Existing Statelessness determination procedure 4. Evidentiary considerations Authorities undertaking statelessness determination procedures need to consider all available evidence, oral and written, regarding an individual’s claim. Given the nature of statelessness, applicants for statelessness status are often unable to substantiate the claim with much, if any, documentary evidence. UNHCR recommends that SDPs provide for a shared burden of proof between the applicant and the examiners. This means that both the applicant and the State share the responsibility of proving the applicant’s statelessness claim by making efforts to establish whether the applicant is considered as a national of a country. The applicant has a duty to be truthful, provide as full an account of his or her position as possible and to submit all evidence reasonably available. Similarly, the determination authority is required to obtain and present all relevant evidence reasonably available to it to allow for an objective determination of the applicant’s status. As with the burden of proof, the standard of proof necessary to determine statelessness must take into consideration the difficulties inherent in proving statelessness, particularly in light of the consequences of incorrectly rejecting an application. States are therefore advised to adopt the same standard of proof as that required in refugee status determination, namely, a finding of statelessness would be warranted where it is established to a “reasonable degree” that an individual is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.26 Although in many administrative or judicial proceedings the claimant bears the initial responsibility of substantiating his or her claim, the practice among the States with established SDPs, such as France, Hungary, Moldova, the Philippines and Spain, is that the burden of proof is shared. States with SDPs in the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay) all consistently provide in the relevant legislation that the burden of proof is shared between the decision-maker and the applicant. Where the burden of proof is shared, the applicant is generally required to provide all evidence in their possession or that they could reasonably obtain and also 26 For further guidance on the appropriate burden and standard of proof in statelessness determination procedures, please see UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, Part Two: Procedures on the Determination of Statelessness, Section D (3) and (4) (paragraphs 89-93). U N H C R > G P P AC T I O N 6 : E S TA B L I S H I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S D E T E R M I N AT I O N P R O C E D U R E S 15