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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000187 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2020 
TAGS: SMIG PGOV SOCI KDEM PHUM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMEN CITIZENSHIP: THE LAW AND REALITY 
 
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Turkmenistan's citizenship law stipulates 
that Turkmen citizenship can be acquired either by birth or 
through completion of an application process.  However, 
during the past five years, Turkmenistan has not granted 
citizenship to anyone who was not born in the country.  The 
State Migration Service, which is the agency that processes 
applications for citizenship, does not currently accept 
applications.  The State Commission that reviews applications 
and submits its recommendations to the president does not 
convene.  The government is currently making no effort to 
eliminate contradictions in its legislation on citizenship. 
The government's unwillingness to address the citizenship 
issue highlights the matter's political sensitivity.  The 
authorities might be concerned that outsiders who acquire 
citizenship could affect political stability in the country. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
REQUIREMENTS FOR TURKMEN CITIZENSHIP 
 
¶2. (C) According to Turkmenistan's Law on Citizenship of 
September 30, 1992, Turkmen citizenship is acquired either: 
i) at birth, ii) as the result of a process of petitioning 
for citizenship, or iii) on other grounds specified by the 
law.  The passport of a citizen of Turkmenistan is the 
document confirming citizenship.  The law states that an 
individual may petition for and be granted Turkmen 
citizenship if he: i) commits to obey and respect the 
Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan; ii) knows the state 
language of Turkmenistan sufficiently well to communicate; 
iii) has had permanent residence on the territory of 
Turkmenistan for the past seven years; and iv) has a 
legitimate source of livelihood on the territory of 
Turkmenistan.  The law provides that, in exceptional cases, 
the President has the right to approve a petition for Turkmen 
citizenship in the case where an individual has met only the 
first requirement.  The President alone has the authority to 
grant Turkmen citizenship to foreign citizens and to 
stateless individuals. 
 
THE COMMISSION ON CITIZENSHIP 
 
¶3. (C) According to the law, the Commission on citizenship, 
formed by the President and working under his authority, 
submits to the President its recommendations about the merits 
of a citizenship petition.  It also makes recommendations 
about renunciation and restoration of citizenship cases.  The 
commission has a quorum when more than half of its members 
participate, although the number of its members is unknown. 
Its members include the ministers of the law enforcement and 
security agencies and foreign affairs.  A decision of the 
commission is made by a simple majority of those voting.  The 
time period for consideration of applications concerning 
citizenship should not exceed six months.  A reapplication is 
possible after one year.  The President issues decrees 
regarding the granting, restoration and renunciation of 
citizenship. 
 
THE REALITY 
 
¶4. (C) According to Batyr Sapbiyev, UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) Assistant Protection Officer in 
Turkmenistan, while the provisions of the citizenship law are 
consistent with international standards, implementation of 
the law is a problem.  In 2005, 13,245 people received 
Turkmen citizenship and residence status by a presidential 
decree.  Since that time, Turkmenistan has not granted 
citizenship or permanent residence status to any applicant 
known to UNHCR.  According to Sapbiyev, "For unknown reasons, 
the State Migration Service does not accept applications, and 
the commission on citizenship does not convene."  According 
to Zalina Rossoshanskaya, Director of Bosfor NGO that 
provides legal consultations on citizenship issues, there are 
people who have not been able to submit their applications 
for three to five years.  The role of the Migration Service 
 
ASHGABAT 00000187  002 OF 003 
 
 
in the citizenship process is quite limited.  It checks that 
all required documents are in the application, processes the 
application and confirms the applicant's legal residence in 
Turkmenistan.  UNHCR noted that the Migration Service 
requires 17 different documents as part of the application, 
many of which are issued with only ten day validity. 
According to Sapbiyev, it often happens that, before an 
individual collects the last document, the first one expires, 
creating a cumbersome circle of visits to various 
authorities.  Rossoshanskaya said the list of required 
documents changes quite often.  The documents must be 
submitted only in the Turkmen language, which makes the 
process even more complicated for non-native Turkmen speakers. 
 
GRAY AREAS IN LEGISLATION 
 
¶5. (C) While the law does not require an applicant to 
renounce his existing citizenship in order to apply for 
Turkmen citizenship, in practice, the Migration Service 
requires such renunciation, creating an inconsistency in the 
law.  In effect, a person must jeopardize his current 
citizenship without having any guarantee that he would 
receive Turkmen citizenship.  The Migration Service's 
renunciation requirement conflicts with some other countries' 
legislation on citizenship.  For instance, Ukraine does not 
accept its citizen's renunciation of citizenship without 
making sure the citizen receives citizenship of another 
country.  Not to risk their existing citizenship, some 
people, according to Rossoshanskaya, instead choose to apply 
for permanent residence status.  Such status requires people 
to relinquish only their voting rights, but not citizenship. 
There are also discrepancies between the citizenship law of 
1992 and the revised Constitution adopted in 2008.  In 
particular, the Constitution abolished dual citizenship, 
whereas the citizenship law still allows it. 
 
STATELESS AND UNWANTED 
 
¶6. (C) According to Sapbiyev, Turkmenistan does not accept 
applications from citizens of Afghanistan.  Apparently, this 
is based on an internal rule of the Migration Service. 
Rossoshanskaya mentioned that the Migration Service has the 
same policy regarding Iranians.  Unofficially, Sapbiyev had 
learned that, in Turkmenistan, there are about 12,000 people 
over the age of 16 without documents or with an old Soviet 
passport, essentially stateless persons.  According to 
Rossoshanskaya, the Migration Service issues an identity 
document to a stateless person only if Service ensures that 
once the individual is issued the document, he would 
immediately leave Turkmenistan.  In order to resolve the 
issue of statelessness, UNHCR has offered a draft Action Plan 
for Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness for 
consideration by the Turkmen Government.  If approved, the 
document would assist in making determinations of 
statelessness, as well as reducing the number of and 
protecting stateless persons in the country. 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT: Despite the modest size of its population, 
Turkmenistan shows no interest in attracting new citizens. 
Moreover, by abolishing dual citizenship, the government 
leaves no practical alternative to many qualified 
Russian-speaking specialists other than to give up their 
Turkmen citizenship.  Not accepting applications from Afghans 
and Iranians, the authorities seem to emphasize that 
nationals of those countries are not welcome in Turkmenistan 
as new citizens, despite the large ethnic Turkmen populations 
in both countries.  As both Sapbiyev and Rossoshanskaya 
noted, the authorities' unwillingness to address the 
citizenship issue signals that there are sensitive political 
implications behind the government's policy.  The government 
might be concerned about an increase in the number of 
outsiders, including ethnic Turkmen from neighboring 
countries, as a potential cause of political instability. 
Rather than face possible real or imagined risks posed by new 
citizens, current government policy seems based on a desire 
to maintain the status quo through inaction.  END COMMENT. 
 
ASHGABAT 00000187  003 OF 003 
 
 
CURRAN