LONDON: The Syrian Ministry of Interior will start accepting applications for citizenship from Kurds on April 6, as part of the agreement, signed by presidential decree, to address the rights of the Kurdish community.
Brig. Gen. Ziad Al-Ayesh, assistant minister of interior for civil affairs, announced that committees and centers have been established in the governorates of Damascus, Aleppo, Hasakah, Raqqa, and Deir Ezzor to receive applications, ensuring a smooth application process.
Al-Ayesh said that the first phase would focus on receiving applications and verifying submitted documents in line with applicable legal frameworks, paving the way for completing procedures required to grant citizenship, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
In January, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa issued a decree to restore the citizenship of Kurds and to formally recognize their language and national holiday, Nowruz.
The move was part of broader efforts to improve relations with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which had signed an agreement with the Syrian government to integrate under Damascus.
Amnesty International estimated in 2005 that between 200,000 and 360,000 Kurds remain stateless, as they are descendants of those rendered without nationality by the 1962 census.
