1. Introduction
After reviewing available literature on the risks of statelessness facing children and young
people in migration in Europe, ENS identified that the voices and views of stateless children,
young people, and their families - and those working with them to resolve their cases - are
rarely heard.1 The accounts of stateless children and young people, those at risk of
statelessness and their parents, and the documents they hold, are key to understanding how
statelessness is produced and negotiated in the migratory context. With the support of
Comic Relief, under its #StatelessJourneys initiative, ENS has worked with five of its
members in five European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and
Ukraine) to document and reflect on their legal casework with children and families in
migration affected by (risks of) statelessness between October 2020 and April 2022. This
report presents a synthesis of the findings and learning from this project.
Not having a nationality or lacking proof of nationality can make it difficult for children to
access other fundamental rights such as birth registration, healthcare, and education, as well
as social security, housing, and independence and livelihood opportunities as they grow older.
It is harder to protect children from immigration detention, trafficking, exploitation, and
abuse if they are stateless, and statelessness may put them at greater risk. Despite
international and regional obligations to fulfil every child’s right to acquire a nationality and
have their best interests taken as a primary consideration, only half of European States have
full legal safeguards in place to prevent children from growing up without a nationality.2 A
birth certificate is essential evidence of a child’s family ties and place of birth, and therefore
helps confirm or secure their acquisition of a nationality. However, children in migration can
face barriers to the accurate registration and documentation of their births.3
The research set out to document some of the myriad causes of statelessness among children
in migration, the diverse profiles of children affected, and the complex legal casework and
approaches required to try to resolve and realise every child’s right to a nationality. The
1
ENS (2020) Literature review and mapping study: Risks of statelessness among the children of refugees in
Europe: https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/publications/literature-review-and-mapping-study-risksstatelessness-among-children
2
ENS (2015) No child should be stateless: https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/publication/no-child-shouldbe-stateless
3
ENS & the Initiative for Children in Migration (2020) No child should be stateless: Ensuring the right to a
nationality for children in migration in Europe: https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/publication/no-childshould-be-stateless-ensuring-right-nationality-children-migration