Every ten minutes a child is born that has no country, no ‘state’ to claim as home. For example, women in Syria do not covey the rights of citizenship to their children, only the legal father does. If he is dead, or just cannot be found, the child born is without a legal place to call home. Ignoring treaties that have been put in place to protect children, most of the nations in Europe don’t automatically make a citizen of anyone who is born in their country. But this is an issue around the globe and not limited to Europe.
The consequences of nog having legal residence is staggering, given that the right to protection under the law, the right to work, to education, to health insurance, and to travel is more often that not dictated by proof of legal status.
