BRIEFING #3: Protection gaps for stateless refugees from Ukraine 23 June 2022 1. Introduction This third advocacy briefing in our series on statelessness and the Ukraine crisis draws on country briefings produced with our members and local lawyers to provide an update on current protection gaps for refugees from Ukraine who are stateless or at risk of statelessness (including those with undetermined nationality). Our analysis of routes to protection for refugees from Ukraine in 17 European countries 1 shows that there are significant protection gaps across Europe for stateless people. To prevent discrimination, avoid over-burdening asylum procedures, and facilitate eventual safe return to Ukraine, it is imperative that these gaps are addressed by national and regional authorities. Populations affected by statelessness in Ukraine include: • Romani people who lack civil documentation to acquire/confirm their Ukrainian nationality • Former citizens of the USSR who were unable to acquire Ukrainian nationality in 1991 and have remained stateless due to lack of access to legal aid and other factors • People from non-Government-controlled areas and Crimea and those internally displaced prior to the current conflict who have been unable to obtain or renew personal documents since 2014, including children whose births have not been registered • Asylum-seekers, refugees, and migrants (and their children) residing in Ukraine who were stateless prior to leaving their countries of origin or have since become stateless due to displacement, discrimination, State succession, or deprivation of nationality For more detail on who is affected by statelessness in Ukraine, see Briefing #1 & Briefing #2. 2. Access to the territory Most European countries permit entry to everyone fleeing Ukraine on humanitarian grounds regardless of their documentation or residence status in Ukraine (as mandated by the EU). In some of the countries we reviewed, refugees must demonstrate a link to Ukraine or further identity checks may be carried out if they lack identity documents. Good practice (e.g., in Italy), is for this to be a flexible procedure and for non-documentary evidence such as oral testimony to be accepted as proof of links to Ukraine. However, in some countries, including France, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK, it is still unclear whether all those fleeing Ukraine may enter the territory regardless of documentation status. Everyone fleeing the war in Ukraine should be guaranteed access to the territory regardless of documentation or residence status, as mandated by the EU and UNHCR, and in line with international law principles including the right to claim asylum. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. 1