would otherwise be stateless either (i) automatically at birth or (ii) upon application shortly after birth. Thus, if the State imposes conditions for an application as allowed for under Article 1(2) of the 1961 Convention, this must not have the effect of leaving the child stateless for a considerable period of time.180 Any stateless child applying for Norwegian nationality must do so on a ground independent of his or her statelessness and birth in Norway, as Norwegian law currently has no provision mirroring Article 1(1) of the 1961 Convention. However, it bears noting here that persons born in Norway who would otherwise be stateless and who have an independent right to acquire Norwegian nationality – i.e., on grounds other than statelessness and birth in the territory – are not prevented from so doing. Just like anyone else with a claim to Norwegian nationality, such persons can acquire Norwegian nationality through the application procedure established by Article 7 of the Nationality Act. Although under domestic law a child cannot obtain Norwegian nationality on the ground of statelessness, stateless children who have an independent ground for obtaining Norwegian citizenship are exempted from the requirement that he or she be at least twelve years old to be eligible to apply for Norwegian nationality.181 Also, a stateless child with such an independent claim to Norwegian nationality is not required to fulfil the ordinary requirement of a minimum length of residence of seven years imposed upon other naturalization applicants. For stateless children with a claim to Norwegian nationality – normally these will be stateless refugees or children of refugees – the residence requirement is reduced to three years. However, the child must fulfil the conditions of Article 62 of the Immigration Act, which provide that the three-year residence in Norway must have been pursuant to a residence permit. Other requirements for naturalization under Article 7 also apply: the identity of the child must be established; the child needs to be a resident and intend to remain a resident of Norway; and he or she must not have been sentenced to a special criminal sanction or a penalty.182 These provisions do not afford the protections guaranteed by Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. First, as noted above, Article 1 requires that a state party grant its nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless irrespective of whether that person has an independent claim to the state’s nationality, such as refugee status. Second, if a state party imposes conditions upon an applicant who was born in the territory and is stateless, the conditions must be within the limitations expressly contemplated by Article 1(2) of the Convention. Importantly, Article 1(2)(b) permits a state party to impose a requirement of habitual residence, but it does not permit a state party to impose a requirement of lawful residence. Nor does it permit a state to consider whether the individual intends to remain a resident in the future. Thus, the existing requirement under present Norwegian law that a stateless child’s three-year period of residence be pursuant to a residence permit is inconsistent with Article 1(2)(b).183 Likewise, the requirement that an Article 1 applicant for nationality must prove his or her intent to remain a resident of Norway is in contravention of Article 1. Article 1(2)(c) permits a state to impose a requirement “that the person concerned has neither been convicted of an offence against national security nor has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years or more on a criminal charge.” The broad language of the Norwegian law (“special criminal sanction or penalty”), must be interpreted in accordance with Article 1(2)(c) if the Norwegian law is to be consistent with the Convention. 44 180 Ibid, para 34. 181 Article 16 states that Article 7 (1) b, the minimum age requirement of 12 years, is not applicable to stateless persons. UDI Rundskriv, Informasjon om statsborgerloven med forskrift, 21 March 2012, doc no. RS 2012-005 (‘UDI Information on the Citizenship Act with Regulations’), para. 4.10 § 16, available at: http://www.udiregelverk.no/no/rettskilder/udi-rundskriv/. 182 The Norwegian Government has issued a law proposal for comments amending Article 16, see Høring – endringer i utlendingsloven og utlendingsforskriften – hevet botidskrav for permanent oppholdstillatelse mv. – endringer i statsborgerloven, available from: https://goo.gl/ZJu2gm; and UNHCR’s comments to the proposal, available at: https://goo.gl/7XJe5d. 183 It is not the duration of the three-year requirement is objectionable, as Article 1(2)(b) permits a residence of up to five years immediately preceding the application for residence. Rather, it is the requirement that that period be fulfilled on the basis of a residence permit that violates Article 1(2)(b), which contemplates only the imposition of habitual residence, not lawful residence. M A P P I N G STAT E L E S S N E S S I N N O RWAY