The Plight of the Rightless: Mapping and Understanding Statelessness in Tripoli-V1.3 that the nationality of their holders is under study.29 Thus the under-study category offers holders a legal status but does not provide full citizenship. Under-study persons are regarded as foreigners.30 They are required to apply for a special residence card for one or three years in return of an annual fee of 200 USD. However, spouses and under-study children of Lebanese women are exempt from this yearly fee.31 There has not been any recent official population censuses yet in Lebanon nor any censuses for documenting stateless persons. Information about the latter’s profiles as well as their categories and concentrations is still uncertain due to the lack of official statistics. However, most published studies on statelessness in Lebanon have estimated the number to be between 80,000 to 200,000 individuals.32 Lebanese Nationality Law (1925) One of the main causes of statelessness in Lebanon lies in the limitations inherent in the Lebanese Nationality Law and its amendments in 1934, 1939 and 1960. As such, it is essential to take a closer look at some of its articles. The law stipulates that: (1): Every person born to a Lebanese father is considered Lebanese (jus sanguinis). (2): Every person born in the Greater Lebanon territory and did not acquire a foreign nationality upon birth by affiliation is considered Lebanese. (3): Every person born in the Greater Lebanon territory of unknown parents or parents of unknown nationality is considered Lebanese.33 According to Lebanese courts, the two main conditions required for the acquisition of the nationality are the Lebanese nationality of the father at the time of the child’s birth and the establishment of legitimate affiliation.34 Nevertheless, the only exception that is stipulated in Article 2 of the Nationality Law is as follows: “The illegitimate child whose nationality has not been established during his minority shall have the Lebanese nationality if one of his parents in respect of whom affiliation is first established is Lebanese. If the proof of affiliation regarding both the father and the mother results from a single contract or judgment, the child shall acquire the nationality of the father should the latter be Lebanese.” In fact, this is the only case that refers somehow to the right of a Lebanese woman to transfer the nationality to her child. Moreover, Article 5 grants an automatic right to foreign women to become Lebanese upon marriage to a Lebanese man. In 1960 (Law of 1/11/1960), this article was amended with the introduction of a one-year delay after the marriage registration before allowing the woman to submit a formal request. While a legal decision in 2004 by the Saida Tribunal of First Instance has extended this right to stateless women marrying Lebanese men, this right has not been put in practice. These women remain stateless until they file a lawsuit to acquire the Lebanese nationality. 29 First Instance Civil Tribunal in Mount Lebanon - Decision No 174 - Dated 10/06/2010. First Instance Civil Tribunal in Mount Lebanon - Decision No 92 - Dated 4/7/1973. 31 Interview with Key Informant at the General Security. 32 Frontiers Ruwad, Invisible Citizens (2011), p.9. 33 Lebanese Nationality Law, 1925, Article 1. 34 Frontiers Ruwad, Invisible Citizens (2011), p.53. 30 25