From Syria to Europe: Experiences of Stateless Kurds and Palestinian Refugees from Syria Seeking Protection in Europe Accessing protection in Europe Across a number of the interviews conducted for this study, stateless Syrians recounted difficulties in their journey to Europe and access to the asylum system as a result of being ‘held up’ or ‘stuck’ on the Greek islands while Syrian citizens were able to pass more easily to mainland Greece and/or had their claims processed more quickly. A lack of access to resettlement pathways for stateless Syrians was also identified as contributing to discrimination against those from Syria without nationality in accessing protection. The restrictions encountered prompted some of those interviewed to find alternative means to reach Europe, including illegal border crossings and enlisting the services of smugglers. Registration as ‘stateless’ The study highlighted the disparity in state practice when it comes to the identification and registration of a refugee as ‘stateless’. Some were registered correctly as stateless while others were recorded with an imputed nationality (i.e. listed as Syrian citizens) and yet others in the Netherlands were recorded as having an ‘unknown’ nationality, due to the high evidentiary threshold for ‘proving’ statelessness. Within the same family or even across different registration processes for the same individual, statuses vary. This can not only obstruct the enjoyment of targeted assistance that would be available for persons recognised as stateless, but also frustrates the ability of the authorities to gain an accurate picture of the scale of the problem of statelessness within the wider refugee population. Family reunification The failure to suitably account for a stateless Syrian’s specific circumstances has also led to discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to family life: family reunification procedures that are available to all refugees from Syria are not always accessible in practice to those who experience statelessness. In the absence of a family book documenting a person’s ties to family members who remain behind in the MENA region, stateless Syrians are asked to undergo DNA testing to establish these links. However, testing facilities are only available in certain locations, which stateless Syrians may struggle to access, meaning that families are delayed in or have to undertake illicit travel to complete family reunification. Naturalisation Access to naturalisation is an important channel to a durable solution for stateless people and the availability of facilitated naturalisation for stateless persons in some European countries is beneficial to the longer-term prospect of integration and stability – as well as being a requirement of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. However, due to the failings in the registration process which leave some stateless Syrians recorded as Syrian citizens or as being of ‘unknown’ nationality, not all refugees who should be able to benefit from this facilitated procedure will be considered eligible. Moreover, the availability of a special regime that enables stateless persons to naturalise more quickly than other refugees appears to not always be understood by the relevant authorities, prompting misinformation and delays. Avoidance of childhood statelessness Another special set of regulations from which stateless refugees can benefit is facilitated access to nationality for children born in the host state. Safeguards to ensure that childhood statelessness is avoided allow for conferral of nationality to stateless children born on the territory – but in practice these safeguards can often only be implemented if parents’ statelessness is identified and acknowledged. The registration of stateless Syrians as either Syrian citizens or being of ‘unknown’ nationality obstructs the implementation of such safeguards. The primary underlying and cross-cutting challenge that exists with respect to providing appropriate assistance to stateless Syrians in the asylum context in Europe is ensuring that their statelessness is accurately identified and that related policies and procedures are appropriately tailored to account for their specific circumstances as individuals without a nationality. This means that awareness raising among officials and key stakeholders about the profiles and specific needs of stateless Syrians must be prioritised. This study contributes to the identification of the gaps that are contributing to discrimination against stateless refugees on the basis of their lack of nationality. It is important for the EU and its Member States to recognise the presence of stateless refugees among those seeking protection in the region and to work to address those areas of policy and practice that are hampering their enjoyment of the support and rights that they are entitled to. 3