Determining a child’s nationality is normally without complications when the child automatically acquires nationality from a mother or father who are registered in the Population Register, in accordance with the nationality law of their country of nationality. A child of a Swedish national will always obtain Swedish citizenship, regardless of whether it is the mother or the father who is a Swedish national. If the parents are unmarried, and it is the father who is the Swedish citizen, the paternity must first be established before the child can registered as a Swedish national; see further below. In situations where the acquisition of nationality requires the parent(s) to take action, such as registering the child at the Embassy of their country of nationality, the child is first registered as stateless or with “unknown” nationality (depending on the country in question). The information is then updated when the Swedish Tax Agency receives evidence of the acquisition of nationality from the parent(s).112 However, the Swedish Tax Agency considers the determination of nationality as more challenging in certain situations. Firstly, if the mother is not married and the child’s father is not registered in the Swedish Population Register, the child is registered as having “unknown” nationality, if the mother is prevented by the nationality law of her country of nationality to confer her nationality to her child, or if the mother is herself stateless. Secondly, in situations where the parents are married, but the father is not registered in the Population Register and the mother is unable to confer her nationality to her child, the child’s nationality is registered as “unknown”, unless the father’s nationality can be established and conferred to the child (based on his country’s domestic legislation); in such a case, the child will be registered as the nationality of the father. In situations where the parents are not married and only the father is registered in the Population Register, the child will not, according to Section 3, paragraph 3 of the Population Registration Act, be registered in the Population Register. As mentioned in Section 2.2.1 above, a child who is not registered in the Population Register at the time of his or her birth will nonetheless have the birth recorded by the Swedish Tax Agency. The child’s nationality will not be assessed in connection with the recording, though the mother’s nationality will be indicated, as well as the father’s, if known. If the child at a later stage obtains a residence permit and is to be registered in the Population Register, an assessment will then be made of the child’s nationality. It will be determined with regard to the mother’s nationality only if her nationality can be established, otherwise the child will be registered as having acquired the father’s nationality, provided the domestic legislation of his country of nationality permits. However, it is required that the paternity of the father to the child is first established, and that his fatherhood is recognized by his country of nationality in order for the child to be considered as having acquired the father’s nationality.113 The Swedish Tax Agency is responsible for informing the Board of Social Welfare when the paternity of a child who has been registered is unknown, or when the paternity of a child whose birth has been recorded is unknown. It is the Board of Social Welfare in the municipality where the child is registered, or, in the case of recording, where the child is born, which is informed.114 In accordance with the Children and Parents Code115, Chapter 2, the Board of Social Welfare has the responsibility to try to clarify who the father is and have the paternity established with regard to a child who is a resident in Sweden. When the Swedish Tax Agency receives confirmation of the paternity, a new assessment is conducted concerning the child’s nationality. However, the paternity may remain unestablished and, in cases where the child cannot acquire the mother’s nationality, the child’s nationality may also remain unclear to the Swedish Tax Agency; in such cases, it would normally be registered as “unknown”.116 36 112 Telephone conversation with the SMA, 28 September 2012. 113 Telephone conversation with the Swedish Tax Agency, 10 September 2012 and emails, 20 and 26 September 2012. 114 Follows from Section 7 of the Decree (2001:589) concerning the Handling of Personal Data in the Tax Agency’s Activities’ Related to Population Registration. See Förordning (2001:589) om behandling av personuppgifter i Skatteverkets folkbokföringsverksamhet, available at: http://goo.gl/2W0VlX. 115 Föräldrabalk (1949:381), available at: https://goo.gl/FYVl25. 116 Telephone conversation with the Swedish Tax Agency, 10 September, and email, 20 September 2012. 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