Nationality not Naturalization - The Rights of Lebanese Women to Full Citizenship and to Confer their Nationality to their Children 2008-2009 academic year, including 68 students. Decision 1 of 1 May 2010 issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education gave equivalences for some branches of Palestinian secondary school certificates to high school certificates or Lebanese technical baccalaureate.68 Documents required for registration at the Lebanese University include: • Possession of a Lebanese high school certificate or its equivalence and submission of a copy certified from the Ministry of Education. • Non-Lebanese students are accepted based on secondary school certificates that allow them to enter universities in their countries, provided they are equivalent to the Lebanese high school certificate. The Lebanese University collects from enrolled students the following registration fees (in one payment): Colleges of applied sciences: Science, medical sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture, health, media, economics and business administration, engineering, education, fine arts and architecture, tourism and hotels, technology. Bachelor’s degree: • Lebanese and Palestinian students: 245,000 Lebanese pounds. • Non-Lebanese students: 995,000 Lebanese pounds. This was the case until the government proposed a draft law to amend some articles of Decree 11614, intending to provide further incentives to foreign investments by removing ownership and legal impediments that limit this. The Lebanese parliament voted on the proposed amendment as provided: “All forms of real estate rights are forbidden to any person who does not hold a nationality from a recognized state, or to any person in general — should the ownership be nonconforming to the provisions of the Constitution in relation to rejecting permanent settlement (Tawteen).” Law 296/2001, on the Acquisition of Real-Estate Rights by Foreigners in Lebanon, was issued on 3 April 2001 excluding Palestinians in Lebanon without other foreigners from the right to own property in Lebanon. The relevant authorities apply the new Property Law to persons of Palestinian origin, although they hold different nationalities. This law has been subject to many criticisms and was challenged through a review submitted by ten deputies to the Constitutional Council. Still, the Council rejected the review on the grounds that “the second paragraph of the new Article 1 of Law 296 of 3 April 2001 does not violate the Constitution or a rule of constitutional power.” “In the future, I have to sell all my property and transfer the money abroad, since foreigners can only own a certain percentage of the property, and if I die, my children cannot get it; they need a decree,” says one woman. Faculties of humanities: Law, political and administrative sciences, arts and humanities and the institute of social sciences. Right to inheritance Bachelor’s degree: • Lebanese and Palestinian students: 195,000 Lebanese pounds. • Non-Lebanese students: 945,000 Lebanese pounds. Differences in nationality do not prevent a Lebanese mother married to a foreigner and her children from inheritance unless a foreign law forbids inheriting from a Lebanese. If the law of the foreign husband prescribes limitations to the right of inheritance, foreign children do not inherit their Lebanese mother, as authorized by foreign law for Lebanese nationals.69 The same applies to Muslim sects that permit inheritance between the Lebanese and the foreigner on the condition of reciprocity. Masters and doctoral degrees in all colleges and higher institutions: • Lebanese and Palestinian students: 745,000 Lebanese pounds. • Non-Lebanese students: 1,745,000 Lebanese pounds. Right to own property With regard to the children of Lebanese women married to foreigners, it should be noted that some Lebanese legislation places some restrictions on the freedom of property ownership of foreigners in Lebanon, including for Palestinians. The right to possess real estate by non-Lebanese is governed by Decree 11614 of 14 January 1969, which prohibits property ownership by foreigners in Lebanon only under a permit given by decree through the Council of Ministers. Nevertheless, Article 3 of the same Decree exempts citizens of Arab countries, including Palestinians, from licensing requirements whereby they could own real-estate without prior authorization for a maximum of 5,000 square meters in all Lebanese territory, provided that it does not exceed 3,000 square meters in Beirut. After meeting the specified fees for foreigners set out in the Decree, a Palestinian resident of Lebanon has the right to own a property or an apartment within the permissible limits. It should be noted that, in addition to the above, the failure of a Lebanese woman married to a foreigner to pass on her nationality to her children puts her children at risk of statelessness, exploitation and trafficking. Also, in the case of domestic violence, especially in the event that the foreign husband abandons his wife and child, whom he did not duly register, either due to the illegality of his residence in Lebanon or due to negligence or ignorance, then in some cases, the Lebanese wife risks registering her child as an illegitimate child to enable him or her to obtain the Lebanese nationality, exposing herself to the risk of prosecution, as her act is considered criminal forgery. In other cases, children of a Lebanese woman married to a foreigner are required to be recognized as illegitimate children to acquire Lebanese nationality and identity cards to pursue their studies, work, and travel. Bearing in mind that falsifying legal status is a criminal offence punishable by the Lebanese Penal Code. 17