territory, in line with the requirements elaborated in the UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons and leads to the status of stateless person. Such a procedure could be established within the Danish Immigration Service, and build upon existing structures and competencies. • Provisions guaranteeing applicants, as well as persons recognized as stateless, the respective rights to which they are entitled under the 1954 Convention are introduced in the legislation. The UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons describes which rights applicants for the statelessness status are entitled to, and which are reserved for persons determined to be stateless. • A specific residence permit be introduced for persons recognized as stateless and that these stateless persons be granted the “lawfully staying” rights guaranteed by the 1954 Convention, as elaborated in the UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons. • The definition of a stateless person is incorporated in the Aliens Act in line with Article 1 of the 1954 Convention. • The Aliens Act is amended in such a way that a person’s statelessness may give rise to an exemption from the requirement that a person is not able to return to another country during 18 months before qualifying for a right of residence under Section 9(c)(2) of the Aliens Act. • Consideration will be given in cases of family reunification for stateless persons on whether the current guidelines are sufficient to ensure a careful assessment of the parties’ possibilities to enjoy a family life in another country in cases where the family life may be pursued in the other country, however under living conditions that are not of an appropriate standard. • Denmark withdraws its reservations to the 1954 Convention. Prevention and reduction of statelessness It is recommended that: • The rights to acquire Danish nationality by children and young persons born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless are incorporated in the Nationality Act (and not limited to the Naturalization Circular). In this regard, it is also recommended to examine whether the current naturalization procedure is discretionary and thereby incompliant with the requirements under Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. • A more inclusive approach is adopted to the implementation of the provisions of Articles 3 and 7 of the CRC and Article 1 of the 1961 Convention allowing children who are born stateless in Denmark to acquire Danish nationality at birth automatically, ex lege. Pursuant to Article 1(1)(a) of the 1961 Convention, and Articles 7 and 3 of the CRC, UNHCR recommends states to grant children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless citizenship automatically at birth. • If Denmark opts to continue to grant its nationality through an application procedure, stateless children who are born in Denmark and who reside in the country habitually without having a lawful residence, are allowed to submit their application as soon as possible after birth in order not to be left stateless for an extended period of time. • Danish born stateless children and young stateless persons who are entitled to Danish nationality should be informed about the entitlement individually, and that the provision in the Naturalization Circular on the application procedure for Danish born stateless children is amended in such a way that the present condition of ‘lawful residence’ in Denmark is replaced by the condition of ‘habitual residence’, as allowed under Article 1(2) of the 1961 Convention, and as per UNHCR’s Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4. • The concept of habitual residence is further defined in Danish legislation in order to ensure consistent application and interpretation of the concept. • Fees are not charged in the case of stateless persons entitled to Danish nationality; thus, the exemption for paying fees should also comprise Danish born stateless persons who have turned 18. UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries 79