Degrees of Statelessness 2008 Nationality Law. As explained above, this scenario reflects the difficulties which the mother may have had in the country of marriage in obtaining a valid divorce or custody of her child; or • another scenario is where the child is born in Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother who has returned to Vietnam pregnant after a failed marriage abroad to a non-Vietnamese national, and their mother then falsely claims that the father is unknown (by claiming ‘single mother status’ on the birth certificate), as otherwise these women would face difficulties registering their child’s birth because both parents are required to be listed on the child’s birth certificate. This possibility exists as a result of a 2014 change in the law. 74 In these ways, the mothers and families of these children find avenues to subvert the existing legal regime in order to obtain the outcome of their child being registered as a Vietnamese citizen. This is necessary because the current legal framework does not provide a simple avenue for a female returned marriage migrant to unilaterally register her child as a Vietnamese citizen (or potential Vietnamese citizen), if the father of the child is known to the mother, but there is no written agreement. However, by doing this, these children may obtain permanent registration status under the ho khao system, and are able to access government services including education and health care, although their status, being based on fraud is inherently precarious. 2 Children with Foreign Nationality Our research suggests that the majority of children of returned marriage migrants fall within this category. From our study, at least 136 of the 206 children we interviewed held only foreign nationality and documentation. As explained above, children born abroad will obtain the nationality of their father if registered at birth (which is a routine practice in those countries) and will retain their foreign nationality on return to Vietnam. In some cases the mothers prefer to retain this single nationality (in contrast to the clear ‘dual nationality’ scenario discussed below) as they perceive this as a means of ensuring better opportunities for their children in the future. For example, they hope that their child can complete higher education in the father’s country. But in many cases the mothers may be unaware of the consequences of this status, which may lead to hardships if the children remain in Vietnam as they grow to adulthood. In relation to this category of children, the interaction between the legal framework concerning nationality and the effect of the household registration system suggests these children may be de facto stateless in Vietnam even though they retain their father’s nationality. They lack an effective nationality or protection in Vietnam as they suffer considerable inconvenience and potential discrimination from this status. In practice, children within this category can only be registered as ‘temporary’ rather than ‘permanent’ residents, as they are not Vietnamese citizens, and therefore must renew their registration every six months (and they must also renew 74 Law on Civil Status (No 60/2014/QH13) (Vietnam) art 14 (‘Law on Civil Status 2014’). 83