2022 Statelessness & Citizenship Review B 4(1) Issue Two: Difficulty in Accessing and Navigating the Citizenship Application Process We would never have known about, or been able to navigate the citizenship process without a lawyer. Accessing free legal advice has been essential for us.23 — Muhammad and Sumaiya,* Australian-based stateless Rohingya parents to three children. In addition to the lack of awareness of their child’s entitlement to apply for Australian citizenship, our research indicated that parents of stateless children experience difficulties navigating the complex and administratively burdensome application process without access to free, specialised legal support.24 This is complicated by a lack of targeted legal funding for stateless children in Australia. Our research indicates that stateless children with access to quality legal assistance have better progressed citizenship claims than those who do not.25 Furthermore, significant barriers exist for non-English speaking applicants. Information regarding the application process, available on the Department of Home Affairs website only appears in English.26 The relevant application form is also only available in English and is arduous and lengthy; 27 pages in length including 51 questions, a majority of which are not relevant to Australian-born stateless children.27 Indeed, even where stateless children have a relatively straightforward claim to citizenship, they face an average wait time of 872 days for their application to be processed. 28 C Issue Three: A Lack of Consistent and Coordinated Data Regarding Australia’s Stateless Population The final key issue identified in our research is more fundamental; the number of stateless persons in Australia — including children eligible to apply for citizenship — is unknown. This is due to a lack of a coordinated or consistent approach to recording such persons.29 Publicly available data regarding Australia’s stateless population does not correlate with statistics reported by the Australian Government to UNHCR. For example, data published by UNHCR for the 2019 reporting period lists a ‘-’ for Australia’s stateless population meaning that either ‘zero’ persons were reported 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 ibid 14. ibid 14. ibid 15. See ‘Become an Australian Citizen (by Conferral): Born in Australia and Are Stateless’, Department of Home Affairs (Web Page, 17 March 2020) <https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen/born-in-australia-stateless>. ibid. See also Department of Home Affairs, Form 1290: Application for Australian Citizenship (Form, August 2021). Information obtained by the author in a response to a Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Australia) application, received 1 July 2020 (copy on hand with author). Michelle Foster, Jane McAdam and Davina Wadley, ‘Part One: The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law: The Rationale for the Statelessness Determination Procedure’ (2016) 40(1) Melbourne University Law Review 401, 416. 208