View source for Statelessness

{{Short description|Status of not being a national of any country}}
{{about|persons lacking state affiliation|other uses|Stateless (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = <!-- (defaults to {{PAGENAME}}) -->
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = <!-- filename -->
| image_caption    = 
| total            = Unknown, in the many millions. UNHCR sometimes lists 4.4 million figure, but this estimate is about XXA designated stateless people who have been officially determined as stateless by state actors.<!-- total stateless population worldwide --> True number is unknown due to how state actors that cause mass statelessness do not cooperate on data collection. UNHCR data is incomplete.
| total_year       = 2022<!-- year of total population -->
| total_source     = estimate<!-- source of total population; may be ''census'' or ''estimate'' -->
| total_ref        = <ref name=population/><!-- references supporting total population -->
| genealogy        = 
| regions          = <!-- for e.g. a list of regions (countries), especially if regionN etc below not used -->
| region1          = [[Bangladesh]]<!-- first region (country)'s name -->
| pop1             = 952,300 registered<!-- population in first region -->
| ref1             = <ref name=population>{{Cite web |title=Global Trends Report 2022 |url=https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/global-trends-report-2022.pdf |website=UNHCR global |access-date=October 11, 2023 |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007052415/https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/global-trends-report-2022.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><!--<ref>erence/s supporting pop1 data -->
| region2          = [[Côte d'Ivoire]]
| pop2             = 931,100 registered
| ref2             = <ref name=population/>
| region3          = [[Myanmar]]
| pop3             = 630,000 registered
| ref3             = <ref name=population/>
| region4          = [[Thailand]]
| pop4             = 574,200 registered
| ref4             = <ref name=population/>
| region33         = 
| pop33            = 
| ref33            = 
| languages        = 
| religions        = 
| related_groups   = 
| footnotes        = 
}}
{{legal status of persons}}

In [[international law]], a '''stateless''' person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any [[State (polity)|state]] under the operation of its law".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/415c3cfb4.html|title=Refworld &#124; The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Implementation within the European Union Member States and Recommendations for Harmonisation|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|last=Refugees|website=Refworld|access-date=July 29, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812040512/https://www.refworld.org/docid/415c3cfb4.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Some stateless people are also [[refugee]]s. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are stateless have never crossed an [[international border]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Human Rights and Citizenship: The Need for Better Data and What to Do about It|last = Hovy|first = Bela|publisher = MIT Press|year = 2011|isbn = 9780262015271|location = Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KhejoCZ7alEC&pg=PA90|work = Children Without a State: A Global Human Rights Challenge|access-date = August 11, 2014|editor-last = Bhabha|editor-first = Jacqueline|editor-link = Jacqueline Bhabha|page = 90|quote = People who reside in their country of birth, have never crossed a border, but have never had their birth registered by the state—the effectively stateless, in Jacqueline Bhabha's terminology—also resemble refugees in their relative rightlessness.}}</ref> At the end of 2022, the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] published an estimation of 4.4 million people worldwide as either stateless or of undetermined nationality, 90,800 (+2%) more than at the end of 2021. However, the data itself is not complete because UNHCR does not have data from many countries, such as from at least 22 countries where mass statelessness exists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-24 |title=Counting the uncountable - World {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/world/counting-uncountable |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Institute Statelessness and Inclusion |url=https://www.institutesi.org/resources/statelessness-in-numbers-2020-an-overview-and-analysis |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.institutesi.org}}</ref> The data also does not include de facto stateless people who have no legal identification to prove their nationality or legal existence. According to the World Bank, at least 850 million fit that category.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Data {{!}} Identification for Development |url=https://id4d.worldbank.org/global-dataset |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=id4d.worldbank.org}}</ref> Given that the legal concept of nationality prevails in practice, completely undocumented people fit the definition of being de facto stateless.

The status of a person who might be stateless ultimately depends on the viewpoint of the state with respect to the individual or a group of people. In some cases, the state makes its view clear and explicit; in others, its viewpoint is harder to discern. In those cases, one may need to rely on ''prima facie'' evidence of the view of the state, which in turn may give rise to a presumption of statelessness.<ref>{{cite web|title=De Jure Statelessness in the Real World: Applying the Prato Summary Conclusions|url=http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/prato-20110302|publisher=Open Society Foundations|access-date=November 18, 2011|archive-date=March 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310202513/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/prato-20110302|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Causes ==
=== Conflict of law ===
Conflicting nationality laws are one of the main causes of "stateless births".<ref>{{cite web |title=Statelessness |url=http://www.fmreview.org/statelessness |work=Forced Migration Review |publisher=Refugee Studies Centre |access-date=November 18, 2011 |archive-date=August 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825221330/http://www.fmreview.org/statelessness |url-status=live }}</ref> At birth, nationality is usually acquired through one of two modes, although many nations recognize both modes today:
* {{lang|la|[[Jus soli]]}} ('right of soil') denotes a regime by which nationality is acquired through birth on the territory of the state. This is common in the Americas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Solodoch |first1=Omer |last2=Sommer |first2=Udi |date=January 2020 |title=Explaining the birthright citizenship lottery: Longitudinal and cross-national evidence for key determinants |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rego.12197 |journal=Regulation & Governance |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=63–81 |doi=10.1111/rego.12197 |s2cid=158447458 |issn=1748-5983 |access-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003155922/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rego.12197 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* {{lang|la|[[Jus sanguinis]]}} ('right of blood') is a regime by which nationality is acquired through descent, usually from a parent who is a national.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ius sanguinis |url=https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/pages/glossary/ius-sanguinis_en |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=home-affairs.ec.europa.eu |language=en |archive-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003155818/https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/pages/glossary/ius-sanguinis_en |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost all states in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania grant nationality at birth based upon the principle of {{lang|la|jus sanguinis}}.

A person who has neither parent eligible to transmit nationality by {{lang|la|jus sanguinis}} is "born stateless" if born in a state which does not recognize {{lang|la|jus soli}}. For example, if that child were born in India and neither parent had naturalized yet, then the child could be stateless, since India confers nationality only to children born to at least one Indian parent.<ref>{{cite web |title=8-003a |url=https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/acquisition1.htm |publisher=Foreigners Division - [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs of India]] |access-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-date=June 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601110502/https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/acquisition1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Gender discrimination in ''jus sanguinis'' ===
Although most states allow the acquisition of nationality through parental descent irrespective of where the child is born, some do not allow female citizens to confer nationality to their children.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remarks on Statelessness and Gender Discrimination|url=https://www.state.gov/g/176132.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027165644/http://www.state.gov/g/176132.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 27, 2011|publisher=US Department of State}}</ref> As of 2022, women in 24 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, are legally restricted from transmitting their nationality onto their offspring.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unhcr.org/news/news-releases/unhcr-applauds-liberia-removing-gender-discrimination-its-nationality-law |title=UNHCR applauds Liberia for removing gender discrimination from its nationality law |date=11 August 2022 |website=unhcr.org |access-date=25 June 2023 |quote=There remain some 24 countries in the world today that continue to have gender discriminatory provisions in their nationality laws regarding a mother’s right to pass on nationality to her children. |archive-date=June 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625142333/https://www.unhcr.org/news/news-releases/unhcr-applauds-liberia-removing-gender-discrimination-its-nationality-law |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/6221ec1a4.html |title=Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2022 |date=4 March 2022 |website=refworld.org |access-date=25 June 2023 |quote=Unequal ability of women to confer nationality on their children |archive-date=September 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915150241/https://www.refworld.org/docid/6221ec1a4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This can result in statelessness when the father is stateless, unknown, or otherwise unable to confer nationality to the child born to the unnaturalized mother in a foreign country without unrestricted birthright citizenship. Beginning around 2003, there have been changes in favor of sex neutrality in nationality laws in some nations, including reforms in [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], and [[Senegal]] that may inform change elsewhere. For example, Algeria amended its [[Algerian nationality law|nationality code]] in 2005 to grant Algerian nationality to children born in or outside Algeria to an Algerian mother or father.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Good Practices Paper – Action 3: Removing Gender Discrimination from Nationality Laws|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/54f8377d4.html|date=March 6, 2015|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916200309/http://www.refworld.org/docid/54f8377d4.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Moreover, the [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm|title=Text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women|website=www.un.org|access-date=June 29, 2017|archive-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523134845/https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> prohibits sex-based discrimination in the conferral of nationality.

An important measure to prevent statelessness at birth bestows nationality to children born in a territory who would otherwise be stateless. This norm is stipulated in the 1961 [[Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness]];<ref name="1961 Convention">{{Cite web|url=http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/6_1_1961.pdf|title=Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness|access-date=October 21, 2013|archive-date=October 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017052643/http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/6_1_1961.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> appears in several regional human rights treaties, including the [[American Convention on Human Rights]], the [[European Convention on Nationality]], and the [[African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child]]; and is implicit in the [[Convention on the Rights of the Child|United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611182141/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2010 }}</ref>

=== Ethnicity ===
Many states define their body of citizens based on [[Ethnic group|ethnicity]], leading to the exclusion of large groups. This violates international laws against discrimination. The [[International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination|United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination]] stated on October 1, 2014, that the "deprivation of citizenship on the basis of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin is a breach of States' obligations to ensure non-discriminatory enjoyment of the right to nationality".<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Nationality and Statelessness: Handbook for Parliamentarians N° 22|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/53d0a0974.html|date=July 2014|page=30|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919132801/http://www.refworld.org/docid/53d0a0974.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== State succession ===
In some cases, statelessness is a consequence of [[state succession]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalityforall.org/state-succession|title=International Observatory on Statelessness|access-date=November 18, 2011|archive-date=October 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007050645/http://www.nationalityforall.org/state-succession|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some people become stateless when their state of nationality ceases to exist, or when the territory on which they live comes under the control of another state. This was the case after the [[Soviet Union]] had [[Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states|disintegrated in 1991]], and also in the cases of [[Yugoslavia]],{{failed verification|date=May 2021}} [[East Pakistan]] and [[Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Southwick|first=Katherine|title=Ethiopia-Eritrea: statelessness and state succession|url=https://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/statelessness/southwick.pdf|work=Forced Migration Review|access-date=August 27, 2012|archive-date=May 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505204040/http://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/statelessness/southwick.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians|url=http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/nationality_en.pdf|access-date=August 27, 2012|archive-date=July 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716231231/http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/nationality_en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tekle|first=Amare|title=Eritrea: State succession and the effort to eliminate statelessness|date=December 13, 2010|url=http://africanarguments.org/2010/12/13/state-succession-and-the-effort-to-eliminate-statelessness-the-case-of-eritrea/|access-date=August 27, 2012|archive-date=August 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829135524/http://africanarguments.org/2010/12/13/state-succession-and-the-effort-to-eliminate-statelessness-the-case-of-eritrea/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations Office of Legal Affairs]], the [[Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession]] is the only treaty that aims to reduce this problem.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/annprss/annprss.html |last=Mikulka |first=Václav |date=January 2020 |title=Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of States: Introductory note |website=Audiovisual Library of International Law |publisher=United Nations Office of Legal Affairs |access-date=February 7, 2021 |archive-date=April 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421063630/https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/annprss/annprss.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Seven states have joined it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/200/signatures |title=Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 200 |website=Council of Europe |access-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512071408/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/200/signatures |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Political or religious conflicts ===
Many Muslim or Christian [[Palestinian]]s fled [[Israel]] from 1947–1950. In 1950, the newly formed state of Israel introduced a [[Law of Return]] that gave Jews the right to become citizens with voting rights shortly after immigration.<ref>[https://lawoffice.org.il/en/israel-citizenship-law/ The Israeli citizenship law, a comprehensive guide]</ref> However, the same right to return was not given to the many Palestinians who fled from 1947–1950, causing many of them to become stateless.  In December 1948, the UN approved [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194]], which affirmed that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date".

=== Administrative obstacles ===
People may also become stateless as a result of administrative and practical problems, especially when they are from a group whose nationality is questioned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Ending Statelessness |url=https://www.unhcr.org/ending-statelessness.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=UNHCR |language=en |archive-date=November 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119043505/https://www.unhcr.org/ending-statelessness.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Individuals might be entitled to citizenship but unable to undertake the necessary procedural steps. They may be required to pay excessive fees for documentation proving nationality, to provide documentation that is not available to them, or to meet unrealistic deadlines; or they may face geographic or [[literacy]] barriers.

In disruptive conflict or post-conflict situations, many people find that difficulties in completing simple administrative procedures are exacerbated.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity, 2012|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/5100fec32.html|date=2012|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919133604/http://www.refworld.org/docid/5100fec32.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Such obstacles may affect the ability of individuals to complete procedures such as birth registration, fundamental to the prevention of statelessness in children. Whilst birth registration alone does not confer citizenship on a child, the documentation of place of birth and parentage is instrumental in proving the link between an individual and a state for the acquisition of nationality.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition everywhere as a person before the law : Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/53ff324e4.html|date=June 17, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125090046/http://www.refworld.org/docid/53ff324e4.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[UNICEF|United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF) estimated in 2013 that 230 million children under the age of 5 have not been registered.<ref>{{cite web|last=UNICEF|title=A Passport to Protection: A Guide to Birth Registration Programming|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/52b2e2bd4.pdf|date=December 2013|page=11|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125040343/http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/52b2e2bd4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Not holding proof of nationality—being "[[Undocumented immigrant|undocumented]]"—is not the same as being stateless, but the lack of identity documents such as a [[birth certificate]] can lead to statelessness. Millions of people live, or have lived, their entire lives with no documents, without their nationality ever being questioned.

Two factors are of particular importance:
* whether the nationality in question was acquired automatically or through some form of registration
* whether the person has ever been denied documents on the basis that they are not a national.
If nationality is acquired automatically, the person is a national regardless of documentation status (although in practice, the person may face problems accessing certain rights and services&nbsp;because they are undocumented, not because they are stateless). If registration is required, then the person is not a national until that process has been completed.

As a practical matter, the longer a person is undocumented, the greater the likelihood that they will end up in a situation where no state recognizes them as a national.

