With Australian citizenship, these children have the chance to grow to their full potential in a place they can call home. This Project aims to increase awareness among Australian stateless refugee communities about the entitlement to citizenship for Australian born children and link them with free, expert legal services. By doing so, it aims to provide them with Australian citizenship — the most legally significant form of protection, thereby offering them a secure future where they can grow, learn, and participate in a society where they truly belong. A significant but unknown number of children have been born in Australia to stateless asylum seeker and refugee parents. While they are prohibited from applying for permanent protection under Australian immigration law and remain at risk of removal to Nauru, they are, however, eligible for Australian citizenship by virtue of their inherited statelessness.6 Although these children have a right to apply for citizenship under Australian and international law, they face significant barriers in navigating this complex process. Indeed, many parents are unaware that their child even has an entitlement to apply for citizenship. ‘Our lawyer at RACS first told us about applying for citizenship for our two youngest children – we didn’t know this was possible. Sometimes I wonder – if they hadn’t told me about this process, how would I know? Applying for citizenship – even knowing it is a possibility – would be too hard for us to navigate without a lawyer.’ — Amir, stateless Palestinian father of four ‘All my children feel Australian. But being on a temporary visa makes it hard. My wife and I try to shield them from this uncertain future as much as we can, but this isn’t always easy. Just last week the Principal at my children’s school approached my wife in the school yard to ask for a certain letter he needs regarding the enrolment, because our visa has expired. Our children overheard this conversation and were asking us that night ‘what does this mean?’ This was hard for my wife and I – how can we explain this? We want our children to feel secure, and not carry our worries about their future.’ ‘I want my children to have a better life – I want them to be Australian citizens. This is my dream.’ — Amir, stateless Palestinian father of four — Nur, stateless Rohingya mother of four © Katie Robertson Executive Summary 4 Executive Summary 5