authorities to deprive individuals of their nationality on security grounds. These new powers have not necessarily coincided with an increase in their application, but they have drastically expanded the potential reach of State action. In the UK, for example, following recent amendments, it is now possible for the Home Secretary to deprive naturalised nationals of their nationality even where this would render them stateless. Expansive use of deprivation of nationality on national security grounds in the UK As a result of amendments to the British Nationality Act in 2014, statelessness may arise from measures taken to protect national security. The amended provision allows the UK Government to deprive naturalised nationals of nationality when they have conducted themselves in a manner prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK and there is no safeguard to prevent statelessness on this ground. Although this new power has not yet been used in practice, the UK has deprived British nationals of their nationality on the grounds that it was ‘conducive to the public good’ to do so. In 2017 alone, the UK Government issued 104 deprivation orders on this ground. In many cases, the individuals were outside the UK when the deprivation was ordered, seriously impeding their ability to challenge the decision. Distinctions between nationals In most Index countries, provisions to deprive individuals of their nationality on national security grounds differentiate between nationals according to how nationality was acquired. Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Italy, Malta, and Moldova reserve the application of deprivation powers to individuals who acquired nationality after birth. However, in almost all cases the distinction is made between multiple and single nationality holders to prevent deprivation on national security grounds resulting in statelessness. Only Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and the UK (on some grounds), do not have these safeguards, which means that individuals could be made stateless if their conduct is deemed prejudicial to national security. Implicit safeguard against statelessness in Italy In Italy, the safeguard against statelessness is implicit rather than explicit because the government ratified the 1961 Convention without any reservation in 2015. Although the framing of Article 10bis of the new legislation on deprivation of nationality on national security grounds does not mention multiple nationalities, the introduction of Article 8 of the 1961 Convention into Italian law means that Italy cannot make individuals stateless for the purposes of national security. Inadequate determination of statelessness To comply with international law, States are required to carefully examine an individual’s nationality status and determine any risk of statelessness before issuing