Citizenship and stateless status determination Given that the first priority is always to assist clients in accessing citizenship, the first task of a legal practitioner is to determine the nation(s) to which a person has relevant links. All citizenship options should be explored before resorting to other legal solutions. The internationally accepted definition of 'stateless' is found in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (the 1954 Convention): For the purpose of this Convention, the term “stateless person” means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. An individual is a stateless person from the moment that the conditions in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention are met. Article 1(1) can be analysed by breaking the definition down into two constituent elements: ‘not considered as a national … under the operation of ... law’ and ‘by any State’. First, the legal practitioner must gather all relevant information regarding the personal circumstances of the client. Second, the information gathered during preliminary interviews is used to conduct research into any potential claims to nationality that the client may have. It is only upon completion of these steps that a determination as to the client’s citizenship or stateless status can be made, allowing you to make a plan of action to resolve his problem. 4.1 Step One: Personal history interview An assessment of the client's citizenship or stateless status will begin with the personal history interview. The client's testimony concerning his or her life helps identify which states and nationality procedures need to be considered in determining a client's status. Any and all documentary evidence which a client has to demonstrate the veracity of his or her claims ought to be gathered at this stage. In any given case, the following non-exhaustive list of evidence is helpful:72 • • • 72 42 testimony of the applicant (e.g. written application, interview, affidavit); identity documents (for example, a birth certificate, extract from civil register, national identity card, voter registration document); travel documents (including expired ones); UNHCR Procedures Guidelines (n 7 above). Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide