1. Citizenship Law

a. Jus Sanguinis and Jus Soli Provisions

The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic contains both jus sanguinis and jus soli provisions.^[1] While President Sadyr Japarov’s Decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 219 of 20 June 2026 amended procedural rules for citizenship matters, the automatic citizenship entitlement for children born in Kyrgyzstan to foreign parents of ethnic Kyrgyz descent was established by the Law on Amendments to the Law on Citizenship of 6 February 2025, with the decree merely adjusting implementation procedures.^[2]Under Article 12 of the Law, as amended, a child with one or both parents who is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan regardless of place of birth and irrespective of whether the child also holds foreign citizenship, except where the other citizenship is that of a border state.^[3] Amendments were made in February 2023 to the citizenship laws of Kyrgyzstan removing the problematic requirements for written consent to acquire citizenship in circumstances where one parent is a foreign national.^[4] Additionally, amendments made in March 2025 now allow for a refusal of Kyrgyz citizenship by a child if both parents submit a joint declaration to that effect.^[5] Now, in instances where one parent is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan and another parent is a foreign national, the child is considered a citizen of Kyrgyzstan unless both parents file a joint application to renounce the citizenship of Kyrgyzstan for the child who acquires another foreign citizenship at birth.^[6]

The definition of a stateless person in Article 3 of the Law on Citizenship has been amended to broadly align with the definition provided by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.^[7] The 2023 amendments removed the burden of proof that had previously been placed on the stateless person. 

b. Naturalized Citizenship

According to the Law on Citizenship of Kyrgyzstan, to obtain naturalization, stateless or foreign persons of at least 18 years of age must attain five years of residency, proficiency in a state or official language, comply with Kyrgyzstan’s Constitution and legislation, and have a source of subsistence.^[8] The June 2026 decree requires citizenship applicants to have a registered address in Kyrgyzstan and either a residence permit, stateless person ID, refugee certificate, or Meken Card, exempting relocated ethnic Kyrgyz and documented stateless persons.^[9] A Meken Card is a 10‑year identity document that gives foreign citizens of Kyrgyz origin (or former Kyrgyz citizens and their children/grandchildren) the status of “compatriot with foreign citizenship,” allowing them to live, work, study, and access healthcare in Kyrgyzstan without needing a separate residence or work permit.^[10] However, if the person is recognized as a refugee or a stateless person in accordance with legislation by the Kyrgyz government, the period of residency required is reduced to three years.^[11] There is a simplified procedure for naturalization that removes (or reduced to one year) both the required residency period and the other requirements listed above that covers some categories of stateless persons. An expedited structure exists for specific historical or lineage groups (such as former USSR citizens or ethnic Kyrgyz returnees), lowering the processing bar entirely or capping residency at twelve months.^[12] This pathway has been further simplified by the 2025 amendment to the Citizenship Law, under which Article 5(3) defines a citizen to include persons born in the Kyrgyz SSR, who hold a 1974‑sample passport issued in the territory of the Kyrgyz SSR or the Kyrgyz Republic, have resided continuously in the Kyrgyz Republic since birth, and have not applied to acquire the nationality of another state.^[13] In parallel, an expedited naturalisation structure exists for certain historical and lineage‑based categories, such as former USSR citizens and ethnic Kyrgyz returnees (kandasy), which either lowers the evidentiary and processing requirements or caps the required period of residence at twelve months.^[14] UNHCR has found the procedure for naturalization available to stateless persons in line with Article 32 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons which stipulates that such a process should be expedited for stateless persons to “reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings”.^[15] UNHCR has recommended further simplification of the processes of naturalization including the waiving or reduction of fees and exemption for submitting certain documents.^[16]

c. Dual Citizenship

While Chapter 1 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic of Citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic states that dual citizenship is not recognized by the Kyrgyz Republic, except for exceptional cases and existing bilateral treaties,^[17] some forms of dual citizenship are allowed.^[18] In exceptional cases and where bilateral treaties are in force, the 2025 amendments to the Citizenship Law clarify that Kyrgyz citizens may in principle acquire another nationality without automatically losing Kyrgyz citizenship, subject to important limitations.^[19] Article 22 expressly permits a Kyrgyz citizen to acquire the nationality of another state while remaining a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic, but this is not available where the other nationality is that of a bordering state or where acquisition would contravene the grounds set out in Article 16 (for example, threats to national security or other statutory bars).^[20]Dual citizenship is directly recognised only where the Kyrgyz Republic has an international treaty on dual nationality with the other state, as provided in Article 22(3); at present, no such treaties are in force, so the general rule remains non‑recognition of dual nationality for naturalising applicants, with limited tolerance of de facto dual status for existing Kyrgyz citizens who acquire a non‑border foreign citizenship without formally renouncing Kyrgyz citizenship.^[21]

Safeguards exist in the laws of Kyrgyzstan to protect persons from statelessness if they renounce their Kyrgz citizenship in the process of acquiring the citizenship of another state.^[22]

2. Treaty Ratification Status

While Kyrgyzstan has not yet ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, it has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the ICCPR, ICESCR, ICERD, CRC, and CEDAW. 

