How is COVID-19 impacting on stateless people? The group discussed how COVID-19 has impacted on us and the stateless communities we work with, and what we see as the short and long-term consequences of COVID-19 on stateless people. 1. Access to rights • Access to healthcare – In some countries, access to healthcare is made dependent on having certain identity documents and/or residence status, which many/most stateless people do not have. Some stateless people fear accessing healthcare due to a fear of reporting to the immigration authorities or fee charging for healthcare. Some stateless people also face linguistic, cultural and geographic barriers to accessing healthcare. Already high rates of mental health issues across stateless communities have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Combined with restricted access to mental health services, this is leading to increases in unaddressed mental health issues which will require access to special services for stateless people. • Access to shelter, work, and food – Some stateless people are facing a lack of access to basic needs, most notably food. Some are experiencing a lack of adequate shelter, an increase in homelessness and as a result, an increased risk of infection. Those who work in the informal economy can no longer leave their homes for work and cannot provide for their family. Government relief packages or support being made dependent on identification documents and/or residence status in some countries means that stateless people are being excluded from COVID-19 government relief packages. • Access to education – some stateless families are facing issues with homeschooling due to language and/or technology issues. Parents may not know how to use laptops, may not have reliable access to the internet, or be able to speak the language of their children’s school lessons. 2. Discrimination • There has been an increase in antigypsyism, institutional discrimination, racial profiling and racist attacks. There has also been an increase in police powers to stop and ask people for documents (potentially leading to more detention). 3. Lack of accessible information for stateless people • Stateless people are facing a lack of accessible, translated information on COVID-19 impacts and lockdown regulations. Connected to this, are a lack of access to technology and issues related to illiteracy in some communities affected by statelessness. 4. Impact on legal proceedings and access to free legal support • Stateless people are facing a lack of access to free legal representation • Access and applying to immigration and/or asylum procedure(s) is already complicated. Now authorities are providing limited services, leading to delays to applications for stateless status and other immigration procedures, such as residence permits. In some cases, the determination process for stateless people has completely stopped. Traditional rights and protection mechanisms are also not functioning. 5. Reduced visibility of the issue of statelessness in the media, political and other discussions • Statelessness has been hidden in current media and political debates and was invisible even before the pandemic. In the future, prioritising the issue with ongoing COVID-19 debates will be difficult. 2