Statistics for 201743 Stateless persons Persons of unknown nationality Total 391 41 432 Stateless persons Persons of unknown nationality Total 390 45 435 Statistics for 201844 The present study does not include further qualitative analysis of these groups. Based on available sources, the Polish origin of some stateless persons may be based on their historical background, such as mass deportations to the East in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion during the Second World War coupled with laws pertaining to citizenship adopted during the Polish People’s Republic (PRL)45 period. According to the 1958 Convention between Poland and the USSR,46 persons staying at that time on the territory of one of the State parties and having double – Polish and Soviet – citizenship were obliged to choose one citizenship before 8 May 1959. Those who did not submit a statement on citizenship were deemed to be citizens based on the territory of residence. Recently, the administrative courts in Poland ruled that the 1958 Convention was a valid source of law and citizenship status is to be assessed based on its application, therefore denying Polish citizenship to persons of Polish origin residing in the USSR in the above mentioned period and with no proof of their choice of citizenship. Another group to be mentioned are the displaced persons remaining in West Germany after the Second World War and categorized there as heimatlose Ausländer (“stateless foreigners”) since there are also people of Polish origin among this group. This conclusion is corroborated by the available statistics on the previous citizenship of persons acquiring Polish citizenship. According to Eurostat (the most recent data available is from 2017), the four top countries of origin for persons acquiring Polish citizenship were: Ukraine (59.3% of all acquisitions that year), Belarus (18.8%), Russia (5.4%) and Armenia (3.4%).47 Persons originating from these three countries made up 69.36% of all persons acquiring Polish citizenship. Given their ethnic background, the majority of these applicants are likely to have indicated Polish roots. Only a small number of persons applying for international protection were seeking protection as stateless persons,48 yet the recognition rate among stateless persons is relatively high. During the period under study (1 January 2015 – 30 June 2016), there were 52 applications for international protection submitted by stateless persons, while 21 decisions granting refugee status to stateless persons were issued. At the same time, the total number of applicants for international protection amounted to 12,325 in 2015 and 12,319 in 2016, while the number of applicants granted refugee 20 43 Information received from the Office for Foreigners. 44 Information received from the Office for Foreigners. 45 Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa – The Polish People’s Republic (1947 – 1989). 46 Convention between the Government of The Polish People’s Republic and USSR on the regulation of citizenship of persons with dual citizenship signed in Warsaw on 21 January 1958 (Journal of Laws Nr 32, pos. 143, available at: http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/DU/1958/143/1). Subsequently, a second Convention was signed: the Convention between the Government of the Polish People’s Republic and USSR on the prevention of double citizenship signed on 31 March 1965 (Journal of Laws 1966, Nr 66, pos. 4, available at: http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/DU/1966/19/1). 47 Eurostat statistics, available at: https://bit.ly/2qrgkO8 48 In 2015, 12,325 persons applied for international protection, while 6,992 persons applied in the first half of 2016. Only 55 persons among this group were recorded as stateless or of unknown nationality. MAPPING STATELESSNESS IN POLAND