Under its ratification of CEDAW, Kyrgyzstan is responsible for protecting gender equality in nationality laws.^[23] Drawing on its 2014 General Recommendation No. 32 on the gender aspects of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness, the CEDAW committee in 2021 advised the State to amend the Citizenship Act and related laws so that stateless women, women whose nationality is unclear, Mugat or Lyuli women and their children can reliably obtain birth registration, identity papers and Kyrgyz nationality, including in rural areas. It also recommended  the State to guarantee that every child born in the country is registered at birth and can acquire Kyrgyz nationality and identity documents irrespective of the parents’ consent, nationality, residence or marital status, and ensure that losing or renouncing nationality only occurs if the person already has or will obtain another nationality. Additionally, it also recommended the State to broaden the statelessness determination process to cover recent arrivals and issue identity documents to those recognised as stateless and accede to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.  On birth registration, as a party to the ICCPR, Kyrgyzstan is obligated to ensure that every child be registered immediately at birth and protect their right to acquire nationality. Included in both the recent CEDAW and CERD Committee concluding observations is a recommendation to establish a simple and streamlined statelessness determination procedure which ensures that stateless persons in Kyrgyzstan may obtain their status without discrimination. In 2021, amendments were made to facilitate more streamlined access to birth registration for children of stateless parents, providing for instances where certain documents are unable to be provided. 

Under its ratification of the ICERD, Kyrgyzstan is obligated to protect the right to nationality, to work, and to equal civil rights regardless of nationality, and to ensure non-discrimination on the basis of nationality. In  2018, the CERD Committee recommended in its concluding observations to improve legal safeguards against statelessness, such as the right to appeal in Kyrgyzstan. As a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Kyrgyzstan is bound to protect the fundamental principle of non-refoulement. Expulsion of a stateless person should only be legally permitted in exceptional circumstances, of which Kyrgyzstan has overstepped in its legislation.

In June 2025, CERD reviewed Kyrgyzstan’s combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports and issued concluding observations that directly address statelessness, birth registration and nationality safeguards. CERD welcomed the 2019 measures that identified and resolved known cases of statelessness and amendment to the Law on Civil Acts guaranteeing birth registration of every child born on Kyrgyz territory, and the establishment in 2025 of a procedure for determining statelessness. However, it recommended that the State: (i) ensure the SDP is clear, predictable and covers all stateless persons; (ii) address administrative barriers to birth registration for children of asylum-seekers, undocumented migrants and stateless parents; (iii) refrain from adopting draft Citizenship Law amendments that could create child statelessness or allow arbitrary deprivation of citizenship; and (iv) ratify the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions. Parallel UPR recommendations in 2025 called for full implementation of the SDP with procedural safeguards, universal birth registration, and laws ensuring that children of unknown parents can acquire nationality. 

Kyrgyztan also ratified the Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1995), which in Article 24, guarantees the right to citizenship, the right to change citizenship, and freedom from arbitrary deprivation of citizenship. However, only four States have ratified this Convention thus far.

3. Kyrgyzstan’s Pledges to End Statelessness

At the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in October 2019, Kyrgyzstan made four pledges on statelessness. By the end of 2020, Kyrgyzstan pledged to regulate the statelessness determination process as well as ensure that all children in Kyrgyzstan have a birth certificate. Kyrgyzstan also pledged to bring its laws on birth registration in line with international standards to ensure all children are registered immediately at birth. Finally, Kyrgyzstan pledged to “study the experience of other State parties to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness”.

While Kyrgyzstan did not fulfill their pledges to regulate statelessness determination, provide all children with a birth certificate, or bring its legislation on birth registration in line with international standards by 2020, in 2023 UNHCR has lauded Kyrgyzstan for their subsequent actions towards reaching these aims. Amendments to citizenship laws and new legislation came into force in 2023 which ensures that no child will be left behind in birth registration and provide far greater safeguards to stateless children in their territory. However, due to the recency of these laws the success of their implementation cannot be commented upon yet.