nationality. This prevented two of the children in the research from resolving their
statelessness through this route.16 Some of the Czech cases also had additional complexities
including family members with serious health issues, and issues of family separation, so, a
range of different actors and agencies were involved in supporting the families.
Case study - Mia
Mia was born to refugee parents (one from Central America and one from a former
Soviet State), who met in a refugee camp in the Czech Republic while in the asylum
process. Mia’s parents feared persecution in their home countries and so were unable to
contact their embassies in the Czech Republic to register their baby’s birth and acquire a
nationality. They filed an asylum application for Mia indicating her statelessness, but this
was never examined, and her nationality was recorded as being the same as her mother’s.
All three asylum claims were initially refused, so the family appealed to the regional
courts. After more than three years in limbo, the regional court overturned the negative
decision in Mia’s mother’s claim, recognising the persecution her family had faced in their
home country. The court then overturned the negative decision in Mia´s claim without a
hearing, but her statelessness was still never considered. The Ministry appealed on
procedural grounds, but the Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the arguments
OPU helped Mia put forward and rejected the appeal. Mia´s parents tried very hard to
resolve their daughter´s statelessness and get protection for the family. They were
frustrated by unnecessary delays and the fact that the Ministry ignored their daughter´s
statelessness and even disputed the regional court’s decision, delaying her case even
further. Mia and her mother were eventually granted subsidiary protection and her
father’s asylum case is being reconsidered with the help of OPU. However, Mia’s
statelessness remains unresolved for now.
The strategies chosen in each case involved first seeking regularisation or citizenship for the
children (and/or parents) through administrative routes, which in three cases resulted in
refusals from the competent authority, and in a fourth, a refusal is expected. Partners then
worked with the families to consider - and in four cases, pursue - solutions through the
courts. In three cases, the outcomes from the litigation process are still pending. In the case
of the Armenian-Cuban child, the court case regarding international protection for the
16
For more information on the legal and policy framework relating to statelessness in the Czech Republic, see
https://index.statelessness.eu/country/czech-republic