in Malaysia, meaning that all refugees in the country – including children – are at risk of arrest, detention, deportation, and refoulement. The Malaysian government has repeatedly asserted that card-holders have no special status, telling local media in April 2020: “Rohingya nationals who are holders of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card have no status, rights or basis to make any claims on the government.” 108 However, in practice, having a documentation from UNHCR is a vital source of protection, and its importance to Rohingya refugees cannot be overstated. On paper, Malaysia has laws that should protect Rohingya children born in the country from statelessness, and Article 14 of the Federal Constitution entitles any person born in the country, who is not already a citizen of any other country, to Malaysian citizenship.109 In practice, this provision is not implemented for stateless children born in Malaysia – including Rohingya children – and most have no formal legal status in the country. Even those children whose families have lived Malaysia for two or three generations are unable to acquire citizenship. Children born to Rohingya-Malaysian marriages, who are also legally entitled Malaysian citizenship, an also experience difficulties in obtaining documentation.110 While Malaysia refuses to grant Rohingya children – and other refugee children – official legal status in the country, for the most part, those born in Malaysia are able to obtain birth certificates to confirm their date and place of birth, as well as the identity of their parents. To do so requires a letter from the hospital or clinic where the child was born, which should be taken to the National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara, JPN) to be officially recorded by the government. For Rohingya, the primary use of a birth certificate is to obtain registration with UNHCR (its child protection policy requires a birth certificate in order for the agency to be able to register children born in Malaysia to their parents).111 However, access to birth registration can, in some cases, be undermined by difficulties experienced by pregnant Rohingya women in accessing healthcare. While Malaysian nationals pay around 100 ringgit ($25) for delivery services, the fee for foreigners is around 8,000 ringgit ($2,000) – an amount that is impossible for refugees and economically disadvantaged migrants to pay. In June 2005, the Ministry of Health recognised the need for more affordable healthcare for refugees, and entered into a formal agreement with UNHCR Malaysia to allow UN-registered refugees and ‘persons of concern’ a 50% discount on healthcare services at government hospitals. Even with the discount though, refugees often still struggle to pay, especially as they do not have the right to work in Malaysia. In some hospitals, staff claim that they do not accept UNHCR ‘under consideration’ letters and tell women to come back after they have been officially registered with the agency.112 Unregistered Rohingya are not eligible for the discount, and the costs – when coupled with the risk of arrest for being ‘illegal’ migrants – can prevent pregnant women from seeking assistance in medical facilities. This not only impacts prospects for birth registration but it also poses risks to the mother and child in the event of pregnancy-related complications, as well as children’s access to timely vaccinations. 3 COUNTRY BY COUNTRY SNAPSHOT LEGAL STATUS ACCESS TO EDUCATION Malaysian government policy prohibits refugee children and the children of undocumented migrant workers from attending public schools. This has devastating consequences for Rohingya children, and applies regardless of whether they have just arrived in the country or belong to families who have lived in Malaysia for several generations. As in other countries, lack of access to formal education limits children’s future opportunities, exposing them to informal and exploitative work. In the absence of access to government schools, it has been left to NGOs, faith-based organizations, 19