Statelessness can be established during several administrative procedures. There is no centralized procedure with the sole purpose of statelessness determination and the protection of stateless persons. The various divisions of the Danish Immigration Service carry out the determination of statelessness under the existing procedures. It may be carried out as part of a decision in regards to an application for a residence permit (e.g. family reunification, asylum, work, education) or as an isolated act, if so requested by resident immigrants who for instance wish to have a wrongful registration corrected. In such cases, the Immigration Service’s Citizenship Service handles the request. 3.3.2 Procedural aspects 3.3.2.1 Initiation of the procedure and course of the procedure Most cases of registration of statelessness in Denmark take place in the context of the refugee status determination procedure. Persons who seek asylum in Denmark (so-called spontaneous asylum-seekers) can apply for asylum at a police station, including the police station in Copenhagen Airport, or at Sandholm Reception Center. Applicants are registered, photographed, and fingerprinted by the UCN. All asylum-seekers are then placed in the Sandholm Reception Center, run by the Danish Red Cross.166 At Sandholm, further processing of the asylum application begins. Pursuant to Section 48(e) of the Aliens Act, it is for the Danish Immigration Service to decide whether Denmark is responsible for handling an asylum application, pursuant to the Dublin Regulation. Pursuant to Section 48(a) of the Aliens Act, the Danish Immigration Service will thus not review an application for a residence permit under Section 7 of the Aliens Act until it has decided to refrain from refusal of entry, expulsion, transfer (in accordance with the Dublin regulation) and return. The police register an asylum-seeker’s personal information for purposes of the Section 48(e) decision. 167 Since the January 2012 reforms, the procedure has been for the police to give the applicant a temporary registration number (ENR), comprised of the applicant’s birthday plus four letters, a notation if the person might be stateless, the country and region of origin, and language spoken. It will also be indicated whether the applicant is cooperative with Danish authorities, as well as the country of possible transfer. The police base this information on the applicant’s statements and documents.168 The Danish Immigration Service conducts an interview with the applicant assisted by an interpreter. Based on this interview, the Danish Immigration Service carries out an investigation in order to “determine the alien’s identity, nationality and travel route and to procure other necessary information.”169 If deemed necessary, the applicant can be called in for a more thorough interview with the help of an interpreter. The second interview may include questions regarding all parts of the application for asylum including additional information or correction of earlier registered including the applicant’s nationality or, as the case may be, statelessness. An asylum-seeker is allowed to stay in Denmark, while an application is examined.170 If the Danish Immigration Service in accordance with the Dublin Regulation decides that an asylum-seeker will have his/her asylum application processed in Denmark, the applicant will be given a written decision and a new case will be created in the case- 46 166 See the procedural information available on New to Denmark, available at: https://bit.ly/3hChBdw. 167 Section 48(e)(1) of the Aliens Act. Since May 2012, the National Police also takes biometric data of asylum-seekers. 168 The asylum-seeker will also be registered in the Danish Immigration Service’s Foreigners Register with a serial number (the alien number) and assigned an identity card (an asylum-seeker card) with necessary identity information. The Danish Immigration Service uses the 1954 Convention’s definition of a stateless person. 169 Section 48(e)(3) of the Aliens Act. 170 The stay is considered ‘procedural’. Mapping Statelessness in Denmark