23. The burden of proof is on the applicant, but decision-makers are obliged by government guidance to carry out research and enquiries, particularly where the applicant is ‘unable’ to do so and where the information available is lacking or inconclusive.30 The standard of proof is ‘balance of probabilities’, which is higher than in asylum applications.31 The procedure to request a residence permit applies to children without adaptation from the general procedure, and the burden of proof remains with the child.32 Moreover, the requirement to interview has been weakened in successive versions of the guidance for decision makers.33 24. According to UNCHR, ‘procedural guarantees are fundamental elements of statelessness determination procedures’ and due process guarantees, including those that apply in refugee status determination procedures, are necessary.34 These include a comprehensive right of appeal covering questions of both fact and law and provision of free legal assistance to stateless persons.35 Further, UNHCR considers that statelessness determinations should be made within six months; or in exceptional cases, within one year.36 25. However, the UK’s failure to recognise statelessness as a protection issue means that for residence permit applications, there is neither a statutory right of appeal to an independent tribunal, nor free legal assistance in England and Wales (unless ‘exceptional case funding’ is granted).37 Both of these safeguards are available in the asylum and complementary protection context. The limited remedies available after a refusal of permit are inadequate: internal administrative review may be subject to the same flaws as initial decision-making and is not covered by legal aid; judicial review is limited in the scope of its review of the facts, and new applications will often not succeed if negative credibility assessments were made in the initial flawed proceeding or if a similar flawed approach is taken in a new decision. 26. The absence of legal aid and appeal rights is compounded by a low success rate and substantial delays in decision-making, particularly given that stateless persons usually do not have permission to work and may only access hardship support whilst awaiting a decision (see para 29 below). In the last three years, only around 7% of applications for a residence permit on the grounds of statelessness (‘statelessness leave applications’) were granted (see para. 10 above). There is no timeframe for decisions set in law, and lengthy waiting times were highlighted in the recent UNHCR audit, which found that applications routinely take 18-24 months to decide. It also found that there are significant errors in decision-making, including failure to examine relevant evidence. As such, UNHCR has recommended a comprehensive revision and improvement of training for decision makers.38 30 UKVI, 'Stateless Leave' (n 21) p. 14. UKVI, 'Stateless Leave' (n 21). 32 EMN (2020), EMN Inform: Statelessness in the EU: https://ec.europa.eu/homeaffairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/00_eu_inform_statelessness_en.pdf 33 UKVI, 'Stateless Leave' (n 21): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stateless-guidance; UNHCR, Statelessness Determination in the UK (n 11). 34 UNHCR, Handbook (n 17), para. 71. 35 ibid, paras. 71, 76 36 ibid, paras. 74-75. 37 There are significant barriers to accessing legal aid for statelessness applications particularly in England and Wales. Legal aid is available in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and for judicial review of refusals in all jurisdictions. See Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) (2012 Chapter 10) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/contents/enacted 38 UNHCR, Statelessness Determination in the UK (n 11). 31 6