No passport:
How do invisible people live in Central Asia?
In the last few years, Central Asian states have improved significantly in detection, reduction and prevention of statelessness.
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Kazakhstan
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Kyrgyzstan
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Tajikistan
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Uzbekistan
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The collapse of the Soviet Union and emergency of new sovereign states in Central Asia led to the significant increase in migration and cases of statelessness. Thousands of people faced either termination of citizenship or were threatened to become stateless as they failed to obtain citizenship both in the country of previous residence and in the country of current residence.

Moreover, there are no reliable data on the issue of statelessness due to the lack of attention to this issue. In 2023, according to UNHCR, 37,257 people in Central Asia are stateless. Almost all of them are former citizens of the USSR, who were deprived of citizenship as a result of the dissipation of the state.
Stateless people are not recognised as nationals by any country under the operation of its law.
37 257
people in Central Asia are stateless
It means that such person has no citizenship in any country of the world. A person left without protection, recognition and nationality. It refers to those who face it from birth and those who are deprived of citizenship during their life. Their life is filled with unthinkable vulnerability and helplessness because they have no access to most basic rights – healthcare, education, work, and even a possibility to get married. In the contemporary world, it seems unthinkable, but it is reality for them, which if often illegal and hopeless.
For many people the problem of statelessness remains unnoticed, because stateless persons remain invisible and their votes are not counted.

In 2014, the UNHCR launched the global campaign #Ibelong meant to end statelessness by 2024. For 10 years of the campaign, over 190,000 persons obtained citizenship in Central Asia.
Since the launch of the campaign #IBelong in 2014 until September 2023
stateless persons
226
190 847
solved cases
37 257
stateless persons
stateless persons / persons with unidentified citizenship
3 351
6 511
solved cases
kyrgyzstan
stateless persons
25 413
stateless persons / persons with unidentified citizenship
8 266
11 558
solved cases
turkmenistan
solved cases
22 835
KazakhstAN
92 121
solved cases
57 792
uzbekistan
solved cases
tajikistan
If there is a political will on the part of the Central Asian state, statelessness may be efficiently eradicated by means of taking legislative, administrative and other relevant measures. Kyrgyzstan has a very successful experience.
Moreover, it is important to follow the principles of the Convention on the status of stateless persons of 1954, which is the basis of the international protection system for stateless persons, and of the principles of the 1961 Convention on the reduction of the statelessness. It defines specific obligations to prevent and reduce statelessness.
Timeline
Reduction and eradication of statelessness
2005 – 2015
2005 – 2015
  • The Kyrgyz Republic granted citizenship to 13,500 refugees
  • Turkmenistan granted citizenship to 21,000 refugees and stateless people and signed two conventions on statelessness.
2017
2017
  • Kazakhstan made amendments to the legislation to simplify naturalisation requirements to stateless persons.
2018
2018
  • Uzbekistan made amendments to the legislation to ensure general registration of births.
2019
2019
  • The Kyrgyz Republic provided assistance to over 13,700 stateless people regarding confirmation or acquisition of citizenship, and became the first country in the world that solved all cases of statelessness in its territory. The segment of high level of statelessness celebrated the middle of the 10-year-long campaign #IBelong.
  • Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan assumed obligations to activate efforts on eradication of statelessness by 2024.
  • Kazakhstan made amendments to the Code "On marriage (matrimony) and family" to ensure registration of all children in the country upon birth regardless of the legal status of their parents.
2020
2020
  • Uzbekistan adopted the new provision in the Law on Citizenship that grants a right to obtain citizenship to nearly 50,000 stateless people.
  • Turkmenistan adopted the new law "On acts of civil status" to ensure registration of all children born in the country regardless of the legal status of their parents.
  • Kazakhstan adopted procedures of determination of status of a stateless person and launched the nationwide campaign to identify and register people with unidentified citizenship in partnership with the UNHCR and civil society.
2021
2021
  • Turkmenistan granted citizenship to 2,657 stateless people.
  • Uzbekistan confirmed and granted citizenship to 33,000 stateless people.
2022
2022
  • Kazakhstan completed the nationwide campaign to identify and register statelessness, and identified 8,822 people without documents, including 4,868 registered as citizens of Kazakhstan and 2,683 registered as stateless people.
  • Turkmenistan granted citizenship to 1,530 stateless people.
  • Uzbekistan granted citizenship to 9,354 stateless people.
2023
2023
  • The Kyrgyz Republic took essential steps to eradicate statelessness by means of: ensuring registration of all children born in the country regardless of the status of their parents; bringing the definition of stateless people in the Law in compliance with international standards; introducing guarantees against statelessness upon renunciation of citizenship.
THE LONG-READ WAS PREPARED BY:

AUTHORS:
Zulfiya Raissova
Anastasia Bengard
Kabulzhan Adylov
Guzal Makhkamova


EDITORS:
Zulfiya Raissova
Katerina Afanasieva
Tatiana Trubacheva
Natalia Lee
Lola Olimova
Marat Mamadshoev


ILLUSTRATIONS:
Sabina Iskakova




LAYOUT:
Karina Tolmacheva