=== Renunciation ===
In rare cases, individuals may become stateless upon renouncing their citizenship (e.g., "world citizen" [[Garry Davis]] and, from 1896 to 1901, [[Albert Einstein]], who, in January 1896, at the age of 16, renounced his [[Württemberg]] citizenship to avoid conscription; in February 1901 his application for Swiss citizenship was accepted).<ref>Walter Isaacson, ''Einstein: His Life and Universe'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007), pp. 29, 58, 569n.66, & 572n.20.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Albert Einstein German, Swiss and American? |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/albert-einstein-german-swiss-and-american-einstein-archive/4QWRAvk1sh4A8A |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref> People who ascribe to [[Voluntaryist]], [[Agorist]], or some other philosophical, political, or religious beliefs may desire or seek statelessness ([[ideological statelessness]]). Many states do not allow citizens to renounce their nationality unless they acquire another. However, consular officials are unlikely to be familiar with the citizenship laws of all countries, so there may still be situations where renunciation leads to effective statelessness.
Some may even desire statelessness to avoid future military duties by having a citizenship, or to avoid [[citizenship-based taxation]] practiced by countries like the US.

=== Non-state territories ===
Only states can have nationals, and people of non-state territories may be stateless. This includes for instance residents of occupied territories where statehood never emerged in the first place, has ceased to exist and/or is largely unrecognized. Examples include the [[Western Sahara]] region. People who are recognized to be citizens by the government of an unrecognized country may not consider themselves stateless, but nevertheless may be widely regarded as such especially if other countries refuse to honor passports issued by an unrecognized state.

=== Stateless nations ===
A [[stateless nation]] is an [[ethnic group]] or nation that does not possess its own [[Sovereign state|state]]. The term "stateless" implies that the group "should have" such a state (country). The term was coined in 1983 by the political scientist Jacques Leruez in his book ''L'Écosse, une nation sans État'' about the peculiar position of [[Scotland]] within the [[British state]]. It was later adopted and popularized by [[Scottish people|Scottish]] scholars such as David McCrone, [[Michael Keating (political scientist)|Michael Keating]] and [[T. M. Devine]]. A notable contemporary example of a stateless nation is the [[Kurds]]. The [[Kurdish population]] is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Kurdish population|url=https://www.institutkurde.org/en/info/the-kurdish-population-1232551004|access-date=March 12, 2021|website=Institutkurde.org|language=fr|archive-date=February 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201000841/https://www.institutkurde.org/en/info/the-kurdish-population-1232551004|url-status=live}}</ref> but they do not have a recognized sovereign state. Members of stateless nations are often not necessarily personally stateless as individuals, as they are frequently recognized as citizens of one or more recognized state(s).{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

== History ==
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2020}}
While statelessness in some form has existed continuously throughout human history, the international community has only been concerned with its eradication since the middle of the 20th century. In 1954, the United Nations adopted the [[Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons]],<ref>{{cite web|last=UN General Assembly|title=Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons|url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1954/04/19540422%2000-23%20AM/Ch_V_2p.pdf|date=September 28, 1954|publisher=United Nations Treaty Series|volume=360|page=117|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125053806/https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1954/04/19540422%2000-23%20AM/Ch_V_2p.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> which provides a framework for the protection of stateless people. Seven years later, the United Nations adopted the [[Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness]].<ref>{{cite web|last=UN General Assembly|title=Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness|url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1975/12/19751213%2003-00%20AM/Ch_V_4p.pdf|date=August 30, 1961|publisher=United Nations Treaty Series|volume=989|page=175|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=April 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406175812/https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1975/12/19751213%2003-00%20AM/Ch_V_4p.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, a range of regional and international human rights treaties guarantee a right to nationality, with special protections for certain groups, including stateless persons.

===In antiquity===
{{Original research section|date=October 2024}}
In a historical sense, statelessness could reasonably be considered to be the default human condition that existed universally from the evolution of human species to the emergence of the first human civilizations. Historically in every inhabited region on Earth, prior the emergence of [[state (polity)|states as polities]] humans organized into [[tribe|tribal groups]]. In the absence of written laws, people living in tribal settings were typically expected to adhere to tribal customs and owed allegiance to their tribe and/or tribal leaders. As states began to form, a distinction developed between those who had some form of legal attachment to a more complex polity recognized to be a state in contrast to those who did not. The latter, often living in tribes and in regions not yet organized into and/or conquered by more powerful states, would widely be considered to be stateless in a modern sense. Historically, there is considerable correlation between those who would meet the modern definition of statelessness and those the contemporary ruling classes of the extant states would have deemed to be mere [[barbarian]]s.

However, civilizations of this period more often distinguished between a subject and a [[slave]] as opposed to between a citizen and a subject. In many monarchies, the concept of citizenship as something distinct from that of a subject did not exist – people under a monarch's rule who were considered subjects typically enjoyed more rights than a slave, and would presumably not have been considered "stateless" by the monarch. But even slaves in a monarchical state were often considered to have a legal status more desirable, at least from the perspective of the ruler, compared to those living outside the frontiers in tribal settings who were typically regarded as barbarians. Depending on the circumstances, a monarch seeking to conquer a frontier region would seek to either ''subjugate'' or ''enslave'' the inhabitants, but either would impart on the conquered population a change from stateless barbarian to some form of legal status in which allegiance and/or obedience to the ruler could be expected.

With the emergence of the concept of citizenship in the [[Greco-Roman world]], the status of slaves and inhabitants of conquered territories during [[Classical antiquity]] became in some ways analogous to contemporary statelessness. In antiquity, such "statelessness" affected captive and subject populations denied full citizenship, including those enslaved (e.g., conquered populations excluded from [[Roman citizenship]], such as the [[Gauls]] immediately following the [[Gallic Wars]], or the [[Israelites]] under [[Babylonian captivity]]). However, there was a major difference between captive and subject populations in contrast to those living outside the boundaries of cohesive states – while both could be considered stateless, the latter typically only needed to adhere to local tribal customs whereas the former were not only expected to obey the laws of the state they were living in, but were often subjected to laws not imposed on and punishments not inflicted on full citizens. Among the more widely-known examples of this was the Romans' frequent use of [[crucifixion]] to punish Roman subjects, considered to be a highly degrading form of capital punishment that could not legally be inflicted on Roman citizens.

=== Before World War II ===

Some characteristics of statelessness could be observed among [[Apostasy in Islam|apostates]] and [[slaves in Islamic society]] (the former shunned for rejecting their religious birth identity, the latter having been separated from that identity and subsumed into an [[underclass]]). Statelessness also used to characterize the [[Romani people]], whose traditional [[nomad]]ic lifestyles meant that they traveled across lands claimed by others.

The [[Nansen International Office for Refugees]] was an international organization of the [[League of Nations]] in charge of [[refugees]] from 1930 to 1939. It received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1938. [[Nansen passports]], designed in 1922 by founder [[Fridtjof Nansen]], were internationally recognized [[identity cards]] issued to stateless [[refugees]]. In 1942, they were honored by governments in 52 countries.

Many [[German Jews|Jews]] became stateless before and during the [[Holocaust]], because the [[Nuremberg laws]] of 1935 stripped them of their German citizenship.

=== After World War II ===
The [[United Nations]] (UN) was set up in 1945, immediately after the end of [[World War II]]. From its inception, the UN had to deal with the mass atrocities of the war, including the huge refugee populations across Europe. To address the nationality and legal status of these refugees, the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC) requested that the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN Secretary-General]] carry out a study of statelessness in 1948.

In 1948, the [[Universal Declaration on Human Rights]] (UDHR) was adopted. It provided both a right to asylum (Article 14) and a right to nationality (Article 15). The declaration also expressly prohibited arbitrary deprivation of nationality, which had affected many of the wartime refugees.

In 1949, the [[International Law Commission]] put "Nationality, including statelessness", on its list of topics of international law provisionally selected for codification. In 1950, at the behest of ECOSOC, that item was given priority, and ECOSOC appointed an ad hoc Committee on Refugees and Stateless People to draft a convention. A treaty on refugees was prepared with a draft protocol addressing the status of stateless persons.

The [[Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees]] was adopted on July 28, 1951. As of January 2005, it had attracted the signatures of 145 state parties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/uk/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228062055/http://www.unhcr.org.uk/press/press_releases2005/pr25Jan05.htm|url-status=dead|title=UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency|archivedate=February 28, 2005|website=www.unhcr.org}}</ref> {{citation needed span|date=March 2019|Since the [[International Refugee Organization]]—the predecessor to the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR)—was in the process of being dissolved, the convention was adopted without the protocol addressing statelessness.}}

The [[International Law Commission]], at its fifth session in 1953, produced both a Draft Convention on the Elimination of Future Statelessness and a Draft Convention on the Reduction of Future Statelessness. ECOSOC approved both drafts. In 1954, the UN adopted the [[Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons]]. This convention provided a definition of a stateless person (which has since become part of [[customary international law]], according to the International Law Commission) and set out a number of rights that stateless persons should enjoy. The convention thus became the basis for an international protection regime for stateless persons. However, to ensure that the rights enumerated in the convention are protected, states need to be able to identify stateless individuals.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Protecting the Rights of Stateless Persons: The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4cad88292.html|date=March 2014|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919135831/http://www.refworld.org/docid/4cad88292.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Statelessness Determination Procedures and the Status of Stateless Persons ("Geneva Conclusions")|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4d9022762.html|date=December 2010|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919132455/http://www.refworld.org/docid/4d9022762.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Seven years later, in 1961—only one year after the 1954 convention entered into force—the UN adopted the [[Convention on the Reductions of Statelessness|Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness]].

In 2014, following a series of expert meetings, UNHCR issued a Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons.<ref name="UNHCR">{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html|date=June 30, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919135838/http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stateless refugees covered by the 1951 convention should be treated in accordance with international refugee laws. As of September 1, 2015, 86 states were party to the 1954 convention, up from 65 when UNHCR launched its conventions campaign in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|last=UN Treaty Collections|title=Status of Treaties, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons|url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetailsII.aspx?&src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V~3&chapter=5&Temp=mtdsg2&lang=en#3|date=September 1, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325151555/https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetailsII.aspx?&src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V~3&chapter=5&Temp=mtdsg2&lang=en#3|archive-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Reiseausweis Staatenlose1.jpg|150px|thumb|German [[1954 Convention Travel Document]]]]

=== Statelessness since 1961 ===
On December 13, 1975, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness entered into force. It provides a number of standards regarding acquisition and loss of nationality, including automatic loss, renunciation, and deprivation of nationality.

In 1974, the [[General Assembly of the United Nations|UN General Assembly]] (UNGA) requested that UNHCR undertake the functions established by the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. While the convention had only 37 state parties on January 1, 2011, 33 states pledged to accede to it at a ministerial event organized by UNHCR in December 2011. As of September 1, 2015, the number of state parties had increased to 64.<ref>{{cite web|last=UN Treaty Collections |title=Status of Treaties, Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness |url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V-4&chapter=5&lang=en |date=September 1, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325153730/https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=V-4&chapter=5&lang=en |archive-date=March 25, 2015 }}</ref>

States bound by the 1989 [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]] are obligated to ensure that every child acquires a nationality.<ref>{{cite web|last=UN General Assembly|title=Convention on the Rights of the Child|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38f0.html|date=November 20, 1961|publisher=United Nations Treaty Series|volume=1577|page=3|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920013744/http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38f0.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The convention requires states to implement this provision in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless, and in a manner that is in the [[best interests]] of the child.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |title=Interpreting the 1961 Statelessness Convention and Preventing Statelessness among Children|url=http://www.unhcr.org/4e847ecf9.html|access-date=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

Starting in 1994, the UNHCR Executive Committee (ExCom) and the UNGA asked UNHCR to broaden its activities concerning statelessness to include all states.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=How UNHCR helps the stateless|work=UNHCR |url=http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c16a.html|access-date=November 19, 2011|archive-date=October 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021000408/http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c16a.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Executive Committee Conclusions|url=http://www.unhcr.org/41b4607c4.pdf|access-date=November 19, 2011|archive-date=September 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901192529/http://www.unhcr.org/41b4607c4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, UNHCR was asked by the UNGA to actively promote accessions to the 1954 and 1961 conventions, as well as to provide interested states with technical and advisory services pertaining to the preparation and implementation of nationality legislation.

An internal evaluation released in 2001<ref>{{cite web|last1=Engstrom |first1=Magnus|first2=Naoko |last2=Obi|title=Evaluation of UNHCR's role and activities in relation to statelessness |date=July 2001|url=http://www.unhcr.org/3b67d0fa7.pdf|access-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-date=September 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902104729/http://www.unhcr.org/3b67d0fa7.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> suggested that UNHCR had done little to exercise its mandate on statelessness. Only two individuals were tasked with overseeing work in that area at UNHCR headquarters, though some field officers had been trained to address the issue. The evaluation also noted that there was no dedicated budget line.

Concerned organisations such as the [[Open Society Justice Initiative]] and [[Refugees International]] have called for UNHCR to dedicate more human and financial resources to statelessness.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice |title=Open Society Justice Initiative &#124; Open Society Foundations (OSF) |publisher=Soros.org |date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2013 |archive-date=May 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530021906/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2006, a statelessness unit (now a statelessness section) was established in [[Geneva]], and staffing has increased both in headquarters and in the field. As part of an overhaul of UNHCR's budget structure in 2010, the budget dedicated to statelessness increased from approximately US$12&nbsp;million in 2009 to $69.5&nbsp;million in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Note on statelessness|url=http://www.unhcr.org/559643a19.html|date=June 3, 2015|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=October 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006183613/http://www.unhcr.org/559643a19.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to regular staff in regional and country offices, UNHCR has regional statelessness officers in [[Dakar]], [[Senegal]], for West Africa; [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], for the [[Horn of Africa]]; [[Pretoria]], South Africa, for Southern Africa; [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]], Costa Rica, for the Americas; [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]], for Asia and the Pacific; [[Almaty]], [[Kazakhstan]], for Central Asia; [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]], for Europe; and [[Amman]], [[Jordan]], for the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2004, ExCom instructed UNHCR to pay particular attention to situations of protracted statelessness and to explore, in cooperation with states, measures that would ameliorate and end these situations. In 2006, it provided UNHCR with more specific guidance on how to implement its mandate. The Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons requires UNHCR to work with governments, other UN agencies, and civil society to address statelessness.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=EXCOM Conclusion on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons|url=http://www.unhcr.org/453497302.html|date=October 6, 2006|number=106(LVII)|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=September 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905230305/http://www.unhcr.org/453497302.html|url-status=live}}</ref> UNHCR's activities are currently categorized as identification, prevention, reduction, and protection.

