Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Myanmar DOCUMENTATION IN MYANMAR The below table offers an overview of the different types of documentation available in Myanmar. It is important to emphasize that not everybody from Myanmar is in the possession of or able to acquire these documents even if they would, under the relevant law and policy, be eligible. For instance, many displaced persons are not in possession of any of these documents. The nonpossession of documents by an individual from Myanmar should not be taken to affect the validity of their story. DOCUMENT Household Registration List Colour National Registration Certificates (NRC) Pink for women, Blue for men. Citizenship Scrutiny Cards (CSC) Pink Associate Citizenship Scrutiny Cards (ACSC) Naturalised Citizenship Scrutiny Cards (NCSC) Blue Green Temporary Registration Cards (TRC) White Green Receipt Cards or TRC slips Identity Cards for National Verification (ICNV) REBRANDED NATIONAL VERIFICATION CARDS (NVC) IN 2016 17 Turquoise Description It is mandatory for all residents to be registered on this document. Sometimes called family list. Issued from mid-1950s until 1989. Although these documents were not officially citizenship cards, in practice they were used as proof of citizenship, as foreigners were registered separately under the Registration of Foreigners Act. For dissidents absent for periods following the civil unrest of 1988, many retained and continued to use these documents. These documents did not include reference to ethnicity. They are sometimes called “three-fold” cards. Many Rohingya held these documents before 1989, but when they reapplied for citizenship cards in 1989, they were not issued with CSCs. Citizenship Scrutiny Cards have been issued since 1989 until today. They are colour coded. They replaced NRCs. Contain ethnic group as per 1982 citizenship law. Pink ones were issued to “full” citizens. They are sometimes called “red cards”. As described for CSC above, blue-green coloured cards are for associate citizens. As described for CSC above, green coloured cards are for naturalised citizens. A limited number have been issued to Rohingya. They use the term “Bengali” to describe Rohingya and are sometimes locally known as “Bengali cards”. Known as “white cards”, these documents were issued if NRCs were lost or if an application for an NRC was pending. They were also issued en mass to Rohingya in North Rakhine State from 1995 and were valid until 2015. They were necessary documents for Rohingya to access facilities and to apply for a “Form 4” which enables them to travel to other towns within their region. Rohingya were able to use these cards to vote in referendums and national elections in the past. In 2015, white cards were nullified and voting rights removed. The white cards were collected and replaced with a laminated receipt, known as a “receipt card”. In 2015 these cards were piloted in Rakhine State using the term “Bengali”. They were resisted by Rohingya. They were later rolled out across Rakhine State and elsewhere in the country in 2016 until today(2019) without an ethnic designation. They are issued to former holders of white cards or anyone who “needs to apply for citizenship” until status is determined. The implementation of this reverification scheme has been controversial and largely unsuccessful with many communities remaining non-compliant.