in Belgium, parents who are unable to apply to the diplomatic or consular authorities of their country of origin because they are refugees are exempt from doing so as a prerequisite for their child born in Belgium to acquire Belgian nationality. Determining the nationality of children born in Greece There is a clear legal framework and procedure for determining Greek nationality, which was amended and improved in March 2019. However, it is unclear whether all children born in Greece whose nationality is unclear or undetermined, or who may otherwise be stateless, will be identified and have their entitlement to Greek nationality determined under the procedure. It is also unclear what safeguards are in place to ensure that all children born in Greece acquire a nationality (whether Greek or otherwise). Issues arising from the lack of procedures to identify whether a child would otherwise be stateless Many countries in the Statelessness Index lack formal procedures for determining whether a child born on their territory to non-nationals would otherwise be stateless. In some countries the nationality of the child (and/or parents) is recorded at birth registration, and in others it is not. In countries where the child’s nationality is routinely recorded at birth registration, officials often have discretion and little guidance as to what to record in the nationality field where parents are non-nationals. This can lead to varying practice and a risk that statelessness remains unidentified. In some countries, the nationality field is simply left blank (for example in Slovenia, Cyprus and North Macedonia) and no further action taken; in others, the child is recorded as having ‘unknown’ nationality (for example in Hungary); and in others, nationality may be assumed without verification based on a parent’s (usually the mother’s) nationality. In many countries, the children of married and unmarried parents are treated differently, and, in some cases, fathers must take additional steps to prove paternity (for example, in Malta, Slovenia and Germany). In Hungary, where officials determine a child’s nationality at birth registration, if none can be proven, the child is recorded as having ‘unknown nationality’ with no procedure in place to later determine the child’s nationality. This creates a worrying gap when the child’s parents are refugees and cannot contact their consular authorities to obtain proof of their nationality or register the child. In Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy and Norway, civil registry officials attribute the child a nationality based on the nationality of the parents (usually the mother). In Italy, the child’s nationality is recorded at the time of registration in the Municipal Population Registry and is automatically recorded on the basis of the parents’ nationality. If this is unclear, practice shows that civil registry officials tend to record a presumed nationality, such as that of the parents’ country of origin. In such cases in Italy where the child’s nationality is presumed, the National Association of Civil Registrars (ANUSCA) is expected to issue instructions to civil registrars on how to record such cases in the registry.44 In some cases, the practice of attributing the child’s nationality based on that of their parents appears to have evolved through a lack of guidance, in others, officials are explicitly instructed to do this in law or guidance. Norway’s National Registry Handbook instructs officials to register children born to non-Nordic parents with different nationalities with the mother’s