granted a settlement permit, 7,980 people lived on ‘tolerated stay’, 4,470 individuals were issued a temporary residence permit, and 15,580 persons remained without any residence permit, tolerated stay or temporary residence permit.15 With regard to births, the statistics do not distinguish between parents who are stateless or whose nationality is unknown or unclear: in 2021, 3,030 women who were stateless or with unclear/ unknown nationality or ‘without indication’ gave birth to a child, and 49,892 men who were stateless or with unclear/unknown nationality or ‘without indication’ became fathers.16 12. Although statistical data in Germany is comprehensive relative to other countries, statelessness has not been surveyed or mapped in the German context. The last census, which included the category ‘stateless’, ‘unclear nationality’ and ‘without indication’, was carried out in 2011.17 A new census was launched in May 2022 and the results are expected to be published by the end of 2023.18 There are also issues with identification and recording of statelessness in the refugee context, as authorities routinely categorise asylum seekers who arrive without passports with an imputed nationality or as ‘stateless’ or ‘unclear nationality’, without verifying their actual nationality status. The existence of a large number of people with ‘unclear nationality’, such as persons on ‘tolerated stay’ or with irregular status, indicates that the actual number of stateless people in Germany is likely to be higher and thus underrepresented in the statistics. 13. A legislative proposal to amend the German Nationality Act, including amendments to the residence period required for acquisition of nationality for children born in Germany, is expected to be published in April 2023. The co-submitting partners urge the German Government to amend the bill taking into consideration the concerns expressed in this submission. Issue 1 – Statelessness determination and access to rights for stateless people 14. Identifying stateless people in the country is the first step to providing adequate protection and rights enshrined in the 1954 Convention. Although the 1954 Convention does not specifically provide for how statelessness should be determined, UNHCR guidance has confirmed that this is best fulfilled through a dedicated statelessness determination procedure with the necessary safeguards and procedural guarantees.19 According to international norms and standards, determination of statelessness should 15 Statistisches Bundesamt, GENESIS Online-Datenbank, ‘Ausländer: Bundesländer, Stichtag, Geschlecht, Aufenthaltstitel/Ausgewählte Aufenthaltstitel, Ländergruppierungen/Staatsangehörigkeit’ (Code 12521-0026) [‘Foreigner: Federal Lands, Reporting Date, Sex, Residence Permit/Selected Residence Permit, States/Nationality’ (Code 12521-0026)] available at: https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis//online?operation=table&code=125210026&bypass=true&levelindex=0&levelid=1680038999952#abreadcrumb. 16 Statistisches Bundesamt, GENESIS Online-Datenbank, ‘Lebendgeborene: Deutschland, Jahre, Staatsangehörigkeit’ (Code 12612-0003) [‘Live births: Germany, Year, Nationality’ (Code 12612-0003)] available at: https://wwwgenesis.destatis.de/genesis//online?operation=table&code=126120003&bypass=true&levelindex=1&levelid=1680038685316#abreadcrumb. 17 Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder, ‘Bevölkerung nach Staat der Staatsangehörigkeit und Geschlecht für Gemeinden. Ergebnisse des Zensus am 9. Mai 2011’ (10 April 2014), available at: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Methoden/Zensus_/Downloads/1B_EinwohnerzahlNationalitaet.html. 18 Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder, Zensus 2022, available at: https://www.zensus2022.de/DE/Home/_inhalt.html. 19 UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 2014: http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/statelessness/53b698ab9/handbook-protection-stateless-persons.html. See also European Court of Human Rights, Hoti v. Croatia (application no. 42321/15), 26 July 2018, holding that a State has a positive obligation to provide an effective and accessible procedure enabling applicants to have their issues of further stay and status determined, paragraph 32. 3