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stateless children and how statelessness increases the vulnerability of this
group to human rights violations.
While interviewing Hanna, she reflected upon some of her personal
experiences and her own observations in relation to her statelessness. She
pointed out that she was not able travel in high school during the process
of acquiring a residence permit in the Netherlands. Without a residence
permit she was unable, for instance, to join her classmates on a school trip
to France.
Nonetheless, Hanna received a temporary residence permit when she was 15
years of age. She said:
I am happy that I received a residence permit when I was in high school.
If I did not receive a residence permit at the time I would have had to
study at an expensive private school or pay a higher tuition fee for foreign
students at university without having the right to receive a study allowance from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.8
As mentioned before, Hanna is a smart student who is finalizing her Masters in
law and has the ambition of becoming a lawyer. She states:
Luckily I do not need a Dutch nationality in order to become a lawyer just
like a Dutch nationality is required if you would like to work for most
governmental organisations. Nonetheless, I would like to have the freedom to choose the field I would like to work in and apply for jobs where
Dutch nationality is required.9
Hanna grew up in the Netherlands and took part in Dutch society, yet she cannot vote in the country she identifies herself with. In terms of traveling, she
would like to go to Viet Nam and see her family that she has never met before.
For now, she has an alien passport and can travel abroad if she is granted a
visa.10 However, without a nationality she is not able to travel to some countries where she would like to spend her holidays, such as the United States of
America.
People have told Hanna that her parents should be blamed for her situation
of statelessness, which is an opinion that derives from ignorance and gives
more reason to inform the general public on the causes and consequences
8
9
10
Interview with Hanna
Ibid.
Paspoortuitvoeringsregeling Nederland 2001, Article 16(4)b.
tilburg law review 19 (2014) 108-116