Degrees of Statelessness according to findings from our field research, these exceptional circumstances would not exist for a child of a returned marriage migrant — although we have also received some conflicting information, which suggests that this matter is an evolving issue with variable outcomes in practice. This limitation poses problems for the children within our study that fit within the dual nationality category. Although only two children identified as having two nationalities, this issue technically arises in relation to the first group for those who have not renounced their father’s nationality. Children in this category need to renounce either their Vietnamese citizenship or their foreign citizenship. Accordingly, it seems that children within our study that have both foreign and Vietnamese nationality have acquired Vietnamese citizenship through fraudulent methods of documentation, which may affect their legal status in the future. Although these children may have obtained permanent registration under the ho khao system through these means, their status remains precarious. For example, if the fraud is detected their citizenship and/or registration status may be cancelled. However, our preliminary findings also suggest that the Ministry of Justice may simply require the child to renounce his or her other citizenship without further penalty. This is another example of the ad hoc and discretionary practices that may be used to respond to individual cases. 4 Children (from China) Who Are Undocumented In the fourth category, only 3 of the 206 children included within our sample were said to have no nationality. 80 These children were undocumented, that is they had no documentation on their nationality. They were children of returned marriage migrants from China where, unlike Korea and Taiwan, there is no marriage migrant visa and such migration occurs informally or irregularly. 81 While these children would have Chinese nationality at birth (as in Korea and Taiwan), this category is complicated by the fact that many of these women migrate back into Vietnam irregularly, and thus the children may be deemed irregular migrants within the Vietnamese context. As a result, they are very unlikely to be registered in the ho khau system because they do not have identity documents. However, our interviewees suggested that these cases may be addressed in an ad hoc manner. For example, their mother may be allowed to register the child without documentation (or with fake documentation), and then claim the father is unknown in order to apply for Vietnamese nationality, as outlined in the discussion of the first category. While the number of children in this category included in our study is minor, the full scope of this issue within Vietnam is largely unknown but likely to increase as the Chinese ‘market’ expands. When considering the notion of ‘degrees’ of statelessness, as discussed in Part I, it is clearly arguable that these 80 81 It is important to note that the families and guardians of 30 of the children in our study declined to give information regarding the child’s nationality. We hypothesise, but cannot confirm, that these families may be hesitant because of fraudulent efforts to obtain nationality, or because the child is in Vietnam ‘illegally’. Guofu Liu, Managing and Regulating Marriage Migrants in China (Report, International Organization for Migration, 2017). A copy of this document is on file with authors. The only existing Chinese law on marriage migration addresses protection mechanisms for Chinese women who participate in marriage migration, mainly to Taiwan. Chinese law did not anticipate welcoming marriage migrants into China and has yet to respond to this new phenomenon; marriage migrants who enter China do so through illegal or irregular migratory practices. 85