19. The identification of stateless persons is of utmost importance in guaranteeing the rights of stateless persons living in the country. A formal statelessness determination procedure would offer the most effective means to protect the human rights of stateless persons,5 including rights such as liberty and security of the person. Such a procedure would also allow the state to gain a better understanding of the extent of statelessness and to better monitor the status and treatment of stateless persons in Malta.6 20. In order to determine statelessness, a statelessness determination procedure should be simple, accessible to everyone within Maltese territory, fair and efficient.7 The procedure should be formalised in law and observe due process guarantees.8 21. The Office of the Refugee Commissioner can recommend a form of temporary humanitarian protection, usually where someone has been refused asylum but cannot be removed or there are exceptional humanitarian grounds. However, applicants have no rights during the procedure and it is completely discretionary. A person granted this form of protection can access a renewable residence permit for one year, healthcare, and the labour market. However, no rights are granted to stateless people in Malta purely based on their statelessness. 22. Although there is a possibility in law for anyone resident in Malta for five years to apply for naturalisation, this is at the discretion of the Minister and almost never granted in practice. DETENTION 23. In Malta, stateless people may be detained under different legal regimes, each with its own criteria, rights and guarantees. There are some protections against arbitrary detention relevant to statelessness, such as the requirement that someone is immediately released if removal is impossible. However, the law states that detention ‘shall be a consequence of the removal order’, a country of removal does not explicitly need to be identified prior to detaining, and statelessness is not considered juridically relevant. 24. Limited procedural safeguards depend on the type of detention: if denied entry to the territory a person has very few rights and there is no time limit; if detained for removal there is a periodic review, and access to legal aid to challenge detention; detained asylum seekers have a right to legal aid, periodic review, and information on rights and remedies. Asylum seekers released from detention are issued with documentation and rights under EU law, but people detained for removal are issued with an administrative record and tolerated stay, which permits access to the labour market and healthcare only if they can show social security contributions from the preceding three months. 25. Consequently, stateless persons in Malta are vulnerable to arbitrary detention, depending on which type of detention they may be subject to. The lack of a dedicated statelessness 5 UNHCR, Good Practices Paper – Action 6: Establishing Statelessness Determination Procedures to Protect Stateless Persons, 11 July 2016, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/57836cff4.html, p. 2. 6 UNHCR, Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, Action 6, 4 November 2014, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/545b47d64.html; UNHCR, Mapping Statelessness in Austria, January 2017, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/58b6e5b14.html, para 125. 7 UNHCR, Statelessness Handbook (note 12), paras 63, 68 and 69. 8 Ibid, para. 71. 4