Third, some couples managed to ‘buy’ their sponsorship papers and regularize their residence status (although they are technically breaking the law) - as the husbands of Aida and Emebet had done, at least initially. Fourth, and most precarious, there were women like Rubka who entered into relationships with men of different nationalities (Syrian, Egyptian or Sudanese) who were irregular migrants themselves and/or were unwilling to marry the women. The children of such relationships often have liminal status if their father does not acknowledge them, as the Ethiopian Government requires documentation of paternity to register the child as Ethiopian.