ņņ Whether he/she has attempted to acquire nationality of any specific country. What authorities did he/she approach, where, and when? What was the outcome of these steps? ņņ Whether he/she has renounced any nationality and whether there is any documentary proof of this process?  B  eing undocumented – not possessing a passport or identity documentation for example – is not the same as being stateless. However most stateless persons lack any form of nationality documentation. DOCUMENTATION 20 ņņ Does he/she possess any valid or expired identity document (passport, ID card, residence permit etc.) or can name a person that possesses a copy of his/her valid or expired identity documents, and if he/she is in regular contact with this person. ņņ If he/she is married, does he/she possess a marriage certificate? If not, why not, and can it be obtained? ņņ Does he/she possess a birth certificate issued by government authorities or religious authorities? If not, why not? Was he/she born in a health center, a hospital, at home, or somewhere else? Can a birth certificate be obtained? If birth took place in a health center or hospital, does he/she have a record from those institutions or can it be obtained? ņņ Are the name and date of birth accurately recorded on the birth certificate and identity documentation? ņņ Has he/she changed his/her name and was this change recorded on his/her birth certificate/identity documentation? ņņ Has he/she attempted to acquire identity documents from a certain country. What authorities did he/she approach, where and when? What were the outcomes of these steps? ņņ Does he/she have documents issued by authorities of the country of detention stating that he/she is not considered as a national of that country?29 29 See for more about the competent authorities, Para. 27-44 of the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons. STATELESS PERSONS IN DETENTION