ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus has completed receiving naturalization applications from stateless Kurdish citizens, the Syrian interior ministry announced, adding that specialized committees have begun reviewing the submissions in preparation for implementing the necessary legal measures.
In a statement issued late Thursday, the ministry’s General Directorate for Civil Affairs said it had “completed gathering naturalization applications for the children of Syrian Kurds,” which were submitted through official centers and committees established for that purpose.
The ministry added that it would “grant an extension period for children of Syrian Kurds residing abroad whose applications were submitted by relatives,” in order to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries have the opportunity to complete the required procedures.
The statement praised the push for naturalization as a reflection of “high national awareness, responsibility, and positive cooperation” with the procedures enacted under Decree No. 13 of 2026. Issued in mid-January by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the decree seeks to grant Syrian citizenship and full civil rights to stateless Kurds.
The Directorate also noted that “technical and administrative work to review applications, verify submitted data, and complete processing requirements remains underway,” describing the effort as “a preliminary step toward finalizing naturalization procedures in accordance with approved legal frameworks.”
The initiative by Syria’s interim authorities seeks to overturn the extraordinary laws and restrictions stemming from the controversial 1962 Hasaka census, which stripped an estimated 200,000 Kurds of their Syrian citizenship and triggered a generational legacy of statelessness that persisted for decades.
Those affected, along with their descendants, lived without formal identity documents and were classified under restrictive legal categories such as “foreigners” or “stateless.”
In addition to enabling eligible Kurds to apply for and obtain Syrian nationality, the initiative would grant naturalized individuals the same rights and obligations as other Syrian citizens, including access to healthcare and education, legal employment, and the right to own and inherit property - rights from which many had long been excluded.
