status was 360 and 128 respectively. Refugee status was granted mostly to citizens of Syria and the Russian Federation.49 Recognized refugees include stateless Palestinians, in line with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgment in El-Kott.50 In 2017, there were only 11 applications for international protection lodged by stateless persons and 4 by persons of unknown nationality. In the same year, 4 stateless persons received refugee status and 1 stateless person was granted subsidiary protection. Similarly, in 2018 there were 11 applications for international protection lodged by stateless persons and 2 by persons of unknown nationality. 7 stateless persons were granted refugee status while 4 received subsidiary protection. The available data indicates that the number of stateless persons subjected to return procedures is very low. The competent authorities issued return decisions to 27,255 persons in 2018 alone. This includes return procedures relating to persons that fell into the categories of stateless persons, persons of unknown nationality, persons whose citizenship was not confirmed, and the category of those indicating origin, nationality or country of origin.51 The system of collecting the data by the Office for Foreigners (responsible for keeping records) and by the Border Guard service (conducting the identification proceedings) on stateless persons who were granted tolerated stay permits should be unified. 49 Statistical data provided by the Head of the Office for Foreigners, available at: https://udsc.gov.pl/statystyki/ 50 Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Mostafa Abed El Karem El Kott and Others v. Bevándorlási És Állampolgársági Hivatal, 19 December 2012, C-364/11, available at: https://www.refworld.org/cases,ECJ,50d2d7b42.html; See also Halina Niec Legal Aid Center (HNLAC), The Invisible – Stateless Persons in Poland, cited above. 51 Origin, nationality or country of origin are categories employed by the Border Guard service in the statistical data provided on numbers of stateless persons or persons of unknown nationality (as enumerated above). UNHCR POLAND, SEPTEMBER 2019 21