Tens of Thousands of Stateless People Can Finally Get a Passport and Citizenship

A new law introduced in Uzbekistan last month will allow around 50,000 stateless people to become citizens of the Central Asian country.

“This is a huge development and we hope it will set a precedent for other countries,” says Shabia Mantoo, a spokewoman for the U.N. refugee agency, adding that acquiring a nationality is a “a life-changing experience” for a stateless person. “It’s something so important to the human condition – the right to belong and feel included.”

The nation has one of the largest stateless populations in the world, with 97,000 stateless people in total. They mostly lost their former citizenships after the resolve of the Soviet Union. Simplified naturalization procedures will also be introduced in September, benefitting many of those not eligible to acquire citizenship under Uzbekistan’s new law.