UNHCR has achieved some success with campaigns to prevent and reduce statelessness among peoples in the [[Crimea]]n peninsula ([[Armenians]], [[Crimean Tatars]], [[Germans]], and [[Greeks]]) who were deported ''en masse'' at the close of World War II. Another success has been the naturalization of [[Tajiks|Tajik]] refugees in [[Kyrgyzstan]], as well as campaigns that have enabled 300,000 [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Tamils]] to acquire Sri Lankan citizenship. UNHCR also helped the [[Czech Republic]] reduce the large number of stateless persons created when it [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|separated]] from [[Slovakia]].

At the beginning of 2006, the UNHCR reported that it had records of 2.4&nbsp;million stateless persons, and estimated that there were 11 million worldwide. By the end of 2014, UNHCR had identified close to 3.5&nbsp;million stateless persons in 77 countries and estimated the total number worldwide to be more than 10&nbsp;million.<ref name=globaltrends>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=UNHCR Global Trends 2014: World at War|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/558292924.html|date=June 18, 2015|page=2|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=August 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804034833/http://www.refworld.org/docid/558292924.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

UNHCR does not report refugee populations in its statelessness statistics to avoid [[double counting (fallacy)|double counting]], which would affect the total number of "persons of concern". Stateless refugees are counted as refugees, not as stateless. For the same reason, Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the [[UNRWA|United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East]] (UNRWA) are not reported in the UNHCR statelessness table. Instead, they are referred to elsewhere in UNHCR's statistical reporting.

While the two UN conventions on statelessness constitute the primary international framework for the protection of stateless persons and the reduction of statelessness, there are also regional instruments of great importance. The 1997 [[European Convention on Nationality]], for example, has contributed to protecting the rights of stateless persons and provides standards for reducing statelessness in the [[Council of Europe]] region. That document emphasizes the need of every person to have a nationality, and seeks to clarify the rights and responsibilities of states in ensuring individual access to a nationality.

Some of the largest populations of stateless persons are found in [[Algeria]]<!-- alphabetical order?-->, [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Cambodia]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Estonia]], [[India]], [[Kenya]], [[Latvia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Mauritania]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[Brunei]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Bahrain]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], and [[Thailand]]{{Citation needed|reason=Where is this list coming from? UNHCR site says "Currently, UNHCR is not aware of any stateless populations in Bangladesh."|date=March 2025}}

== Notable cases ==
=== Airports ===
Some stateless people have received widespread public attention in airports due to their status as [[Port of entry|ports of entry]].

One famous case is that of [[Mehran Karimi Nasseri]], who lived in [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] in France for approximately 18 years after he was denied entry to the country. His Iranian passport and UN refugee documents had been stolen. He had a British mother, but he did not have British citizenship. The 1994 French film ''[[Tombés du ciel]]'' and the 2004 American film ''[[The Terminal]]'' are fictional stories inspired by his experiences.<ref name="Berczeller">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/sep/06/features.features11 |title=The man who lost his past |date=September 6, 2004 |last=Berczeller |first=Paul |access-date=August 1, 2008 |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509221159/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/sep/06/features.features11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== During change of citizenship ===
Countries that restrict [[multiple nationality]] often require immigrants who apply for naturalisation to obtain official documentation from their countries of origin proving that they are no longer citizens.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=95438&CtNode=426|first=Steven|last=Crook|title=Citizenship reform is a win-win proposition|work=Taiwan Today|date=May 3, 2010|access-date=November 21, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221414/http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=95438&CtNode=426|url-status=live}}</ref> In others, including [[Taiwan]], the documentation must be provided prior to the granting of citizenship. During the period between the cancellation of the prior citizenship and the granting of the new citizenship by naturalization, the applicant may be officially stateless. In two cases in Taiwan, Pakistani immigrants applied for naturalization and renounced their Pakistani citizenship. In the interim, the decisions to permit their naturalization as citizens of Taiwan were reversed, leaving them stateless.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/12/15/2003550192|author=Loa Iok-sin|title=Legislator to propose changes to naturalization laws|work=Taipei Times|date=December 15, 2012|access-date=November 21, 2013|archive-date=November 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118142639/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/12/15/2003550192|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Australia===
{{As of|2017|4|30}}, Australia had 37 stateless people in onshore detention, who had been detained for an average of 2 years and 106 days and the longest was 3 years and 250 days.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stateless people in onshore detention|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/legcon_ctte/estimates/bud_1718/DIBP/QoNs/BE17052.pdf|publisher=Department of Immigration and Border Protection|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401003804/https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/legcon_ctte/estimates/bud_1718/DIBP/QoNs/BE17052.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of stateless people in offshore detention is unknown. There were a further 57 stateless people living in the community after being approved for a residence determination.<ref>{{cite web|title=Immigration Detentionand Community Statistics Summary|url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/immigration-detention-statistics-30-april-2017.pdf|publisher=Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection|access-date=March 28, 2018|date=April 30, 2017|archive-date=April 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409062716/https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/immigration-detention-statistics-30-april-2017.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Australia, statelessness is not itself a ground for grant of a visa and the person must instead rely upon other grounds, such as being a refugee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2369582/01-Foster,-McAdam-and-Wadley-Part-One-402-Post-Press.pdf |title=The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law |author1=Forster, M |author2=McAdam J |author3=Wadley, D |name-list-style=amp |access-date=March 31, 2018 |archive-date=April 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419050454/http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2369582/01-Foster,-McAdam-and-Wadley-Part-One-402-Post-Press.pdf |url-status=live }} (2016) 40 Melbourne University Law Review 401. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref> Notable cases include:

*Ahmed Al-Kateb, a Palestinian man born in Kuwait who was denied a visa on arrival in Australia in 2000 and did not meet the requirements of a refugee. Al-Kateb wished to return to Kuwait or Gaza. However, Kuwait would not accept him (as he was not a Kuwait citizen or resident) and there was no state of Palestine recognized by Australia at that time. To return him to Gaza required the approval of Israel. The [[High Court of Australia]] held in ''[[Al-Kateb v Godwin]]'' that his detention was lawful, even though it would continue indefinitely.<ref name="Al-Kateb v Godwin">{{Cite AustLII|HCA|37|2004|litigants=[[Al-Kateb v Godwin]] |parallelcite=(2004) 219 [[Commonwealth Law Reports|CLR]] 562 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> Al-Kateb and eight other stateless people were granted bridging visas in 2005 and, while this meant they were released from detention, they were unable to work, study or obtain various government benefits.<ref name="AI life sentence">{{cite web|author=Jordan, Seth |year=2005 |title=When detention becomes a life sentence |work=Amnesty International Australia |url=https://www.amnesty.org.au/Act_now/campaigns/refugees/features/when_detention_becomes_a_life_sentence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514074353/http://www.amnesty.org.au/Act_now/campaigns/refugees/features/when_detention_becomes_a_life_sentence |archive-date=May 14, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Al-Kateb was granted a permanent visa in October 2007.<ref name=Marr>{{cite news |first=David |last=Marr |title=Escape from a life in Limbo |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=October 27, 2007 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/26/1192941339538.html |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075652/https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/26/1192941339538.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*'Baby Ferouz' was born in November 2013 to [[Rohingya]] Muslim parents who had fled from [[Myanmar]], which did not recognise them as citizens. His parents and siblings were being held at the [[Nauru Detention Centre]], however the family was flown to Brisbane due to complications in pregnancy, with the result that baby Ferouz was born in Australia. From 1986, Australia has not automatically granted citizenship to people born in Australia, despite the provision in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness requiring nationality to be given to children born in a territory who would otherwise be stateless.<ref name="1961 Convention"/> As baby Ferouz was deemed to be an unauthorised maritime arrival, he could not be given a protection visa.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCAFC|178|2014|litigants=Plaintiff B9/2014 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection |parallelcite=(2014) 227 [[Federal Court Reports|FCR]] 494 |courtname=auto |date=December 18, 2014}}</ref> In December 2014 he and his family were given a temporary protection visa which allowed them to be released from immigration detention.<ref>{{cite news|title=Baby Ferouz and his asylum seeking family released from Darwin detention|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-20/baby-ferouz-and-his-family-released-from-darwin-detention/6026628|access-date=March 28, 2018|work=ABC.net.au|date=January 20, 2015|archive-date=May 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522133018/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-20/baby-ferouz-and-his-family-released-from-darwin-detention/6026628|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Said Imasi is believed to be from [[Western Sahara]] and had been granted a protection visa in Norway in 2004. In January 2010 he had a one-way ticket to New Zealand and was traveling on a friend's passport and was detained on a stop-over in Melbourne. His application for a refugee visa was refused because he did not have a "well-founded fear of persecution" in Norway.<ref>{{cite AustLII|RRTA|811|2010|litigants=1007284 |date=September 20, 2010 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> Because he has no visa to be in Australia and there is no country to which he can be returned, Imasi has been in immigration detention since January 2010, spending several years at the [[Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre|Christmas Island Detention Centre]]<ref>{{cite news|title='Every day I am crushed': the stateless man held without trial by Australia for eight years|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/15/every-day-i-am-crushed-the-stateless-man-held-without-trial-by-australia-for-eight-years|access-date=March 27, 2018|newspaper=TheGuardian.com|date=January 15, 2008|archive-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331173548/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/15/every-day-i-am-crushed-the-stateless-man-held-without-trial-by-australia-for-eight-years|url-status=live}}</ref> and later at the [[Villawood Immigration Detention Centre]] in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aili |first1=Massilia |title=Refugee diaries: 10 years in immigration detention in Australia |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/8/refugee-diaries-10-years-in-immigration-detention-in-australia |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201162043/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/8/refugee-diaries-10-years-in-immigration-detention-in-australia |url-status=live }}</ref> As of May 2023, Imasi has been released under unknown conditions.

===Bahrain===

Many individuals in Bahrain, called [[Bidoon]], do not have a nationality. A number of people have also had their citizenship revoked and are now stateless; the revocation took place after they criticised the Bahraini government. This situation also occurs in other Middle Eastern countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/08/bahrain-dont-arbitrarily-revoke-citizenship|title = Bahrain: Don't Arbitrarily Revoke Citizenship|date = November 8, 2012|access-date = March 8, 2022|archive-date = March 8, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220308030306/https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/08/bahrain-dont-arbitrarily-revoke-citizenship|url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Brazil ===
[[File:Maha Mamo ONU Brasil.webm|thumb|Maha Mamo tells her story in this UN Brazil #IBelong campaign video.]]
Brazil is among the few countries in the world to have in its law the recognition of a stateless person to provide documents to this person as an official citizen of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brazil will offer citizenship to stateless persons|url=https://rightsinexile.tumblr.com/post/96370403457/brazil-will-offer-citizenship-to-stateless-persons|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=Rights in Exile|language=en|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704205007/https://rightsinexile.tumblr.com/post/96370403457/brazil-will-offer-citizenship-to-stateless-persons|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Statelessness – UNHCR Brazil – Help for refugees and asylum-seekers|url=https://help.unhcr.org/brazil/en/statelessness/|access-date=July 4, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=July 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706135647/https://help.unhcr.org/brazil/en/statelessness/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Maha Mamo|Maha]] and Souad Mamo, who had lived in Brazil for four years as refugees, were the first stateless persons recognized by the Brazilian state after the creation of the new migration law (Law No. 13,445),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2017/lei/l13445.htm|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=www.planalto.gov.br|title=L13445|archive-date=March 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312192815/http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2017/Lei/L13445.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> which came into force in 2017. The migration law provides protective measures for stateless persons, facilitating the guarantees of social inclusion and simplified naturalization for citizens without a homeland. The legislation follows international conventions of respect for stateless persons and seeks to reduce the number of people in this situation, giving the right to request nationality. Countries having similar laws usually offer stateless persons the access to basic rights such as education and health, while in their documents they are still recognized as stateless with a residence permit.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Assunção|first=Thiago|date=2019|title=Statelessness in Brazil: from invisibility to the invitation for becoming a citizen|url=https://redib.org/Record/oai_articulo2093497-statelessness-brazil-from-invisibility-invitation-becoming-a-citizen|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=redib.org|language=pt|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704160333/https://redib.org/Record/oai_articulo2093497-statelessness-brazil-from-invisibility-invitation-becoming-a-citizen|url-status=live}}</ref> With its law, Brazil offers naturalization, which means that these persons can by all effects become Brazilians. If the stateless persons do not wish to apply for immediate naturalization, they are granted at least definitive residency in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 25, 2018|title=Brasil reconhece condição de apátrida pela primeira vez na história|url=https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2018-06/brasil-reconhece-condicao-de-apatrida-pela-primeira-vez-na-historia|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=Agência Brasil|language=pt-br|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704135112/https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2018-06/brasil-reconhece-condicao-de-apatrida-pela-primeira-vez-na-historia|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=I was born and raised in stateless ... today, I'm a Brazilian|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-born-raised-stateless-today-im-brazilian-adriano-maluf-amui|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=www.linkedin.com|language=en|archive-date=December 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227145049/https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-born-raised-stateless-today-im-brazilian-adriano-maluf-amui|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Brunei ===
Many stateless permanent residents live in [[Brunei]]. Most have lived on Bruneian soil for generations, but Bruneian nationality is governed by the policy of ''[[jus sanguinis]]''; the right to hold it comes from blood ties. The government of Brunei has made obtaining citizenship possible, albeit difficult, for stateless persons who have inhabited Brunei for many generations. Requirements include rigorous tests in [[Ethnic Malays|Malay]] culture, customs, and [[Malay language|language]]. Stateless permanent residents of Brunei are given an [[Bruneian International Certificate of Identity|International Certificate of Identity]], which allows them to travel overseas. The majority of Brunei's Chinese and Indians are permanent residents who are stateless.

Holders of International Certificates of Identity can enter Germany and [[Hungary]] visa-free for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period. In the case of Germany, in theory, for an individual to benefit from the visa exemption, the ICI must be issued under the terms of the [[1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons]], and it must contain an authorization to return to Brunei with a sufficiently long period of validity.

