Law or policy reform enabling automatic acquisition of nationality
Kyrgyz Republic
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In July 2019, Kyrgyzstan became the first country to resolve all known cases of
statelessness on its territory. 13,707 stateless persons or those with undetermined
nationality, identified since 2014 through a country-wide statelessness mapping
exercise, were naturalized or had their Kyrgyz nationality confirmed and received
documentary proof of their nationality.
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A citizenship law adopted in 2007 created several avenues for reducing
statelessness, including the possibility of stateless former USSR citizens to be
recognized as nationals. The law also created a simplified naturalization procedure
for individuals able to prove a link with Kyrgyzstan.
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UNHCR and its implementing partners conducted pilot surveys to identify the
prevalence and causes of statelessness in the country and to propose
recommendations to resolve protracted cases.
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The findings of the surveys resulted in the creation of an inter-ministerial process to
address statelessness and led to the adoption of a National Action Plan to Prevent
and Reduce Statelessness.
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At the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in 2019, Kyrgyzstan made four
time-bound pledges on statelessness, including on accession to the Statelessness
Conventions, enaction of a Statelessness Status Determination Procedure and
ensuring universal birth registration.
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The 2020 Civil Acts Law brought the national legislation in closer compliance with
international standards to prevent statelessness at birth. However, universal birth
registration is yet to be achieved. On the basis of the new law, a child born to
undocumented parents will be able to receive a statement confirming the fact of
birth, which will provide the child with access to social and medical services.
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UNHCR provides capacity support to the Government agencies in charge of
citizenship issues and processing applications for citizenship determination.
U N H C R > G P P A C T I O N 1 : R E S O LV I N G E X I S T I N G M A J O R S I T U AT I O N S O F S TAT E L E S S N E S S
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