ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian Kurds across the country have begun visiting civil offices to apply for citizenship after more than six decades of statelessness under the former regime.
Muna Sheikhani and her daughter, Berivan, presented required papers, school records and proof of residence at the Directory of Civil Affairs in Damascus on Thursday as part of a new process launched under a presidential decree issued in January.
“I do not want my children and grandchildren to be deprived of the things I was deprived of. Thanks to God, identity [cards] will be issued for them. Four of my children were deprived of education, and two are in school this year,” the Kurdish mother told Rudaw on Thursday.
Berivan hopes that acquiring citizenship will pave the way for her to complete high school.
The process, initially after Decree No. 13 of 2026, cancels the effects of a controversial 1962 census in Hasaka province that stripped an estimated 120,000 Kurds of citizenship and left generations without legal status.
The 1962 census created two categories of stateless Kurds: those labeled as “foreigners,” who held limited documentation, and others known as “maktoumeen,” who had no official records at all. Both groups were denied basic rights, including access to education, healthcare and property ownership.
According to officials, the application process includes submitting documents, registering information and attending an in-person interview before a specialized committee.
“They register their names in applications, and these applications are submitted to the committee. When the individual arrives in the country, they undergo an interview. They [the committee] will then study the person’s status. Naturalization procedures cannot be completed while the person is outside the country—not at all. Attendance and the interview are mandatory,” Takhrid al-Hariri, an employee at the Directory of Civil Affairs of Damascus, said.
Solin Mohammad Amin contributed to this article from Damascus.