Brunei is a signatory to the 1959 [[Declaration of the Rights of the Child]], which states that "the child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality", but it does not currently follow the guidelines of the convention. The [[List of Sultans of Brunei|Sultan of Brunei]] has announced changes that may expedite the process by which stateless persons with permanent residence status sit for citizenship exams.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rachel Thien and Bandar Seri Begawan |url=http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2011/01/26/citizenship-news-lifts-spirits-stateless-prs |title=Citizenship news lifts spirits of stateless PRs |work=Brunei Times |date=January 26, 2011 |publisher=Bt.com |access-date=April 27, 2011 |archive-date=March 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327085633/http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2011/01/26/citizenship-news-lifts-spirits-stateless-prs |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Canada ===
An amendment to the [[Canadian Citizenship Act 1946|Canadian Citizenship Act]] (S.C. 2008, c. 14, previously Bill C-37) came into effect on April 17, 2009, and changed the rules for the acquisition of foreign-born Canadian [[citizenship]].<ref>See the Executive summary of the [http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2009/2009-04-15/html/sor-dors108-eng.html REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CITIZENSHIP REGULATIONS, 1993 (SOR/2009-108)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002053218/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2009/2009-04-15/html/sor-dors108-eng.html |date=October 2, 2013 }}. The Act to amend the Citizenship Act itself states (sec. 14): "The provisions of this Act, other than section 13, come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, but no later than 365 days after the day on which this Act receives royal assent." [http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2008_14/ Royal assent was given] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202204312/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2008_14/ |date=February 2, 2014 }} on April 17, 2008. No Order in Council appears to have been made.</ref> Individuals born outside Canada can now become Canadian citizens by descent only if at least one of their parents was either a [[native-born citizen]] or a [[naturalization|naturalised]] citizen of Canada.

The new law limits citizenship by descent to one generation born outside Canada. All individuals born within one generation of the native-born or naturalised citizen parent are automatically recognised as Canadian citizens, but second-generation descendants born abroad are no longer citizens of Canada at birth, and such individuals might be stateless if they have no claim to any other citizenship. Since the passage of Bill C-37, this situation has already occurred at least twice:
* Rachel Chandler was born in China, to a Libyan-born father who is a Canadian citizen through the provision in the above paragraph and a mother who is a Chinese citizen. Because of the nationality laws of Canada and China, she was not eligible for citizenship in either country and was apparently born stateless.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=c3a5560d-5170-4d4a-a318-a8675e759171 |title=Citizenship Act creates a 'stateless' child |newspaper=[[The Vancouver Sun]] |date=September 25, 2009 |access-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604120258/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=c3a5560d-5170-4d4a-a318-a8675e759171 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref> However, because Chandler's paternal grandfather was born in Ireland, she was [[Irish nationality law|entitled to Irish citizenship]] and now holds an Irish passport.<ref name="Branham">{{cite web|url=http://www.lostcanadians.org/forum/topics/ireland-saves-canadians |title=Rachel Chandler's status highlights a policy that could see thousands of stateless children born abroad to Canadians |first=Daphne |last=Branham |work=The Vancouver Sun |publisher=LostCanadians.org |date=October 9, 2010 |access-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324084319/http://www.lostcanadians.org/forum/topics/ireland-saves-canadians |archive-date=March 24, 2012 }}</ref>
* Chloé Goldring was born in [[Belgium]], to a Canadian father born in Bermuda and an Algerian mother. She was not eligible for automatic citizenship in [[Algeria]], Belgium, or Canada, and was thus born stateless.<ref>{{cite web |first=Janet |last=Dench |url=http://ccrweb.ca/en/canadas-stateless-children |title=Canada's stateless children |work=Canadian Council for Refugees |publisher=Ccrweb.ca |date=October 12, 2010 |access-date=December 1, 2010 |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229002056/http://ccrweb.ca/en/canadas-stateless-children |url-status=dead }}</ref> Goldring is now a Canadian citizen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Letters |url=http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/12/30/letters-being-single-god-sex-and-medical-marijuana/ |work=CBC News |date=December 10, 2010 |access-date=February 11, 2011 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628213918/http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/12/30/letters-being-single-god-sex-and-medical-marijuana/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Under Bill C-37, the term "native-born" is construed strictly: children born outside of Canada to Canadian government employees working abroad, including diplomats and [[Canadian Forces]] personnel, are considered foreign-born.<ref name="Branham" />

The bill was intended to resolve the status of so-called "[[Lost Canadians]]"—people who considered themselves Canadians, with undeniable connections to the country, but who had either lost or never been granted citizenship because of the vagaries of the country's previous nationality law.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Statelessness in the Canadian Context: An updated discussion paper|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4facb7a62.html|date=March 2012|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919183256/http://www.refworld.org/docid/4facb7a62.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Dominican Republic ===
An estimated 800,000 [[Haitians in the Dominican Republic|Haitians reside in the Dominican Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018 |title=DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour |access-date=October 14, 2008 |author=Diógenes Pina |publisher=Inter Press Service (IPS) |date=March 21, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312093852/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018 |archive-date=March 12, 2008 }}</ref> For much of its history, the Dominican Republic had a ''jus soli'' policy, meaning that all children born in the country, even to undocumented parents, were automatically given citizenship. Most countries in the [[Western Hemisphere]] practice this policy, but in June 2013, the Dominican high court amended existing legislation to exclude from ''jus soli'' citizenship children born "in transit", such as the children of foreign diplomats and "those on their way to another country".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Haitians in the Dominican Republic in legal limbo|url = http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/haiti-dominican-republic-ease-tensions-150324130359613.html|website = www.aljazeera.com|access-date = December 12, 2015|archive-date = January 8, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160108043546/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/haiti-dominican-republic-ease-tensions-150324130359613.html|url-status = live}}</ref> Since 2013, the law has been expanded to address the children of non-citizens, such as Haitian migrants who immigrated after 1929.

Since the passing of the amendment, nearly 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent have been stripped of their Dominican citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news|title = U.N. urges Dominican Republic to prevent deportations of Haitians|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominican-haiti-immigration-idUSKCN0Q327820150729|newspaper = Reuters|date = July 29, 2015|access-date = December 12, 2015|archive-date = December 22, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092546/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominican-haiti-immigration-idUSKCN0Q327820150729|url-status = live}}</ref> Without birth certificates, identification, or nationality, they are stateless and living illegally in the Dominican Republic. As of July 2015, according to the [[International Organization for Migration]], about 1,133 individuals had voluntarily or involuntarily relocated to Haiti.<ref>{{Cite web|title = IOM Monitors Dominican Republic – Haiti Border|url = http://www.iom.int/news/iom-monitors-dominican-republic-haiti-border|website = International Organization for Migration|date = July 14, 2015|access-date = December 12, 2015|archive-date = December 22, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222121024/http://www.iom.int/news/iom-monitors-dominican-republic-haiti-border|url-status = live}}</ref> By law, many are eligible to apply for naturalised citizenship in either Haiti or the Dominican Republic, but financial, bureaucratic, and discriminatory obstacles have prevented many from doing so.

=== Estonia and Latvia ===
{{See also|Non-citizens (Estonia)|Non-citizens (Latvia)}}
[[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]], two neighboring European countries, were [[Russian Empire]] territories, separated upon independence in 1918, re-merged under [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|Soviet occupation]] from 1940 until [[German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II|German occupation]] in 1941 and then again under renewed [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)|Soviet Occupation]] after 1944. When their independence was restored in 1991, citizenship was automatically restored to individuals who had been Latvian citizens prior to June 18, 1940, and their descendants or Estonian citizens prior to June 16, 1940, and their descendants.  Citizens of the Soviet Union who had moved to Estonia or Latvia while they were part of the [[Soviet Union]] did not receive citizenship automatically in 1991, and neither did their descendants. They had to apply for naturalisation as immigrants, a process that included a knowledge test and a language test in [[Estonian language|Estonian]] or [[Latvian language|Latvian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://estonia.eu/about-estonia/society/citizenship.html|title=Estonia — Estonia is a place for independent minds|website=estonia.ee|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827195243/http://estonia.eu/about-estonia/society/citizenship.html|archive-date=August 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meis.ee/applying-for-citizenship-as-an-adult|title=Integration Foundation – Applying for citizenship as an adult|first=BestIT|last=OÜ|website=www.meis.ee|access-date=January 12, 2016|archive-date=January 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127143201/http://www.meis.ee/applying-for-citizenship-as-an-adult|url-status=dead}}</ref> Children born after Latvia re-established independence (August 21, 1991), to parents who are both non-citizens, are also entitled to citizenship at the request of at least one of the parents.

These criteria mainly excluded [[Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states|ethnic Russians]], Ukrainians, Belorussians, and other ethnic minorities. Thousands of ethnic Latvians and Estonians were also impacted and became stateless.<ref>Human Rights Watch (October 1993) 'Violations by the Latvian Department of Citizenship and Immigration' https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/l/latvia/latvia93o.pdf Retrieved February 7, 2025.</ref> Russia has a visa waiver for stateless persons living in Estonia and Latvia, while Estonian and Latvian citizens need to obtain a visa to enter Russia. These stateless persons can also travel freely within the [[Schengen area]], but they are not permitted to work within the European Union.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.workpermit.com/news/2007_01_02/eu/visa-free_travel_stateless_aliens.htm|title=Latvian & Estonian "non-citizens:" visa-free travel for most of EU-27|date=January 2, 2007|access-date=January 12, 2016|archive-date=January 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117015747/http://www.workpermit.com/news/2007_01_02/eu/visa-free_travel_stateless_aliens.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, more than 267,000 residents of Latvia and 91,000 residents of Estonia were stateless.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4e12db4a6.html |title = Statelessness in Europe |publisher = United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160217223522/http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4e12db4a6.html |archive-date = February 17, 2016 |access-date = March 5, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Greece ===
Article 19 of the [[Greek nationality law|Greek Citizenship Code]] (Law 3370 of 1955) stated: "A person of non-Greek ethnic origin leaving Greece without the intention of returning may be declared as having lost Greek citizenship. This also applies to a person of non-Greek ethnic origin born and domiciled abroad. Minor children living abroad may be declared as having lost Greek citizenship if both their parents, or the surviving parent, have lost it as well." (The [[Ministry of the Interior (Greece)|Minister of the Interior]] decides such cases, with the concurring opinion of the Citizenship Council.).

Article 19 was abolished in 1998, but no provision was established for restoring citizenship to people who had lost it. Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos stated that, since the article's introduction in 1955, 60,000 Greeks had lost their citizenship because of it, many of these people moved and adopted the nationality of another country. However, an estimated 300–1,000 people remain stateless in Greece (primarily minorities in [[Thrace]], some of whom never settled abroad) and other former Greek citizens are stateless outside the country (an estimated 1,400 in [[Turkey]] and an unknown number elsewhere).

Stateless individuals in Greece have had difficulty receiving social services like health care and education. Until December 1997, they were denied the protection of the 1954 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which Greece ratified in 1975. Then, as a result of pressure from [[Non-governmental organization|nongovernmental organizations]] and minority deputies, around 100 ethnic Turks made stateless under Article 19 received identity documents from Greek authorities in accordance with the 1954 U.N. Convention. In August 1998, Foreign Minister [[Theodoros Pangalos (politician)|Theodoros Pangalos]] stated that within a year, most or all stateless persons living in Greece would be offered Greek citizenship; this promise was repeated in subsequent months by Alternate and Deputy Foreign Ministers [[George Papandreou]] and [[Giannos Kranidiotis]]. However, the government took no steps to carry out this promise.

=== Hong Kong ===
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2015}}
Hong Kong, as a [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative region of China]], does not have its own citizenship laws. The [[right of abode in Hong Kong|right of abode]] is the status that allows unrestricted right to live, work, vote and to hold most public office in Hong Kong; persons with right of abode in Hong Kong are called [[Hong Kong resident|permanent residents]]. Most permanent residents of Chinese descent are Chinese citizens as provided by the [[Nationality law of the People's Republic of China|Chinese nationality law]]. Citizens of other countries who have obtained right of abode in Hong Kong remain the citizens of their respective countries, and enjoy all the rights accorded to permanent residents except for those restricted to permanent residents with Chinese citizenship, such as the right to a [[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport|HKSAR passport]] and the eligibility to be elected as the [[Chief Executive of Hong Kong|Chief Executive]].

When Hong Kong was [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|transferred]] from the United Kingdom to China on July 1, 1997, all [[British Dependent Territories citizens]] (BDTCs) connected to Hong Kong lost their [[British nationality law and Hong Kong|British nationality]], unless they had applied for the [[British National (Overseas)]] (BN(O)) status. Most BDTCs of Chinese descent became Chinese citizens. BDTCs who did not become Chinese citizens and did not apply for BN(O) status while holding no other citizenship became [[British Overseas citizen]]s (BOCs). As BN(O) and BOC statuses do not provide right of abode in the United Kingdom, BN(O)s and BOCs of non-Chinese descent who do not hold any other citizenship are ''de facto'' stateless. However, [[British nationality law]] allows BN(O)s and BOCs who are otherwise stateless to register for full British citizenship. In addition, the Chinese nationality law as applied in Hong Kong provides the option of naturalisation as a Chinese national.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/chinese_nationality/Application_for_Naturalization_as_a_Chinese_National.html|title=Application for Naturalisation as a Chinese National|publisher=The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region|access-date=January 13, 2017|archive-date=December 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222190329/http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/chinese_nationality/Application_for_Naturalization_as_a_Chinese_National.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chinese citizens from the mainland who had migrated to Hong Kong on a [[One-way Permit]] lose their mainland [[hukou]] (household registration). They then must reside in Hong Kong for 7 years before gaining the right of abode in Hong Kong. Therefore, persons who had migrated out of the mainland but have not obtained Hong Kong [[permanent residency]], while technically not stateless, are unable to exercise rights and privileges associated with citizenship in either the mainland or Hong Kong.

Stateless permanent residents of Hong Kong and Chinese migrants without right of abode may apply for a [[Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes]], which allows them to travel overseas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/traveldoc/hkdoci/eligibility.htm|title=Eligibility for HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes|publisher=The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region|access-date=January 3, 2015|archive-date=July 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703210916/http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/traveldoc/hkdoci/eligibility.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> This document (with few exceptions) requires the holder to apply for and receive a travel visa prior to departure from Hong Kong.

