East Asia Cause of Statelessness

1. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against
Childhood Statelessness

Protections exist in the nationality laws of all seven countries in East Asia which provide an automatic grant of citizenship to children born to stateless parents. In Mongolia, they can access Mongolian citizenship after reaching 16 years of age. Foundlings have the right to citizenship at birth in Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. No protection is provided for foundlings under the citizenship law of China or Hong Kong. Prior to the dissolution of China’s one-child policy, the country had over 500,000 registered orphans; in 2021, this figure had reduced to 190,000. Further, there is a lack of safeguards in Mongolia for children born outside of the territory from becoming stateless in the event that the parents fail to provide the required written agreement in order to gain citizenship. Article 1 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness states that State parties “shall grant nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless” either “by birth, by operation of law, or upon an application”.

2. Citizenship Stripping

After World War II, there were massive displacements of people across East Asia. Following Japan’s defeat in the war, ethnic Koreans and Taiwanese residing in Japan transitioned from being colonial subjects to foreigners. This led to approximately 52,000 ethnic Koreans losing their Japanese citizenship. These ethnic Koreans couldn’t return to Korea due to division and political instability there. As a result, around 250,000 people in this situation chose not to apply for South Korean citizenship and remained stateless as they were also unable to obtain Japanese citizenship. In 2021, more than 26,000 persons and their descendants still have unresolved citizenship statuses.

In both Taiwan and South Korea, foreign spouses whose marriages are deemed to be ‘sham’ or ‘fraudulent’ have faced consequences such as losing their citizenship and becoming stateless. This is because both countries require individuals to renounce their former nationality before acquiring the nationality of their spouse.

In China, individuals convicted of a criminal offense can lose their Chinese citizenship and face deportation. Similarly, in Taiwan, if authorities determine that a marriage between a foreign spouse and a citizen is fraudulent, the government has the authority to revoke the citizenship of the foreign spouse, potentially leaving them stateless.

3. Administrative Barriers

The impact of household registration systems on accessing citizenship and realizing associated rights is significant in East Asia. After World War II, ethnic Koreans and Taiwanese in Japan transitioned from colonial subjects to foreigners, leading to around 52,000 ethnic Koreans losing Japanese citizenship. China faces challenges with low birth registration rates for adopted children, migrant children, girls, those exceeding family size limits, and those affected by the hukou system. In China, Japan, and South Korea, household registration systems pose significant barriers for children of migrants, ethnic minorities, and those with uncertain nationalities, making it difficult for them to access citizenship and related rights.

Birth registration in China is notably low for specific groups such as adopted children, migrant children, girls, those who exceed the permitted family size, and individuals affected by the hukou system. Additionally, there’s a crucial need to ensure that births of ethnic Kazakh children are properly registered in Mongolia. Despite South Korea reporting a 100% birth registration rate, access to birth registration remains limited or unavailable for children born to foreign parents, undocumented parents, and stateless parents in the country, thus putting these children at risk of statelessness.

4. Requirement of Birth Registration for Citizenship Acquisition

In both Japan and Mongolia, a birth certificate is evidence of citizenship. There was a lack of sufficient data to determine documents which prove citizenship in South Korea and North Korea. Birth registration in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is not a required document for acquisition of nationality; however, children would not be able to enjoy full citizenship rights without birth registration as it is a part of the respective household registration systems which determine nationality rights.