By next spring, more than 1 million South Sudanese living in northern Sudan will acquire a new identity: foreigner. Less than two weeks after South Sudan broke from the north on July 9 to become an independent country, northern officials announced they wouldn't allow southerners living in the north to retain citizenship. Their only options: Live as stateless residents or return to South Sudan. (Leaders in South Sudan announced northerners living in the south could pursue dual citizenship.)

More than 1.3 million southerners either fled or were forced to go north during the country's two-decade civil war. As many as 300,000 have returned to South Sudan, but more than a million remain in the north, now many for decades. It's unclear what losing their citizenship might mean, but the Sudan Tribune reported that officials in the north already have terminated employment for southerners working for the northern government or military. Some worry that living and working conditions will only grow worse for southerners who stay.