Children born to foreign domestic workers are not classified as citizens because Chinese nationality is determined by blood ties. Under the visa regulations governing foreign domestic workers, the government of Hong Kong may award an unconditional stay visa. Many of these children can obtain citizenship in their parents' country of birth. When they are put up for [[adoption]], however, citizenship applications can become challenging. In cases where both adoptive parents are Chinese nationals, the children will likely remain stateless. Applying for [[Nationality law of the People's Republic of China|Chinese citizenship]] by naturalisation is only possible for permanent residents of Hong Kong, and an unconditional stay visa does not grant this status.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

[[Eliana Rubashkyn]], a [[transgender]] woman and refugee, became ''de facto'' stateless in 2013 after being detained for over eight months on the grounds that her appearance did not match her passport photo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/05/world/transgender-asylum-hong-kong/|title=Misunderstood and stateless in Hong Kong: A transgender woman's nightmare|date=September 5, 2014|publisher=CNN International|access-date=September 5, 2014|archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517225812/https://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/05/world/transgender-asylum-hong-kong/|url-status=live}}</ref> She suffered mistreatment in detention at [[Hong Kong International Airport|Chek Lap Kok Airport]] and in [[Kowloon]]'s [[Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong|Queen Elizabeth Hospital]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2010/11/3/121221.html|title=Toilet depravation torture|publisher=Miinhui – Torture in the health system in Hong Kong|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170259/http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2010/11/3/121221.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20131103/18491214|title=Torture in a Psychiatric Hospital in Hong Kong|newspaper=Apple Daily|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-date=February 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203095237/http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20131103/18491214|url-status=live}}</ref> She was granted refugee status, but Hong Kong did not recognize her as a refugee because it is not a signatory to the refugee convention of 1951 and sought to deport her to Colombia. In 2013, the UN sought a third country to resettle her due to the lack of protections for [[LGBT]] people and refugees in Hong Kong. After almost one year, a UN declaration recognized her as a woman under international law, and she was sent to New Zealand, where she received asylum.

=== South Asia ===
{{update section|date=December 2019}}
As of 2012, India and [[Pakistan]] were each holding several hundred prisoners from the other for violations like trespass or visa overstay, often with accusations of espionage. Some of these prisoners have been denied citizenship in both countries, leaving them stateless. In Pakistani law, if one leaves the country for more than seven years without any registration from a Pakistani embassy or foreign mission of any country, they lose Pakistani citizenship.

In 2012, the [[BBC]] reported on the case of Muhammad Idrees, who lived in Pakistan and had been held under Indian police control for approximately 13 years for overstaying his 15-day visa by 2–3 days after seeing his ill parents in 1999.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Muhammad Idrees: Abandoned by India and Pakistan – BBC News|work = BBC News|date = December 20, 2012|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20752541|access-date = January 21, 2016|language = en-GB|archive-date = February 7, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160207134535/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20752541|url-status = live}}</ref> He spent much of those 13 years in prison waiting for a hearing, sometimes homeless or living with volunteer families. Both states denied him citizenship.

The BBC linked these problems to the political atmosphere caused by the [[Kashmir conflict]]. The Indian [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] told the BBC it had worked on hundreds of cases with similar features. It called Idrees' case a "violation of all human rights, national and international laws", adding, "Everybody has a right to a nation." The Indian [[Human Rights Law Network]] blamed "officials in the home department" and slow courts, and called the case a "miscarriage of justice, a shocking case".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z57wt |title=Your World: The Nowhere Man |author=Rupa Jha |date=October 21, 2012 |publisher=BBC |access-date=October 20, 2012 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018041118/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z57wt |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Bangladesh]], about 300,000–500,000 Bihari people (also known as [[Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh]]) were rendered stateless when Bangladesh seceded from [[Pakistan]] in 1971. Bangladesh refused to consider them citizens because of their support for Pakistan in the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] while Pakistan insisted that since Bangladesh was successor state of [[East Pakistan]], the new nation had a responsibility to absorb the Bihari people just as [[West Pakistan]] had done with refugees flooding from the war, including Bengali people. As a result, the Bihari people became stateless.

Over 100,000 [[Bhutanese refugees]], who have neither Bhutanese nor Nepalese citizenship, reside in Nepal.

=== Indonesia ===
In February 2020, the Indonesia government stated that any Indonesian national who ever joined the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) had automatically lost their Indonesian citizenship. Presidential Chief of Staff [[Moeldoko]] stated that the ISIL sympathizers "are stateless". Article 23 of [[Indonesian nationality law]] states that Indonesian nationals can lose their citizenship after, among other things, "joining a foreign military or taking an oath of allegiance to another country".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/02/13/government-declares-indonesian-is-fighters-in-syria-stateless.html|title=Government declares Indonesian IS fighters in Syria stateless|date=February 13, 2020|access-date=February 13, 2020|website=[[The Jakarta Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213190956/https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/02/13/government-declares-indonesian-is-fighters-in-syria-stateless.html|archive-date=February 13, 2020|author1=Marchio Irfan Gorbiano|author2=Kusumasari Ayuningtyas}}</ref>

=== Japan ===
When [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] lost control over Korea in 1945, those Koreans who remained in Japan received [[Chōsen-seki]], a designation of nationality that did not actually grant them [[Japanese nationality law|citizenship]]. Roughly half of these people later received [[South Korean citizenship]]. The other half were affiliated with [[North Korea]], which is [[Japan–North Korea relations|unrecognized by Japan]], and they are legally stateless. Practically speaking, they mostly hold [[North Korean citizenship]] (albeit meaningless in Japan, their country of residence) and may repatriate there, and under Japanese law, they are treated as foreign nationals and given the full privileges entitled to that class. In 2010, Chōsen-seki holders were banned from [[South Korea]].<ref>{{cite news | first = Tae-u (태우) | last = Kim (김) | script-title = ko:조선적 재일동포 여행증명서 발급거부는 정당 | date = September 30, 2010 | url = http://www.asiatoday.co.kr/news/view.asp?seq=401304 | work = Asia Today | access-date = August 23, 2011 | language = ko | archive-date = October 6, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006073853/http://www.asiatoday.co.kr/news/view.asp?seq=401304 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Eun-gyo (은교) | last = Jang (장) | script-title = ko:'조선 국적' 재일동포 입국 막는 '꽉 막힌' 나라 | date = September 30, 2010 | url = http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201009300016565&code=940100 | work = Kyunghyang Sinmun | access-date = August 23, 2011 | language = ko | archive-date = March 25, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120325144806/http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201009300016565&code=940100 | url-status = live }}</ref>

UNHCR published a study on statelessness in Japan in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Abe|first=Kohki|title=Overview of Statelessness: International and Japanese Context|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4c344c252.pdf|date=April 2010|access-date=September 9, 2015|archive-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217011552/http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4c344c252.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Kuwait ===
{{Main|Bedoon}}
Kuwait has the largest stateless population in the entire region.<ref name="largest">{{cite news|url=https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/11/28/the-gulf%25e2%2580%2599s-stateless-people-without-rights-decades-after-independence|title=The Gulf's Stateless People without Rights Decades after Independence|work=[[Human Rights First]]|language=en|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113115346/https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/11/28/the-gulf%25e2%2580%2599s-stateless-people-without-rights-decades-after-independence|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2024, Kuwait revoked the citizenship of 42,000 people in just six months.<ref name=france24>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250315-an-authoritarian-shift-in-kuwait-stripps-42-000-citizens-of-their-nationality|title='Stateless overnight': Authoritarian crackdown strips 42,000 Kuwaitis of nationality|work=[[France24]]|date=March 2025}}</ref> Most stateless Bedoon of Kuwait belong to the northern tribes, especially the [[Al-Muntafiq]] tribal confederation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elaph.com/Web/NewsPapers/2007/4/229670.htm|title=بدون الكويت: كرة ثلج تتدحرج منذ 40 عاماً|work=[[Elaph]]|date=2007|language=ar|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113011520/https://elaph.com/amp/Web/NewsPapers/2007/4/229670.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://platformpost.net/article/-27|title=أزمة الهوية الوطنية - د. فايز الفايز|work=Platform Post|author=Fayez Alfayez|date=February 26, 2021|language=ar|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227125059/http://platformpost.net/article/-27|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="alarabi">{{Cite web|url=https://assafirarabi.com/ar/3094/2012/09/19/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%80%D9%80%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%88%D9%8A/|title=البدون فــي الكويـــت.. مواطنون بلا هوية|work=As-Safir Al-Arabi|author=Eman Shams Aldeen|date=September 19, 2012|language=ar|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124210805/http://assafirarabi.com/ar/3094/2012/09/19/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d8%af%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%80%d9%80%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%88%d9%8a%d9%80%d9%80%d9%80%d8%aa-%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%84%d8%a7-%d9%87%d9%88%d9%8a/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/critical-statelessness-studies-blog/critical-sociolinguistic-ethnography-as-a-lens-to-statelessness-a-case-from-the-bidoon-community-in-kuwait|title=Critical sociolinguistic ethnography as a lens to statelessness: a case from the Bidoon community in Kuwait|author=Ahmad Jaber|date=February 2021|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225132440/https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/critical-statelessness-studies-blog/critical-sociolinguistic-ethnography-as-a-lens-to-statelessness-a-case-from-the-bidoon-community-in-kuwait|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="s" /><ref name="ohchr">{{Cite thesis|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|title=Report to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Annual Study. Bedoon Indigenous Rights in the Context of Borders, Migration and Displacement|publisher=[[OHCHR]]|page=1–63|year=2019|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145723/https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="csm">{{Cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0820/20051.html|title=Stateless Bedoons Are Shut Out of Kuwait|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|year=1991|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112133059/http://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0820/20051.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="north">{{Cite journal|title=The Bedoun Archive: A public archive created for the northern tribes Bedouin of Kuwait|author=Susan Kennedy Nour al Deen|journal=Education as Change|year=2018|volume=22|issue=2|doi=10.25159/1947-9417/3435|s2cid=240259439|doi-access=free}}</ref> A minority of stateless Bedoon in Kuwait belong to the [['Ajam of Kuwait|'Ajam community]].<ref name="ajam">{{Cite web|url=https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/|title=Between Two Deserts: Visual Vignettes from an Iranian-Kuwaiti Bidoon in New Mexico|author=Ajam Media Collective|year=2018|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222143/https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under the terms of the [[Kuwaiti nationality law|Kuwait Nationality Law]] 15/1959, all the Bedoon in Kuwait are eligible for Kuwaiti nationality by naturalization.<ref name="rights">{{Cite book |author=[[David S. Weissbrodt]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4somFYg1REC&pg=PA98 |title=The Human Rights of Non-citizens |year=2008 |isbn=9780199547821 |page=98 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=January 15, 2022 |archive-date=January 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110235009/https://books.google.com/books?id=_4somFYg1REC&pg=PA98#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In practice, it is widely believed that Sunnis of Persian descent or tribal Saudis can readily achieve Kuwaiti naturalization whilst Bedoon of Iraqi tribal ancestry cannot.<ref name="dis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/kuwait-bedoon-naturalization.html|title=Is Kuwait Serious About Bedoon Naturalization?|author=[[Mona Kareem]]|year=2013|access-date=October 3, 2013|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228230319/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/kuwait-bedoon-naturalization.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, many Bedoon in Kuwait feel pressured to hide their background.<ref name="un">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|title=The National Project to Resolve the Kuwaiti Bedoon Case (Kuwait) End Statelessness Foundation (Australia) - 1 February, 2019 Report to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Annual Study - Bedoon Indigenous Rights in the Context of Borders, Migration and Displacement|page=23|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145723/https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1965 until 1985, the Bedoon were treated as Kuwaiti citizens and guaranteed citizenship: they had free access to education, health care and all the other privileges of citizenship.<ref name="una" /> The stateless Bedoon constituted 80-90% of the [[Kuwaiti Army]] in the 1970s and 1980s until the [[Gulf War]].<ref name="refworld"/>

In 1985 at the height of the [[Iran–Iraq War]], the Bedoon were reclassified as "illegal residents" and denied Kuwaiti citizenship and its accompanying privileges.<ref name="una" /><ref name="refworld" /><ref name="nytimes">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/31/world/kuwait-city-journal-the-bedoons-outcasts-in-the-land-they-served.html|title=Kuwait City Journal; The Bedoons: Outcasts in the Land They Served|work=[[The New York Times]]|year=1991|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194047/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/31/world/kuwait-city-journal-the-bedoons-outcasts-in-the-land-they-served.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iran–Iraq War threatened Kuwait's internal stability and the authorities feared the sectarian background of the stateless Bedoon.<ref name="refworld" /> The Bedoon issue in Kuwait "overlaps with historic sensitivities about [[Iraqis|Iraqi]] influence inside Kuwait", with many of those denied Kuwaiti nationality being believed to have originated from Iraq.<ref name="aus">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1144440/1930_1302700136_kwt37495.pdf|title=Australian Government - Bedoon|page=3|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174825/https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1144440/1930_1302700136_kwt37495.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1985, the then emir, [[Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah]], escaped an [[1983 Kuwait bombings#1985 attempted assassination of Jaber|assassination attempt]].<ref name="newyorktimes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/26/world/car-bomber-fails-in-attempt-to-kill-leader-of-kuwait.html|title=CAR BOMBER FAILS IN ATTEMPT TO KILL LEADER OF KUWAIT|work=[[The New York Times]]|year=1985|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113123656/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/26/world/car-bomber-fails-in-attempt-to-kill-leader-of-kuwait.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="washingtinpost">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/05/26/kuwaiti-ruler-eludes-attack-by-car-bomber/62972d81-e59e-47eb-9f57-80370819610f/|title=Kuwaiti Ruler Eludes Attack By Car-Bomber|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|year=1985|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=April 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405194519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/05/26/kuwaiti-ruler-eludes-attack-by-car-bomber/62972d81-e59e-47eb-9f57-80370819610f/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the assassination attempt, the government changed the Bedoon's status from that of legal residents to [[Illegal immigration|illegal residents]].<ref name="refworld"/> By 1986, the Bedoon were fully excluded from the same social and economic rights as Kuwaiti citizens.

