obstacles. For one, many are unable to access and furnish records proving their ancestry (DOS 2017f, 14). Moreover, the government maintains a naturalization quota of only 2,000 applicants for citizenship each year (Van Waas 2010, 35). Finally, women cannot pass Kuwaiti nationality to children. Since up to a third of the Bidoon are linked to female Kuwaiti citizens through marriage or descent, this policy perpetuates statelessness (ibid., 40). Bidoon from Kuwait are thus potentially stateless or potentially at risk of statelessness. Saudi Arabian Bidoon In Saudi Arabia, the Bidoon are mostly descendants of members of nomadic tribes that did not register for Saudi nationality during the country’s period of state formation. Some also descend from foreign-born men who arrived in Saudi territory before the country regulated nationality. Although the Saudi government began to issue 5-year permanent residence permits to Bidoon in 2009, they are ineligible for Saudi citizenship (ISI 2018b, 5). Bidoon from Saudi Arabia are thus potentially stateless or potentially at risk of statelessness. Bidoon in the United Arab Emirates Emirati Bidoon are mostly descendants of individuals who did not possess the tribal affiliations used to determine citizenship following the formation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (DOS 2017k, 20) It is very difficult for Bidoon to naturalize in the UAE. The UAE pledged to naturalize the Bidoon in 2006, but few have naturalized (Van Waas 2010, 31). In order to naturalize, applicants must furnish proof that they have resided in the Emirates for 30 years or more. For many, such documentation is difficult to obtain (ibid., 34). The UAE has also purchased Comorian passports for some Bidoon, but most remain stateless (DOS 2017k, 20). Bidoon from the UAE are potentially stateless or potentially at risk of statelessness. Prior to 1990, Nepal granted citizenship to those born in the country, but a 1990 revision of its Constitution restricted automatic citizenship to those descended from a Nepalese father. This revision required children born to foreign fathers to naturalize, creating difficulties for families that could not procure the required documentation (DOS 2017h, 19-20). As a result, millions of people could not establish citizenship (ISI 2014, 88-89). Citizenship rules changed again in 2006, and citizenship on the basis of birth became possible if individuals applied within two years. In 2011, Nepal passed further reforms that allow children to acquire citizenship through mothers if their father is unknown or absent (DOS 2017h, 20). In practice, single women still face many difficulties registering children whose fathers have left the country, abandoned the family, passed away, or refuse to acknowledge paternity (ibid.). Furthermore, married women can only qualify for citizenship by descent with the attestation of their husband or father. As a result, many Nepalese face obstacles to obtaining citizenship. Persons born in Nepal in 1991 or later are potentially stateless or potentially at risk of statelessness. 23