Definition of a stateless person 19. The definition of a stateless person in the UK Immigration Rules contains exclusion criteria that go beyond the definition of a stateless person under Article 1(1) of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention), which is considered customary international law.24 The definition under Article 1(1) is not limited by the exclusion provisions of Article 1(2) of the 1954 Convention, which limits the scope of application of the 1954 Convention by excluding some stateless persons on the grounds of alternative protection or fault. 20. The UK Immigration Rules, though, define persons who fall within an exclusion provision as falling beyond the scope of the definition of stateless persons.25 This divergence in approach matters. Denying that persons excluded from protection under the Immigration Rules are stateless, by definition, is inconsistent with international law and undermines the exercise of other human rights, including in relation to nondiscrimination and liberty. The UK should acknowledge persons as stateless where they meet the 1954 Convention definition, even if they would not be granted a residence permit in the UK as a stateless person under Part 14 of the Immigration Rules, fall under the general grounds for refusal, or are otherwise excluded under the Immigration Rules. Statelessness can be acknowledged in the asylum context (even if refugee status or complementary protection is not granted) or pursuant to an application for a stateless person’s travel document, which stateless persons are entitled to regardless of their residence status (provided they fall within the scope of the 1954 Convention).26 Assessment of applications and procedural safeguards 21. Positively, a dedicated and centralised Statelessness Team within the UK Government Visas and Immigration (Home Office) is responsible for examining all applications for a residence permit under the SDP (‘statelessness leave applications’), and statelessness determination is the specific objective of the procedure.27 22. There is a specific online form for stateless persons to apply for a residence permit, which has instructions, but it is lengthy, only available in English, and unclear and repetitive in parts. Applications cannot be made orally to a public official or in another language, and there is little flexibility in the application requirements.28 An audit conducted by UNHCR, covering decision-making in the UK procedure between 2016-2019, revealed that some decision-makers are reluctant to make complementary efforts to investigate an individual’s nationality status, even when the applicant has already done everything they can to evidence their case.29 24 International Law Commission, Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries, Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 2006 Vol. II (Part Two), https://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d.html 25 Immigration Rules (n 20), paras. 401-402. 26 Article 28 of the 1954 Convention requires issuance of a travel document to any stateless person ‘lawfully staying in’ the territory unless there are ‘compelling reasons of national security or public order’; Article 28 also provides that States may issue travel documents to other stateless persons ‘in their territory’ and must give ‘sympathetic consideration’ to issuance of travel documents to any stateless persons ‘who are unable to obtain a travel document from the country of their lawful residence’. 27 For further information: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/united-kingdom 28 Application for leave to remain as a stateless person and a Biometric Immigration Document (FLR(S): https://visasimmigration.service.gov.uk/product/flr -s ; Immigration Rules (n 20), Part 1, para. 34 with Part 14: stateless persons, para. 403(a). 29 UNHCR, Statelessness Determination in the UK (n 11). 5