Since 1986, the Kuwaiti government has refused to grant any form of documentation to the Bedoon, including birth certificates, death certificates, identity cards, marriage certificates, and driving licences. The Bedoon also face many restrictions in employment, travel and education. They are not permitted to educate their children in state schools and universities.

In 1995, [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that there were 300,000 stateless Bedoon, and this number was formally repeated by the British government.<ref name="hrw">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Kuwait.htm|title=THE Bedoons of Kuwaiy Citizens without Citizenship|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=February 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223102322/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Kuwait.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="british">{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-10-23/Debate-14.html|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Oct 1995 - Parliament Publications|work=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]]|date=Oct 23, 1995|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-10-23/Debate-14.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to several human rights organizations, the State of Kuwait is committing [[ethnic cleansing]] and [[genocide]] against the stateless Bedoon.<ref name="new">{{Cite web|url=https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=7585&file=EnglishTranslation|title=Kuwait's humanitarian disaster Inter-generational erasure, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Bedoon|publisher=[[OHCHR]]|year=2019|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514053709/https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=7585&file=EnglishTranslation|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="s">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/43213716|title=Kuwait's Laws and Policies of Ethnic Discrimination, Erasure and Genocide Against The Bedoon Minority Submission on 'Human Rights Protections for Minorities Recognised in the UN System'|journal=Susan Kennedy Nour al Deen|year=2020|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194043/https://www.academia.edu/43213716|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kuwaiti Bedoon crisis resembles the [[Rohingya]] crisis in [[Myanmar]].<ref name="rights" /> In 1995, it was reported in the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|parliament]] that the Al Sabah ruling family had deported 150,000 stateless Bedoon to refugee camps in the Kuwaiti desert near the [[Iraq–Kuwait border|Iraqi border]] with minimal water, insufficient food and no basic shelter, and that they were threatened with death if they returned to their homes in Kuwait City.<ref name="british" /><ref name="north" /> As a result, many of the stateless Bedoon fled to Iraq, where they remain stateless people even today.<ref name="ir">{{cite web|title=EASO Country of Origin Information Report Iraq Targeting of Individuals|work=[[European Asylum Support Office]]|url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Iraq_targeting_of_individuals.pdf|pages=149–150|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311144116/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Iraq_targeting_of_individuals.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="iraq">{{Cite web|author=Charlie Dunmore and Edith Champagne in Basra, Iraq|date=10 October 2019|title=Citizenship hopes become reality for Iraq's Bidoon minority|url=https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/10/5d9eda154/citizenship-hopes-become-reality-iraqs-bidoon-minority.html|work=[[UNCHR]]|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=December 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220091313/https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/10/5d9eda154/citizenship-hopes-become-reality-iraqs-bidoon-minority.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kuwaiti government also stands accused of attempting to falsify their nationalities in official state documents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/Response%20of%20the%20Kuwaiti%20Government%20to%20HRW_0.pdf|title=Report on the Human Rights Watch Report and Response to its Questions and Inquiries|author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Human Rights Watch|language=en|access-date=June 4, 2024 |archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727175233/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/Response%20of%20the%20Kuwaiti%20Government%20to%20HRW_0.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been reports of [[forced disappearances]] and [[mass graves]] of Bedoon.<ref name="new" /><ref name="united_nations2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-185085/|title=Mideast situation – Middle East Watch Report – Letter from Palestine|year=1991|work=[[United Nations]]|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817200253/https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-185085/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon">{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca75227.html|title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1993 - Kuwait|work=Human Rights Watch|year=1993|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=June 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607144034/https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca75227.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca5a23.html|title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 - Kuwait|year=1992|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128174039/https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca5a23.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/opinion/l-in-kuwait-no-human-rights-progress-020591.html|title=In Kuwait, No Human-Rights Progress|year=1991|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194750/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/opinion/l-in-kuwait-no-human-rights-progress-020591.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Mew-06.htm|title=Human Rights Developments Kuwait|year=1993|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194751/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Mew-06.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="north" />

The 1995 Human Rights Watch report stated:

<blockquote>"The totality of the treatment of the Bedoons amounts to a policy of denationalization of native residents, relegating them to an apartheid-like existence in their own country. The Kuwaiti government policy of harassment and intimidation of the Bedoons and of denying them the right to lawful residence, employment, travel and movement, contravene basic principles of human rights. Denial of citizenship to the Bedoons clearly violates international law. Denying Bedoons the right to petition the courts to challenge governmental decisions regarding their claims to citizenship and lawful residence in the country violates the universal right to due process of law and equality before the law."<ref name="british" /> </blockquote>

British MP [[George Galloway]] stated:

<blockquote>"Of all the human rights atrocities committed by the ruling family in Kuwait, the worst and the greatest is that against the people known as the Bedoons. There are more than 300,000 Bedoons—one third of Kuwait's native population. Half of them—150,000—have been driven into refugee camps in the desert across the [[Iraq–Kuwait border|Iraqi border]] by the regime and left there to bake and to rot. The other 150,000 are treated not as second-class or even fifth-class citizens, but not as any sort of citizen. They are bereft of all rights. It is a scandal that almost no one in the world cares a thing about the plight of 300,000 people, 150,000 of them cast out of the land in which they have lived [when] many have lived in the Kuwaiti area for many centuries."<ref name="british" /> </blockquote>

By 2004, the Bedoon accounted for only 40% of the Kuwaiti Army, a major reduction from their presence in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="armytwo">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dcaf.ch/content/download/33690/522597/version/1/file/ev_geneva_04071113_Alnajjar.pdf|title=Challenges of Security Sector Governance in Kuwait|pages=5–6|author=Ghanim Al-Najjar|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417031049/https://www.dcaf.ch/content/download/33690/522597/version/1/file/ev_geneva_04071113_Alnajjar.pdf|archive-date=2014-04-17}}</ref> In 2013, the UK government estimated that there were 110,729 "documented" Bedoon in Kuwait, without giving a total estimate, but noting that all stateless individuals in Kuwait remain at risk of persecution and human rights breaches.<ref name="ukgove">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom Government - Bedoon|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|pages=2|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820162950/http://refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bedoon are generally categorized into three groups: stateless tribespeople, stateless police/military and the stateless children of Kuwaiti women who married Bedoon men.<ref name="refworld">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom Government - Bedoon|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820162950/http://refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Kuwaiti government, there are only 93,000 "documented" Bedoon in Kuwait.<ref name="ukgove"/> In 2018, the Kuwaiti government claimed that it would naturalize up to 4,000 stateless Bedoon per year but this is considered unlikely.<ref name="dis" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/assembly-oks-bill-on-number-of-people-to-be-granted-kuwaiti-citizenship-in-18/|title=Assembly OKs bill on number of people to be granted Kuwaiti citizenship in '18|date=2018-03-21|website=ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT NEWS|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-17|archive-date=September 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928205004/http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/assembly-oks-bill-on-number-of-people-to-be-granted-kuwaiti-citizenship-in-18/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, the rate of [[suicide]] among Bedoon has risen sharply.<ref name="una">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/39817003|title=Kuwait Bedoon - Special Rapporteurs, United Nations, Requesting Investigation of Kuwait's Treatment of the Bedoon|journal=Un Special Procedures Request|date=January 2019|access-date=January 15, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194750/https://www.academia.edu/39817003|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Myanmar ===
{{Main|Rohingya people#Human rights violations and refugees|l1=Rohingya people}}
The [[Rohingya people]] are a minority group in [[Myanmar]] (formerly Burma). They are considered racially inferior by the Myanmar government, and are thus denied citizenship from birth. Instead, they are given identification cards which single them out and which do not grant them the rights of citizenship. This has created some 700,000 stateless persons, been a basis for the [[Rohingya genocide]], and precipitated an international refugee crisis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kingston |first=Lindsey N. |date=2015-11-17 |title=Protecting the world's most persecuted: the responsibility to protect and Burma's Rohingya minority |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642987.2015.1082831 |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights |language=en |volume=19 |issue=8 |pages=1163–1175 |doi=10.1080/13642987.2015.1082831 |s2cid=146778847 |issn=1364-2987 |access-date=November 28, 2023 |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815091523/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642987.2015.1082831 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Pakistan ===
Inside [[Karachi]] city there is a stateless population of approximately 1.2 million [[Pakistani Bengali]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NATIVE BENGALIS IN PAKISTAN|url=https://www.janaaastha.com/archives/70633/|date=May 20, 2022|website=Jana Aastha|language=en-US|access-date=November 21, 2022|archive-date=November 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121201029/https://www.janaaastha.com/archives/70633/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of January 2022, there were approximately 3 million Afghans living in Pakistan. Of those, around 1.4 million of them are Proof of Registration (PoR) cardholders, approximately 840,000 hold an Afghan Citizen Card (ACC), and an estimated 775,000 are undocumented.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UEUAA publishes report on Afghan refugees in Pakistan|url=https://euaa.europa.eu/news-events/euaa-publishes-report-afghan-refugees-pakistan/|date=May 20, 2022|website=EUAA|language=en-US|access-date=November 21, 2022|archive-date=November 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121201036/https://euaa.europa.eu/news-events/euaa-publishes-report-afghan-refugees-pakistan|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Palestinians ===
{{See also|History of Palestinian nationality}}

[[Abbas Shiblak]] estimates that over half of the Palestinian people in the world are stateless.<ref name="autogenerated113">{{cite book |title=Palestinian Refugees: Identity, Space and Place in the Levant |editor1-first=Are J. |editor1-last=Knudsen |editor2-first=Sārī |editor2-last=Ḥanafī |chapter=Passports for What Price? Statelessness among Palestinian Refugees |first1=Abbas |last1=Shiblak |author-link=Abbas Shiblak |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-415-58046-5 |page=113}}</ref>

[[Palestinians in Lebanon]] and [[Palestinians in Syria|those in Syria]] are constitutionally denied citizenship, and are thus stateless.

After Israel annexed [[East Jerusalem]] following the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967, Palestinians living there received, along with Israeli [[permanent residency]] status, the right to apply for citizenship. Shortly after the offer was made, it was rejected by Arab leaders. Between 1967 and 2007, only 12,000 of the 250,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem have been granted Israeli citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ronny |last=Shaked |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468672,00.html |title=Thousands of Palestinians apply for Israeli citizenship |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=November 7, 2007 |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629155140/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468672,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-reports-jump-in-jerusalem-arabs-seeking-israeli-citizenship-1.232665 |title=Israel reports jump in Jerusalem Arabs seeking Israeli citizenship |work=A.P. |date=November 7, 2007 |publisher=Haaretz.com |access-date=January 1, 2011 |archive-date=December 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225084803/http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-reports-jump-in-jerusalem-arabs-seeking-israeli-citizenship-1.232665 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2007, more have applied, although the majority still reject it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/national-news/more-e-jerusalem-palestinians-seeking-citizenship|title=More e. Jerusalem Palestinians seeking citizenship|website=The Jerusalem Post &#124; JPost.com|date=January 12, 2011|access-date=July 29, 2021|archive-date=July 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729000621/https://www.jpost.com/national-news/more-e-jerusalem-palestinians-seeking-citizenship|url-status=live}}</ref> Those who do not have Israeli citizenship are generally stateless.

Many descendants of Palestinian refugees live permanently in countries of which they would be expected to be citizens, but they are not citizens because that country adheres to the policy of the [[Arab League]] in denying citizenship to Palestinians.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Even though Palestinians living in the [[West Bank]] and the [[Gaza Strip]] were issued [[Palestinian passport]]s under the [[Oslo Accords]] and Palestinian legal statehood is somewhat widely acknowledged internationally as of 2018, some countries (such as the United States), recognize them as travel documents but do not recognize their citizenship. According to international law,{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} only states can have nationals (meaning citizens), meaning that the remainder states who do not consider [[Palestine]] a state implements such policies and deem its holders as “stateless”.

A similar situation exists for [[Armenians in Israel and Palestine]], where {{as of|2023|lc=yes}}, about 2,000 Armenians in Israeli-controlled territory were stateless.<ref name="ap2023">{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/jerusalem-armenian-community-land-lease-controversy-c9126c0a159cd9a285f2bcfd31d67a5b |title=In Jerusalem's contested Old City, shrinking Armenian community fears displacement after land deal |date=2023-06-07 |accessdate=2023-06-07 |language=en-US |last=Debre |first=Isabel |website=[[Associated Press]] |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607085549/https://apnews.com/article/jerusalem-armenian-community-land-lease-controversy-c9126c0a159cd9a285f2bcfd31d67a5b |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Philippines ===
As of 2021, there are around 700 people of Japanese descent who are considered as stateless. Most of these people are descendants of Japanese fathers who settled in the Philippines in the early 20th century. Due to the outbreak of the World War II, many of these individuals separated from their fathers who either enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army, repatriated to Japan or died during the war. After the war many of them settled in more remote areas of the Philippines and discarded proof of the Japanese nationality as a preventive measure against [[Anti-Japanese sentiment|anti-Japanese]] retaliatory attacks due to atrocities committed by Japan during the war.<ref>{{cite news |title=90-year-old of Japanese descent in Philippines to attain citizenship |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/21/90-year-old-of-japanese-descent-in-philippines-to-attain-citizenship |access-date=May 16, 2021 |work=ABS-CBN News |agency=Kyodo News |date=May 15, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516001249/https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/21/90-year-old-of-japanese-descent-in-philippines-to-attain-citizenship |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Puerto Rico ===
{{Main|Juan Mari Brás}}
In 1994, [[Juan Mari Brás]], a [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] lawyer and political historian, renounced his American citizenship before a consular agent in the United States Embassy of [[Venezuela]]. In December 1995, his loss of nationality was confirmed by the [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]]. That same month, he requested that the Puerto Rico State Department furnish him with proof of his [[Puerto Rican citizenship]]. The request involved more than just a bureaucratic formality; Mari Brás tested the [[self-determination]] of [[Puerto Rico]] by trying to become the first Puerto Rican citizen who was not also an American citizen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/~perspy/old/issues/1997/jan/first.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020902141929/http://www.digitas.harvard.edu/~perspy/old/issues/1997/jan/first.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 2, 2002|title=World's Only Puerto Rican|publisher=Digitas.harvard.edu|access-date=June 27, 2010}}</ref>

