The changes made concerning these groups were the following: a) it is not necessary to present a copy of a passport with the application and b) the applicant does not bear the responsibility to prove his or her identity. Nevertheless, applicants must show that they have taken measures in order to try to establish their identity.203 The amendments took effect on 1 July 2012. Consequently, applications using these exemptions were given priority. In the absence of a specific statelessness determination procedure, the requirement for the stateless person to establish his or her identity can still be problematic. According to Article 16 of the Nationality Act, stateless applicants for naturalization also need to establish their identity pursuant to Article 7(1)(a). No “special requirements for the documentation” are applied to stateless applicants, although the applicant is asked to provide ID-documents, a birth certificate, or travel documents if possible.204 A stateless applicant does, however, need to prove his or her statelessness.205 A prior decision on the applicant’s identity, and hereunder statelessness, made by UDI in relation to an application for a visa, asylum or a residence permit is taken into account and is the determining factor in relation to the citizenship application.206 If, however, the applicant provides different information on his or her nationality or statelessness, i.e. a copy of a passport, from that registered in his file with UDI at an earlier stage, UDI’s nationality department, evaluating the application for Norwegian nationality based on the exemptions in Article 16, will question the applicability of Article 16.207 A caseworker carries out a thorough evaluation and must for example consider the law and practice in the applicant’s former country of residence.208 Different information on the applicant’s identity may also lead to a rejection of the application pursuant to Article 7(1)a, if the identity requirement is not fulfilled according to Article 16. Article 32 of the 1954 Convention specifically stipulates that states should reduce possible costs of naturalization proceedings. Indirect costs, such as authentication of documents, must not constitute an obstacle for otherwise stateless individuals to exercise the right to acquire the nationality of Contracting States.209 Under Article 32 of the Nationality Act, fees can be charged in order for the application to be processed. Children under the age of 18 years are, pursuant to the Nationality Regulation § 15-1, exempted from paying a fee. 4.3.4.2 OTHER MODES Children under the age of 18 years of parents who acquire Norwegian nationality in accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of the Nationality Act will automatically acquire Norwegian nationality through their parents, provided that the child has a residence in Norway, is released from any other nationality (if applicable) at the time of the acquisition, and is not married or in a registered partnership, as provided by Article 22. According to Article 5 of the Nationality Act, a child will acquire Norwegian nationality if a) the child is adopted by a Norwegian citizen and b) the child is under 18 years of age at the time of the adoption and the adoption is in accordance with the Norwegian Adoption Act.210 50 203 UDI, Ny bestemmelse om unntak fra kravet om klarlagt identitet I statsborgerskapsaker, 6 July 2012, available at: http://goo.gl/HtLqqQ, and UDI, Prioritering av søknader om statsborgerskap, 20 November 2012, available at: http://goo.gl/qQzDuQ. 204 DI (Statistics and Analysis Division) reply dated 10 August 2012 to a questionnaire prepared by the researcher in relation to mapping of statelessness in the Northern Europe, dated 25 July 2012. 205 See UDI Information on the Citizenship Act with Regulations, para. 6.3. 206 Ibid, para. 2.1. 207 UDI (Statistics and Analysis Division) reply dated 10 August 2012 to a questionnaire prepared by the researcher in relation to mapping of statelessness in Northern Europe, dated 25 July 2012. 208 UDI Information on the Citizenship Act with Regulations, para. 2.2. 209 UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4, para. 54. 210 The Adoption Act, Lov om Adopsjon nr. 28/1986, available at: https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1986-02-28-8. M A P P I N G STAT E L E S S N E S S I N N O RWAY