19. If refused international protection, stateless persons in Germany can be issued a ‘toleration certificate’ (Duldung) for a limited period of time.31 ‘Tolerated’ persons may access the labour market after a specified time, and depending on their qualifications, but toleration does not confer any right of residence and the status must be renewed frequently. Furthermore, the ‘tolerated person’ has an obligation to take ‘necessary and reasonable steps’ to leave the country.32 Stateless persons are issued toleration certificates only for a few months at a time, which may be renewed for many years without granting access to any legal status or rights, leaving people in a situation of legal limbo.33 20. After a period of ‘tolerated stay’, a person can obtain a temporary residence permit as long as they continue to face obstacles to return to their country of origin (Aufenthaltserlaubnis).34 The temporary residence permit may be issued when removal is impossible in the foreseeable future through no fault of the applicant. If removal has not taken place within 18 months, this permit should be issued, but, in practice, this provision is not always implemented. Additionally, the temporary permit can be withdrawn if removal becomes possible at any point, if the impossibility to leave ceases to exist, or through readmission agreements.35 Germany has entered into readmission agreements with many countries, some of which stipulate the return of persons who have simply transited through them, even if they are stateless, and they fail to guarantee any right of residence.36 21. If a stateless person is granted a temporary residence permit for a total period of five years, they may apply for settlement if other conditions, such as having passed the German language test and not being in receipt of social security, are also met. However even in these cases, statelessness is not identified, and such failure can then present barriers to accessing travel documents under the 1954 Convention and naturalisation.37 Therefore, the aforementioned provisions cannot be considered as adequate protection for stateless persons. The procedures do not identify stateless persons and the rights attached to the statuses granted do not guarantee the rights provided for in the 1954 Convention. 22. While the 1954 Convention does not explicitly prescribe how stateless persons should be identified, it implicitly requires states ‘to identify stateless persons in order to accord them appropriate standards of treatment under the Convention’. 38 A formal statelessness determination procedure would offer the most effective means to protect the rights of stateless persons who do not have the right to German nationality.39 It would also allow Germany to better understand the extent of statelessness on its territory and to better monitor the status and treatment of stateless persons.40 23. In order to determine statelessness in full accordance with the 1954 Convention, a statelessness determination procedure should, according to the UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, be simple, accessible to everyone within the territory, and be fair and efficient.41 The procedure should be formalised in law and observe due process guarantees.42 In compliance with these standards, the 31 Toleration is not a residence title. §60a Abs 2 Satz 2 Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG), in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 25.02.2008 (BGBl I 2008, 162), zuletzt geändert durch Artikel 1 des Gesetzes vom 20. Juli 2017 (BGBl I 2017, 2780) [Residence Act]. 32 §60 Abs 3 Aufenthaltsgesetz in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 25. Februar 2008 (BGBl I 2008, 162), zuletzt geändert durch Artikel 1 des Gesetzes vom 20. Juli 2017 (BGBl I 2017, 2780) 33 Ibid; and Bianchini,K, A Comparative Analysis of Statelessness Determination Procedures in 10 EU States, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 29:1, 2017, pp.42–83 34 Bianchini, K., On the Protection of Stateless Persons in Germany, Tilburg Law Review, Vol. 19:1-2, 2014, pp. 35-51 35 Ibid. 36 Bianchini, K, The implementation of the Convention relating to the status of stateless persons: procedures and practice in selected EU States. PhD thesis, University of York, 2015. 37 Ibid. 38 UNHCR, Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 2014. Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html 39 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. 40 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. 41 UNHCR, Statelessness Handbook, paras. 63, 68 and 69. 42 Ibid, para 71. 5