Mari Brás claimed that as a Puerto Rican national born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was clearly a Puerto Rican citizen and therefore had every right to continue to reside, work, and, most importantly, vote in Puerto Rico. The State Department responded promptly, claiming that Puerto Rican citizenship did not exist independent of American citizenship, and in 1998, the department rescinded its recognition of his renunciation of citizenship. The official response to Mari Brás stated that Puerto Rican citizenship existed only as an equivalent to [[Residency (domicile)|residency]]. However, the [[Puerto Rico Department of State|Puerto Rico State Department]] issues certificates of citizenship to people born outside of Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican parent, including some people who may have never resided in the territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pr.gov/attachments/pdf/023%20-|title=solicitud de certificado de ciudadanía|access-date=November 3, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Qatar ===
Most of [[Qatar]]'s [[Bidoon (stateless)|Bedoon]] are stateless tribesmen from the [[Ghufrani]] tribe. In 2005, Qatar stripped the citizenship of over 5,000 members of the tribe. After international outcry, it restored the citizenship of approximately 2,000.<ref name="observatory" /> Today, there are between 1,200 and 1,500 Bedoon in Qatar.<ref name="observatory">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalityforall.org/qatar|title=Statelessness in Qatar|publisher=The International Observatory on Statelessness|access-date=January 26, 2015|archive-date=February 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220005808/http://nationalityforall.org/qatar|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Beydoun|first1=Nasser|title=The Glass Palace: Illusions of Freedom and Democracy in Qatar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5jMvsUV5t4C|year=2012|page=35|publisher=Algora |isbn=978-0875869551}}</ref>

===Saudi Arabia===
Dissidents and other people can have their citizenship revoked.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2016/11/26/to-silence-dissidents-gulf-states-are-revoking-their-citizenship|title=To silence dissidents, Gulf states are revoking their citizenship|date=November 26, 2016|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=November 14, 2019|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801193237/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2016/11/26/to-silence-dissidents-gulf-states-are-revoking-their-citizenship|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Osama bin Laden]] was asked to hand in his passport in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Cost Of Being Osama Bin Laden|url=https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914ladenmoney.html|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=July 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729115849/https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914ladenmoney.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Syria ===
By 2011, close to an estimated 300,000 [[Kurds in Syria#Citizenship|stateless Kurds were in Syria]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/docserver/journals/22112596/19/1-2/22112596_019_01-02_S019_text.pdf?expires=1478913973&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=30821BEA6013853425608F39303C2E0C|title = The Stateless Kurds of Syria: Ethnic Identity and National I.D., Thomas McGee, 2014|publisher = Tilburg Law Review|access-date = November 11, 2016}}</ref> While the government's implementation of the 2011 Decree did reduce the number of stateless persons, a significant part of Syria's remaining statelessness problem has now been 'exported' to new geographic and legal contexts with the displacement of affected persons out of the country.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.institutesi.org/WP2016_02.pdf|title = Statelessness Displaced: Update on Syria's Stateless Kurds, Thomas McGee, 2016|publisher = Statelessness Working Papers|access-date = November 10, 2016|archive-date = November 12, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161112205009/http://www.institutesi.org/WP2016_02.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Turkey ===
{{Main|2016–17 purges in Turkey|Enes Kanter Freedom}}
Following a [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt|failed coup]] in 2016, the Turkish [[Government of Turkey|government]] revoked about 50,000 passports.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dearden |first=Lizzie|title=Turkey coup attempt: Government cancels 50,000 passports as global concern grows over crackdown|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-erdogan-news-latest-government-cancels-50000-passports-amid-international-a7163961.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-erdogan-news-latest-government-cancels-50000-passports-amid-international-a7163961.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=July 31, 2016| work= The Independent|date=July 31, 2016}}</ref> While most of the people whose passports were revoked were in Turkey at the time, one notable Turkish expatriate affected by this action was [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] player [[Enes Kanter Freedom|Enes Kanter]]. He is a vocal critic of Turkish president [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] and a public supporter of the [[Gülen movement]], which the government blamed for the coup attempt. Kanter's passport was canceled while he was attempting to travel to the U.S., and he was briefly detained in [[Romania]] before being allowed to continue his travel. Turkey issued an arrest warrant against Kanter in May 2017, claiming that he was a member of "an armed terrorist organization."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.si.com/nba/2017/05/26/enes-kanter-erdogan-turkey-arrest-warrant-turkish-government-us-citizenship-okc-thunder |title=Examining Enes Kanter's Future Following Turkey's Arrest Warrant |first=Michael |last=McCann |work=The Crossover |publisher=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=November 30, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223033455/https://www.si.com/nba/2017/05/26/enes-kanter-erdogan-turkey-arrest-warrant-turkish-government-us-citizenship-okc-thunder |url-status=live }}</ref> The government's action effectively rendered Kanter stateless, and soon after this incident expressed a desire to seek U.S. citizenship. He then held a U.S. [[Permanent residence (United States)|green card]], which technically enabled him to travel to and from Canada for games [[Toronto Raptors|in Toronto]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Bieler |first=Des |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/05/22/enes-kanter-says-he-has-been-getting-death-threats-and-wants-american-citizenship/ |title=Enes Kanter says he has been getting death threats and wants American citizenship |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=May 22, 2017 |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529094551/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/05/22/enes-kanter-says-he-has-been-getting-death-threats-and-wants-american-citizenship/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in the [[2018–19 NBA season|2018–19 season]], Kanter did not travel with his team to games in London or Toronto because Turkey had requested an [[Interpol notice|Interpol red notice]] against him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26784150/kanter-leave-court-fight-begins |title=Kanter: 'After I leave the court, the fight begins' |first=Tim |last=Keown |website=ESPN.com |date=May 20, 2019 |access-date=May 20, 2019 |archive-date=May 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520141212/http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26784150/kanter-leave-court-fight-begins |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 29, 2021, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen, changing his name to [[Enes Kanter Freedom]].<ref>{{cite tweet |last=Freedom |first=Enes |author-link=Enes Freedom |user=EnesFreedom |number=1465444269687255053 |date=November 29, 2021 |title=I am proud to be an American. Greatest nation in the world. The Land of the free, and home of the brave. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/8mbUX1dpWS |language=en |access-date=December 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902200219/https://twitter.com/EnesFreedom/status/1465444269687255053 |archive-date=September 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-29|title=Enes Kanter Becomes U.S. Citizen, Legally Changes Name To Enes Kanter Freedom|url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/11/29/enes-kanter-freedom-us-citizen-legal-name-change-celtics-nba/|access-date=2021-12-01|language=en-US|archive-date=December 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201000548/https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/11/29/enes-kanter-freedom-us-citizen-legal-name-change-celtics-nba/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ukraine ===
{{Main|Mikheil Saakashvili}}

After the completion of his term, [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] President [[Mikheil Saakashvili]] moved to [[Ukraine]] where he was given citizenship and appointed [[Governor of Odesa Oblast|Governor]] of Ukraine's [[Odesa Oblast]].<ref name="Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty">{{cite news|title=Saakashvili Confirmed As Governor of Ukraine's Odesa Region|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/poroshenko-considering-saakashvili-for-governor-of-ukraine-odesa-region/27043987.html|access-date=May 30, 2015|work=[[RFE/RL]]|date=May 29, 2015|archive-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529214918/http://www.rferl.org/content/poroshenko-considering-saakashvili-for-governor-of-ukraine-odesa-region/27043987.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to Georgian restrictions on [[Georgian nationality law|dual nationality]], he was stripped of his Georgian citizenship.

While visiting the U.S. in 2017, Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship was revoked by Ukrainian President [[Petro Poroshenko]], leaving Saakashvili stateless.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ukraine strips citizenship of ex-Georgia leader Saakashvili |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-strips-citizenship-georgia-leader-saakashvili-48863753 |agency=Associated Press |location=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=July 27, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726211620/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-strips-citizenship-georgia-leader-saakashvili-48863753 |archive-date=July 26, 2017 }}</ref><ref>[https://mobile.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/07/27/world/europe/27reuters-ukraine-saakashvili-citizenship-fear.html Saakashvili Says Lost Ukraine Citizenship Due to President's Fear of Opposition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728140124/https://mobile.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/07/27/world/europe/27reuters-ukraine-saakashvili-citizenship-fear.html |date=July 28, 2017 }}, [[The New York Times]] (July 27, 2017)</ref> After the election of [[Volodymyr Zelensky]] in 2019, Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship was restored.<ref>{{cite web |title=УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №329/2019 |url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/3292019-27229 |website=Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України |access-date=May 30, 2019 |language=uk |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924191119/https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/3292019-27229 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Citizenship Restored, Saakashvili Returns To Ukraine |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/citizenship-restored-saakashvili-due-to-return-to-ukraine/29970428.html |access-date=May 30, 2019 |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |date=May 29, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530043400/https://www.rferl.org/a/citizenship-restored-saakashvili-due-to-return-to-ukraine/29970428.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== United Arab Emirates ===
In the United Arab Emirates some stateless people were granted citizenship after many years and even decades. Children of a foreign parent were also granted citizenship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/bidoon-celebrate-uae-national-day-as-emiratis-1.289538|title=Bidoon celebrate UAE National Day as Emiratis|website=The National|date=November 24, 2013|access-date=October 20, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020140618/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/bidoon-celebrate-uae-national-day-as-emiratis-1.289538|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/citizenship-hope-for-uae-s-stateless-1.362084|title=Citizenship hope for UAE's stateless|website=The National|date=July 31, 2012|access-date=October 20, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141429/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/citizenship-hope-for-uae-s-stateless-1.362084|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/government/uae-grants-citizenship-to-309-children-of-emirati-mothers|title=UAE grants citizenship to 309 children of Emirati mothers|last=WAM|website=Khaleej Times|access-date=October 20, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020095015/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/government/uae-grants-citizenship-to-309-children-of-emirati-mothers|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
{{see also|British Nationality Law}}

Different classes in [[British nationality law]] have led to situations in which people were considered British subjects but not nationals, or in which people held a [[British passport]] without [[Right of Abode (United Kingdom)|right of abode]] in the United Kingdom. Examples include [[British Protected Person]]s, who are considered British nationals. British nationals (irrespective of the class of nationality) who reside abroad but are not entitled to protection by the British government are ''de facto'' stateless.{{who|date=April 2024}}

Many situations that put people at risk of statelessness were resolved after April 30, 2003, when the [[Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002|Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002]] came into force. As a result of this act, the United Kingdom gave most people with residual British nationality but no other citizenship the right to register as full British citizens. However, there are still some people who have not been able or willing to register as citizens.{{Specify|date=November 2012}} Following the publication of a joint UNHCR-Asylum Aid report in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Mapping Statelessness in The United Kingdom|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ecb6a192.html|date=November 22, 2011|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910042440/http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ecb6a192.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the UK adopted a statelessness determination procedure in 2013.<ref>{{cite press release|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=UK's new determination procedure to end legal limbo for stateless|url=http://www.unhcr.org/5163f0ba9.html|date=April 9, 2013|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=October 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022210341/http://www.unhcr.org/5163f0ba9.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Update section|date=April 2024}}
In January 2014, the [[Immigration Act 2014|Immigration Bill 2013–14]] was introduced to extend the [[Powers of the home secretary|powers of the Home Secretary]] to deprive a naturalised British citizen of their citizenship, even if that renders the individual stateless, if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the deprivation of citizenship is conducive to the public good because the person "has conducted him or herself in a manner which is seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK." A naturalised British citizen is someone who was not born a British citizen but has become one through the legal process of naturalisation, by which someone with no automatic claim to British citizenship can obtain the same rights and privileges as someone who was born a British citizen. The bill was initially blocked by the [[House of Lords]] in April 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/04/09/ask-the-experts-deprivation-of-citizenship-qa-this-friday/|title=Ask the experts: Deprivation of citizenship Q&A|work=The Bureau of Investigative Journalism |date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=April 9, 2014|archive-date=April 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413143011/http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/04/09/ask-the-experts-deprivation-of-citizenship-qa-this-friday/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the Lords reconsidered their decision in May 2014, and the bill returned to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] before being set into UK law.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}

=== United States ===
{{Update|section|date=January 2025}}
The United States, which is not a signatory to the 1954 [[Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons]] or the [[1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness]], is one of the countries that allow their citizens to [[renunciation of citizenship|renounce their citizenship]] even if they do not hold any other. The ''[[U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual|Foreign Affairs Manual]]'' instructs [[United States Department of State|State Department]] employees to make it clear to Americans who will become stateless after renunciation that they may face extreme difficulties (including deportation back to the United States) following their renunciation, but to afford such persons their right to give up citizenship.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1210.html#M1215|chapter=7 FAM 1200: Loss and Restoration of U.S. Citizenship|title=Foreign Affairs Manual|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=August 6, 2008|access-date=December 13, 2012|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222095123/https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1210.html#M1215|url-status=live}}</ref> [[list of former United States citizens who relinquished their nationality|Former Americans]] who have voluntarily made themselves stateless include [[Garry Davis]] in the beginning years of the United Nations,<ref name="Chronicle19910704"/><ref name="GlobalPost"/> [[Thomas Jolley]] during the [[Vietnam War]],<ref name="PPG19711110">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K9JaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7591,1501685 |title=He's Being Deported, But Where? |agency=Associated Press |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=3 |date=November 10, 1971 |access-date=May 12, 2012 |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106003528/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K9JaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7591%2C1501685 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Joel Slater]] as a political protest in 1987 while believing that he would obtain Australian citizenship,<ref name="Chronicle19910704">{{cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1991_792938/iowan-prefers-to-be-man-without-a-country.html|first=Kim|last=Cobb|title=Iowan prefers to be a man without a country|work=Houston Chronicle|date=July 4, 1991 |page=A-7 |edition = 2 Star | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121030070618/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1991_792938/iowan-prefers-to-be-man-without-a-country.html | archive-date = October 30, 2012 | access-date=March 5, 2019 }}</ref> and [[Mike Gogulski]] as a political protest in 2008 without attempting to take any other citizenship.<ref name="GlobalPost">{{cite news|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2011-12-06/stateless-slovakia-what-if-you-renounce-us-citizenship|first=Moises|last=Mendoza|title=Stateless in Slovakia: What if you renounce US citizenship&nbsp;... and you have no nationality to fall back on? Meet Mike Gogulski, refugee by choice.|work=Global Post|date=December 6, 2011|access-date=March 5, 2019 <!-- old |url = http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/111205/stateless-slovakia--renounce-us-citizenship-mike-gogulski |access-date=2012-05-08 -->|archive-date=March 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307000502/https://www.pri.org/stories/2011-12-06/stateless-slovakia-what-if-you-renounce-us-citizenship|url-status=live}}</ref> The UNHCR published a report on statelessness in the United States in 2012 in which it recommended the establishment of a determination procedure that incorporates a definition of statelessness in accordance with international law to ensure that stateless persons are permitted to reside in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Citizens of Nowhere: Solutions for the Stateless in the U.S|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/50c620f62.html|date=December 2012|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919174912/http://www.refworld.org/docid/50c620f62.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] of the [[Constitution of the United States|US Constitution]] granted citizenship to [[African Americans|African American]] [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]]. The Supreme Court ruling in ''[[United States v. Wong Kim Ark]]'' clarified that people born to aliens on US soil were entitled to citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/169us649|title=United States ''v.'' Wong Kim Ark|website=[[Oyez Project|Oyez]]|publisher=[[Chicago-Kent College of Law]]|access-date=September 24, 2016|archive-date=September 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924200420/https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/169us649|url-status=live}}</ref> However, it excluded Native Americans by defining a citizen as any person born in the US, but only if "subject to the jurisdiction thereof"; this latter clause excluded anyone who was born in [[tribal nation]]s within the United States, as the Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Elk v. Wilkins]]'' that they are "quasi-foreign nations who deal with Congress using treaties". The [[Indian Citizenship Act]] addressed the issue by granting citizenship to America's indigenous peoples.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv|publisher=Cornell University Law School|title=14th Amendment|access-date=June 27, 2017|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601193729/https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/stories/0701_0146.html|work=Nebraska Studies|title=Native American Citizenship: 1924 Indian Citizenship Act |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180526232645/http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/stories/0701_0146.html |archive-date = May 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |publisher = NET Foundation for Television |location = Lincoln, Nebraska |access-date = March 6, 2019 }}</ref>

