that applies to foreigners, applies to them as well.40 By contrast, refugees are eligible to naturalise after five years and applicants from countries with historical ties with Spain (i.e. former colonies) after two years of lawful and continued residence. 28. In 2018, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent recommended to Spain that “the Aliens Law be reviewed, with a view of making more respectful of the rights of the asylum seekers and migrants, the overly long period of 10 years to qualify for citizenship could be shortened. Pathways to citizenship for migrants, including those in irregular situation, should be created and strengthened”.41 The Detention of Stateless Persons 29. The Aliens Act42 allows for the detention of third country nationals, only where this is necessary to ensure compliance with a deportation order. The law explicitly bans the expulsion and, therefore, the detention, of pregnant women, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors43 and migrants with dependent children who are attending school until they reach legal age.44 However, there are no procedural safeguards in place that prevent stateless persons from being detained for removal. Statelessness (and being at risk of statelessness) is not taken into account in vulnerability assessments, and the law does not mandate the identification of a proposed country of removal before a person is detained, so the unrealistic likelihood of removing a stateless person is not taken into consideration by the competent authorities. 30. In practice, detention is not always used for its stated purpose (ensuring a deportation order). For instance, the Spanish Ombudsman reported that undocumented migrants arriving at the coast are placed in detention almost automatically, which means that stateless persons are at risk of being arbitrarily detained without taking into account the unrealistic likelihood of their removal. 45 Also, Immigration Detention Centres (CIE) do not follow a specific protocol to identify stateless persons detained in their facilities, and the law does not regulate the possibility of lodging an SDP application from within such centres. 31. There is information available suggesting that Spain does not always use detention as a measure of last resort. A European Commission report found that, in practice, some alternatives to detention, such as the deposit of adequate financial guarantees were not implemented, whereas other alternatives, such as residence restrictions, regular reporting to authorities and obligation to surrender passport and documents, lacked data on their implementation, with NGOs holding that they were not adequately implemented, and government stakeholders taking the position that they were. 46 40 Real Decreto de 24 de julio de 1889 por el que se publica el Código Civil, article 22, available at: http://cort.as/7T42 (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]. 41 Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its mission to Spain (2018), A/HRC/39/69/Add.2, para 67. 42 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, article 62, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]. 43 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, articles 57.6, 62.1 and 62.4, available at: http://cort.as/ZhSP (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]. 44 Real Decreto 557/2011, article 246.1, available at: http://cort.as/-KBlu (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]. 45 Defensor del Pueblo: Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura, Informe anual 2017, pages 123 – 127, available at: http://cort.as/-KzDf (Spanish) [accessed 8 July 2019]. 46 European Commission (DG Home Affairs), Evaluation on the application of the Return Directive (2008/115/EC), 22 October 2013, pages. 29-34, available at: http://cort.as/-KBmG [accessed 8 July 2019]. 7