civil registrar or to a notary public office to obtain a birth certificate (certificado civil de nacimiento) within a month of the birth. Parents who do not have a certificate of live birth or of baptism, or who do not report within a month of the birth, must make a statement and be accompanied by two witnesses who will attest to being present at the time of the birth.312 There are no fees or penalties for late birth registration, but the witness qualification process poses a problem that affects disadvantaged populations. There is a discretionary threshold for notaries to assess the credibility of the witnesses: Order No. 07 of 1997 of the Superintendence of Notary and Registration Service313 establishes that “equal credit cannot be given to someone of questionable morality or someone who exhibits a low degree of intellectual preparation (bajo grado de preparación intelectual).”314 Because notaries have discretion in qualifying or disqualifying witnesses, the process is open to discrimination. Further, the research undertaken for this report identified a common practice among registrars and notaries of only taking the testimonies of two witnesses if a judge had previously granted an order. Thus only parents who filed a judicial petition through an individual writ of protection (acción de tutela), could obtain nationality for their children in the absence of proof of a live birth.315 In addition to creating an unreasonable barrier for parents, this burdens the judicial system with unnecessary cases. The Civil Registry Office responded to this practice by instructing registrars to accept the testimonies as established by the law,316 without the need for verification by a judge. Barriers created by these discretionary practices are not insignificant, although they can be minor compared to problems associated with proving domicile, as examined in the next section. In Colombia, only one parent must provide proof of domicile, and only if neither parent can provide proof that he or she is a national of Colombia.317 Yet this requirement can pose a significant barrier for foreign nationals and the stateless. In accordance with Law 43 of 1993 through legal concept S-GNC 15-016796,318 in 2014 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs determined that in addition to a resident visa the following temporary visas serve as proof of domicile in Colombia: • foreigner in academic program • employment based visa • member of a faith based organization or order recognized by the state • foreigner entering as a retiree, as a partner or owner of a company, as a recipient of medical treatment, or to carry out an independent trade or activity • refugee; • spouse or life partner of a Colombian national.319 BORN IN THE AMERICAS 73