=== Uruguay ===

Uruguay has ratified both the 1954 [[Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons]] and the 1961 [[Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness]], and implemented law [https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19682-2018 19682] to meet these ratified commitments. It is also a signatory of the "[https://www.acnur.org/declaracion-y-plan-de-accion-de-brasil Brazil Declaration]" which commits countries in the South American region to end statelessness by January 1, 2024.

However the 1968 law provides for Uruguayan citizenship as one of the mechanisms to end statelessness.  While the process of naturalization to citizenship is similar to other ius domicilii regimes, it does not lead to [[Uruguayan nationality law|Uruguayan nationality]].  As a result, stateless residents will become stateless citizens, and also citizens of countries that do not allow for dual citizenship also become stateless citizens of Uruguay.  Uruguayan passports issued to this group of citizens highlights their status through "XXX" in the national field, meaning "unknown nationality".

== Organizations ==
=== United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ===
==== Statelessness mandate ====
[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]'s responsibilities were initially limited to stateless persons who were refugees, as set out in Paragraph 6(A)(II) of its statute and Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.<ref name="UNHCR"/> They were expanded following the adoption of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. General Assembly Resolutions 3274 (XXIV) and 31/36 designated UNHCR as the body responsible for examining the cases of persons who claimed the benefit of the 1961 convention and assisting such persons in presenting their claims to the appropriate national authorities.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=UNHCR Action to Address Statelessness: A Strategy Note|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4b9e0c3d2.html|date=March 2010|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910042704/http://www.refworld.org/docid/4b9e0c3d2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] conferred upon UNHCR a global mandate for the identification, prevention, and reduction of statelessness and for the international protection of stateless persons.<ref>{{cite web|last=UNGA|title=UNGA resolutions A/RES49/169|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/49/a49r169.htm|date=December 23, 1994|access-date=June 29, 2017|archive-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103221930/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/49/a49r169.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=UNGA|title=UNGA resolutions A/RES/50/152|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/50/ares50-152.htm|date=December 21, 1995|access-date=June 29, 2017|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421064751/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/50/ares50-152.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> This mandate has continued to evolve as the General Assembly has endorsed the conclusions of the UNHCR Executive Committee, notably Executive Committee Conclusion No. 106 of 2006 on the "identification, prevention, and reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons".<ref>{{cite web|last=UNGA|title=UNGA resolutions A/RES/61/137|url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/61/137&Lang=E|date=December 19, 2006|access-date=June 29, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918042828/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/61/137&Lang=E|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Global campaign to end statelessness ====
The UNHCR launched a global campaign on November 4, 2014, to end statelessness within 10 years.

As part of the campaign, it published a special report providing a comprehensive overview of statelessness and delving into the human impact of the phenomenon.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Special report: Ending Statelessness within 10 years|work=UNHCR |url=http://www.unhcr.org/546217229.html|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=December 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216170308/http://www.unhcr.org/546217229.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It also published an open letter addressed to states, urging them to take action. In addition to UNHCR High Commissioner [[António Guterres]], the letter was signed by [[Angelina Jolie]], a UNHCR special envoy; [[Surin Pitsuwan]], former secretary-general of ASEAN; [[Shirin Ebadi]], a [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate; Archbishop Emeritus [[Desmond Tutu]]; [[Barbara Hendricks]], a UNHCR honorary lifetime goodwill ambassador; [[Madeleine Albright]], former US secretary of state; [[Carla Del Ponte]], former chief prosecutor of two UN international criminal tribunals; [[Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein]] and [[Louise Arbour]], former UN high commissioners for human rights; and Dame [[Rosalyn Higgins]], former president of the [[International Court of Justice]], among others.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=UNHCR's Open Letter to End Statelessness|url=http://ibelong.unhcr.org/en/join/index.do|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=March 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325102734/http://ibelong.unhcr.org/en/join/index.do|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, a "global action plan to end statelessness" was launched following consultation with states, civil society, and international organisations. It sets out a guiding framework of 10 actions that need to be taken to end statelessness by 2024.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Global Action Plan to End Statelessness: 2014–2024|url=http://ibelong.unhcr.org/cms-web/upl/entities/story/FINAL%20Global%20Action%20Plan%20-%20PDF%20Version.pdf|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-date=July 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718163418/http://ibelong.unhcr.org/cms-web/upl/entities/story/FINAL%20Global%20Action%20Plan%20-%20PDF%20Version.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The plan includes actions to:
* resolve existing situations of statelessness;
* prevent new cases of statelessness from emerging; and
* better identify and protect stateless persons.

The 10 actions are:
* Action 1: Resolve existing major situations of statelessness.
* Action 2: Ensure that no child is born stateless.
* Action 3: Remove gender discrimination from nationality laws.
* Action 4: Prevent denial, loss, or deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds.
* Action 5: Prevent statelessness in cases of state succession.
* Action 6: Grant protection status to stateless migrants and facilitate their naturalisation.
* Action 7: Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness.
* Action 8: Issue nationality documentation to those entitled to it.
* Action 9: Accede to the UN statelessness conventions.
* Action 10: Improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations.

=== International Stateless Persons Organisation ===
In March 2012, the International Stateless Persons Organisation (ISPO), an [[international non-governmental organization]], was founded by Dr. Fernando Macolor Cruz, a tribal prince and instructor of history and political science at [[Palawan State University]] in [[Philippines|the Philippines]]. It aims to provide institutional representation to stateless persons throughout the world through a network of volunteer human rights law practitioners who act as country representatives.

=== Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion ===
The [https://www.institutesi.org/ Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion] (ISI), is the first and only civil society organisation dedicated to promoting the right to a nationality and the rights of stateless people globally. It works with partners around the world to promote everyone’s equal right to a nationality and the human rights of all stateless people, while supporting stateless people in their efforts to achieve meaningful change. ISI works to strengthen resilience, leadership, collaboration and resourcing of stateless-led initiatives and ensuring that those impacted by statelessness lead and are centred in efforts to address statelessness. It serves as incubator of the [https://www.againststatelessness.com/ Global Movement Against Statelessness] and as an active steering group member of the [https://statelessnessfund.org/ Global Statelessness Fund]. ISI helps to connect and facilitate exchange between individuals and groups working on the issue, including as the convenor of regular learning programmes and the [https://www.institutesi.org/pages/conference2024 World Conferences on Statelessness]. ISI also contributes towards strengthening the evidence base for action and facilitating information and knowledge-sharing, including by reporting on developments and opportunities in its [https://www.institutesi.org/pages/statelessness-monthly-bulletins Monthly Bulletin] and curating the online knowledge platform [https://www.statelesshub.org/ StatelessHub]. It plays a bridging role between different stakeholders – including by supporting civil society engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, as co-convenor of the world’s only dedicated journal on statelessness, [https://statelessnessandcitizenshipreview.com/index.php/journal the Statelessness and Citizenship Review], and by making connections with key actors working on intersecting issues. ISI is established as a Dutch foundation (‘stichting’) and has two offices: in Rotterdam and London.

=== European Network on Statelessness ===
The [[European Network on Statelessness]], a civil society alliance, was set up to address the problem of 600,000 stateless persons in Europe and to act as a coordinating body and expert resource for organisations across Europe that work with or come into contact with stateless persons.

== See also ==
* [[Alien (law)]]
* [[Canvas ceiling]] 
* [[Certificate of identity]]
* [[List of people who have lived at airports]] 
* [[The Man Without a Country]]
* [[Multiple citizenship]]
* [[Nansen passport]]
* [[Nomad]]
* [[Perpetual foreigner]]
* [[Perpetual traveller]]
* [[Refugee law]]
* [[Stateless nation]]
* ''[[The Terminal]]''
* [[Uncontacted peoples]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Bronwen Manby, [https://archive.today/20130415215041/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/struggles_20091009 Struggles for Citizenship in Africa], 2009
* Laura Bingham, Julia Harrington-Reddy and Sebastian Kohn, [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/prato-20110302 De Jure Statelessness in the Real World: Applying the Prato Summary Conclusions], 2011
* Jay Milbrandt, [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1919045 Stateless], 2011
* Open Society Foundations and Refugees International, [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/without-citizenship-20110509 Without Citizenship: Statelessness, Discrimination, and Repression in Kuwait] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309145459/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/without-citizenship-20110509 |date=March 9, 2012 }}, 2011
* ''[http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/nationality_en.pdf Nationality and Statelessness: a Handbook for Parliamentarians]''. [[High Commissioner for Refugees]], [[Inter-Parliamentary Union]], 2005
* [http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR26/FMR2603.pdf Stateless Palestinians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124052024/http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR26/FMR2603.pdf |date=January 24, 2014 }}
* [http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/2008/107638.htm Report describing US contributions to the resettlement of stateless populations in 2007]
* Brad K. Blitz and Maureen Lynch. "[http://www.udhr60.ch/report/statelessness_paper0609.pdf Statelessness and the Benefits of Citizenship: A Comparative Study] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008171613/http://www.udhr60.ch/report/statelessness_paper0609.pdf |date=October 8, 2011 }}."
* Siegelberg, Mira L. 2020. ''Statelessness: A Modern History''. Harvard University Press.
* Somers, Margaret. 2008. ''Genealogies of Citizenship: Markets, Statelessness, and the Right to Have Rights''. Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-79394-0}}
* ''[http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/UNRAVELLING%20ANOMALY%20small%20file.pdf Unravelling Anomaly. Detention, Discrimination and the Protection Needs of the Stateless Persons]''. London: Equal Rights Trust, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-9560717-3-6}}
* [http://www.trust.org/alertnet/multimedia/in-focus/statelessness/ Stateless: The World's Most Invisible People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318162648/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/multimedia/in-focus/statelessness/ |date=March 18, 2013 }}. [[Reuters AlertNet]], 2011
* UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2012 [http://www.refworld.org/docid/5100fec32.html The State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity].

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* International law: treaties and case law
** [http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/6_1_1961.pdf Full Convention text of 1961 Convention]
** [http://www.refworld.org/docid/54576a754.html Map showing State Parties to the Statelessness Conventions]
** [http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/45178f542.pdf Council of Europe Convention on Reduction of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession]
** [http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/stateless.htm UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227004503/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/stateless.htm |date=December 27, 2012 }} (full text)
** [http://www.unhcr.org/45179cbd4.html International case law on statelessness]
** [https://www.dhakatribune.com/around-the-web/2017/06/12/woes-bangalis-karachi dhakatribune The stateless bangalis of karachi]
* Intergovernmental organizations:
** [http://www.unhcr.org/statelessness UNHCR page on prevention and reduction of statelessness and protection of stateless persons&nbsp;– background information, tools and news] From [[UNHCR]] website
** [http://www.refworld.org/statelessness.html Refworld's special feature page on Statelessness]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20141107013054/http://ibelong.unhcr.org/en/home.do UNHCR's #IBELONG campaign microsite]
* International NGOs
** [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/focus/statelessness Statelessness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116185734/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/focus/statelessness |date=January 16, 2012 }} on the website of the [http://www.soros.org/ Open Society Foundations]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20090212165033/http://refugeesinternational.org/who-we-are/our-issues/statelessness Statelessness] on the website of [[Refugees International]]
** [http://www.nationalityforall.org Website of the International Observatory on Statelessness a clearinghouse for NGOs, academics, advocacy groups and policy-makers working on issues of statelessness]
** [http://www.institutesi.org/ Website of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion]
** [http://www.statelessness.eu/about-us Website of the European Network on Statelessness]
* Academic Institutions
** [http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/statelessness Website of the Statelessness Programme, an initiative of Tilburg Law School (Netherlands) dedicated to research, training and outreach on statelessness and related issues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522151438/http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/statelessness/ |date=May 22, 2017 }}
* Specific states
** [http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/applying/british_nationality/advice_about_nationality/bn5_-_provisions_for.html British nationality&nbsp;– provisions for reducing statelessness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502214409/http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home/applying/british_nationality/advice_about_nationality/bn5_-_provisions_for.html |date=May 2, 2006 }}
** [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8898.pdf United States IRS Form 8898] (Renouncing citizenship).
* Documentary Film on Stateless person
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ed_6nXLJfk/ Man without a nation-documentary film]

{{Nationality laws}}
{{Social class}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Legal concepts]]
[[Category:Nationality]]
[[Category:Statelessness| ]]