Convention, the right of every child to acquire a nationality (Article 7 of the CRC) and the principle of the best interests of the child (Article 3 of the CRC) require that States grant nationality to children born in their territory who would otherwise be stateless either (i) automatically at birth or (ii) upon application shortly after birth. States which apply an application procedure and require a certain period of habitual residence are therefore encouraged to provide for a period as short as possible.206 UNHCR considers that the right of every child to acquire a nationality and the principle of the best interests of the child together create a presumption that States need to provide for the automatic acquisition of their nationality at birth by an otherwise stateless child born in their territory, in accordance with Article 1(a) of the 1961 Convention.207 However, if the State imposes conditions for an application, as allowed for under Article 1(2) of the 1961 Convention, this must not have the effect of leaving the child stateless for a considerable period of time.208 The 1961 Convention does not define the term “stateless” for the purposes of Article 1; instead, the definition set out in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention, which is also part of customary international law, is relevant for determining the scope of application of the term “would otherwise be stateless” under the 1961 Convention.209 The Government Bill on the Act on Swedish Citizenship emphasizes that the avoidance of statelessness is an important starting point for Swedish legislation and practice in the area of citizenship, and that this is also the foundation of several international conventions to which Sweden is a Party.210 In accordance with Section 2 of the Act on Swedish Citizenship, Swedish nationality is acquired at birth if one of the child’s parents is a Swedish national. The child acquires Swedish nationality at birth even if the parent of Swedish nationality is deceased at the time of the birth of the child. A same-sex partner of the mother of the child may transfer her nationality in accordance with Chapter I of the Swedish Children and Parents Code. Section 9 of this Code states that if the insemination or fertilization of the mother has been done with the consent of the woman who is the spouse, registered partner or spousal co-habitant and if, taking into consideration any other circumstances, it is likely that the child is the result of the insemination or fertilization, the one who has given her consent is considered the child’s parent. Thus, a child can also acquire Swedish nationality from a Swedish woman who is a partner of the child’s mother. As of 1 April 2015, a child born stateless in Sweden will acquire Swedish citizenship by notification211 (anmälan) by the child’s legal guardian(s), if the child has a permanent residence permit, and is lawfully and habitually residing in Sweden, in accordance with Section 6 in the Act on Swedish Citizenship. If the child has more than one legal guardian, the other legal guardian must also sign the application. The notification has to be made before the child turns 18 years.212 Previously, such a notification had to be made before the child turned five years. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Act on Swedish Citizenship, a stateless child born outside Sweden acquires Swedish citizenship by notification by the legal guardian(s) if the child has a permanent residence permit in Sweden, and has been lawfully and habitually residing for two years. The notification needs to be made 60 206 Ibid, para. 40. 207 Comments by UNHCR to the Legislative Proposal amending the Citizenship Law (Nr. 52/Lp11) in Latvia, p. 2, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/57ed07954.html. 208 UNHCR, Guidelines, para. 34. 209 Ibid., para. 16. 210 Regeringens proposition (1999/2000: 147) Lag om svenskt medborgarskap, p. 35. 211 The term used in Section 6 of the Act on Swedish Citizenship is ”anmälan” as opposed to ”ansökan”, which translates as “application”. The English term “notification” is therefore used, even though a formal application needs to be submitted, for example using the online application at: https://goo.gl/tm5UWU; the child’s eligibility for Swedish citizenship is then assessed by the SMA vis-à-vis the criteria in Section 6. 212 Information about the notification procedure and form available from the SMA, at: http://goo.gl/2EPNi3. M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N S W E D E N