has meant that a large number of cases have been processed in only a few years’ time (nearly 45,000 citizenship determinations and replacements of USSR passports between 2009 and 2012). The procedure for citizenship determination is also characterized by a remarkable degree of flexibility and contains some important procedural safeguards, which will be described below. Another innovation in the 2007 Law was the inclusion of simplified procedures for naturalization of foreign citizens and stateless persons. Article 13 sets out the ordinary naturalization procedure, under which foreign citizens and stateless persons who reach the age of 18 can apply to naturalize if they meet designated criteria.22 The key differences between Article 5 and Article 13 are that Article 5 is limited to former USSR citizens and recognizes them automatically as citizens, whereas the naturalization procedure of Article 13 does not limit its scope by former nationality but is a discretionary procedure which also sets out additional conditions (knowledge of the State or official language sufficient for communication, proof of source of subsistence and commitment to comply with the Constitution and legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic). Article 14 establishes a facilitated naturalization procedure separate from the ordinary one set forth in Article 13. According to the simplified procedure in Article 14, foreign citizens or stateless persons need to prove only one year of permanent residence in the Kyrgyz Republic if they meet designated criteria,23 but otherwise need to fulfil the other naturalization criteria.24 In 2012, the Law was amended to grant the right to naturalization through a simplified procedure to former citizens who returned to reside permanently in the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as to foreign and stateless women married to Kyrgyz citizens and residing permanently in the Kyrgyz Republic. These categories of individuals are exempted from the residence requirement of Article 13.1 and also from the requirement to speak the State or official language. Although the amendment introduces an element of gender discrimination in the law by facilitating acquisition of citizenship for women married to nationals, it aims specifically to address the situation of Uzbek women who reside in Kyrgyzstan in violation of Uzbek and Kyrgyz migration rules and possess only expired Uzbek passports. Because of their failure to renew these passports and register with the Uzbek consular office in Bishkek, many of these women may be stateless due to an Uzbek law whereby citizens who reside abroad for five years without registering with the Uzbek authorities may have their citizenship withdrawn. It is also important to mention that the 2007 law generally recognizes dual nationality, except for citizens of the neighbouring States of China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. However, in the case of citizens from these States, the Citizenship Regulations contain a safeguard against statelessness by providing that their passports and applications on renunciation of citizenship are forwarded to the consular offices of the relevant States only after the acquisition of Kyrgyz citizenship. Since the 2012 amendment to the Citizenship Law, the same exception applies to ethnic Kyrgyz, former nationals who have returned to reside in the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as to foreign and stateless women who are married to Kyrgyz nationals. The requirement that a presumed pre-existing nationality be renounced before acquiring Kyrgyz nationality is similar to what is found throughout the CIS region and linked to the prohibition on dual nationality in most countries in the region. The requirement had previously posed acute problems, particularly for Uzbek nationals residing in Kyrgyzstan, who had to submit an application for renunciation of their Uzbek nationality, pay a high fee and wait for several years for an official confirmation before being able to apply for Kyrgyz nationality. In other cases, persons may have renounced their foreign nationality but failed to fulfil some other naturalization criteria and ended up stateless. The safeguard in the Kyrgyz citizenship legislation is thus a best practice. 22 These include: a minimum of five years of permanent and continuous residence in the Kyrgyz Republic; ability to speak the state or official language at a level sufficient for communication; a commitment to respect the Constitution and laws of the country; and a source of income. 23 These include: an individual who has at least one parent who is a Kyrgyz national and who resides in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic; an individual who was born in the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic and held the nationality of the former USSR; and an individual who is restoring his or her status as a national of the Kyrgyz Republic. 24 Article 14 also offers facilitated naturalization to two additional groups. First, ethnic Kyrgyz who are nationals or residents of a foreign State can apply to acquire Kyrgyz nationality through the facilitated naturalization procedure on the same terms as for the other groups established in Article 14. Furthermore, Article 14 establishes an even more relaxed procedure, waiving all of the naturalization requirements set forth in Article 13 for the following categories of children: a child with one parent who is a Kyrgyz citizen (the application is to be made by the Kyrgyz parent proving consent of the other parent); a child whose only parent is a Kyrgyz citizen (the application is to be made by the sole Kyrgyz parent); a child or person with disabilities whose legal guardian or caretaker is a Kyrgyz citizen (an application is to be made by the legal guardian). 15 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS