Too old to be a ‘foundling’? – International standards and comparative analysis – (8) Kazakhstan (9) Latvia Article 13 of the nationality law states ‘A child, located in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and whose both parents are unknown, shall be a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan.’ Kazakhstan: Law No. 1017-XII dated 20 December 1991 of the Republic of Kazakhstan, On Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as amended as of July 2025 < refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/1991/en/151211>. According to the email from Marin Roman (the then Statelessness Officer, UNHCR Central Asia) to the author (11 February 2022), the Law on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan <https://cis-legislation.com/document.fwx?rgn=3146>, item 2 of Article 1 provides: ‘«Child» means a person under the age of eighteen years (age of majority)’, and this applies to the term ‘child’ in Article 13 of the nationality law, which was confirmed with the competent authority. Section 2 (1) 5) and 6) of the nationality law states ‘(1) A Latvian citizen is: (...) 5) a child who has been found in the territory of Latvia and whose parents are unknown, or other child left without parental care who is under extra-familial care in Latvia, except a child for whose parents the custody rights have been suspended; 6) an orphan who is under extra-familial care in Latvia.’ Section 2 (2) provides ‘The volition to register a child as a Latvian citizen in accordance with Paragraph one of this Section shall be expressed by: 1) the lawful representative of the child, if the child has not reached the age of 15 years; 2) the child himself or herself between 15 to 18 years of age.’ Law on Citizenship 1994 <https://likumi.lv/ta/id/57512-pilsonibas-likums>. It is the general rule in reading laws that the same term has the same meaning within the same piece of legislation; thus, the term ‘child’ in section 2(1)5) should cover a person before the age of 18. The ENS Statelessness Index supports this reading. Question PRS.3.b asks ‘Is there an age limit (e.g. ‘newborn’ or ‘infant’) in law or practice specifying when a foundling would qualify for nationality?’ and the response by the Latvian Centre for Human Rights states ‘Nationality is acquired upon birth registration. The age limit for registration of a foundling as a Latvian citizen by their legal representative is 15 years-old, or the child may register themselves between the ages of 15 and 18.’ ENS, ‘ENS Statelessness Index Survey 2023: Latvia’ (2023) 27 <https://index. statelessness.eu/sites/default/files/ENS_Statelessness_Index_Survey-Latvia-2023_0.pdf>. LCHR also reports ‘If registration of the birth, including the nationality, of a foundling (…) is not conducted by the General Registry Office within the period prescribed by the law, the legal representative can submit an application for registration of Latvian citizenship to the OCMA if the child has not reached the age of 15 years; an application may also be submitted by the child between 15 and 18 years of age.’ at ENS, ‘Ending Childhood Statelessness: A Study on Latvia, Working Paper 07/15’ (June 2015)14-15 <https://www. refworld.org/reference/countryrep/ens/2015/en/113462>. European University Institute 34