However, only lawfully residing persons can apply for stateless status. This restriction has been severely criticized by numerous actors as being in breach of the 1954 Convention and excluding those most in need of protection from the scope of the statelessness-specific protection regime.735 Between 2007 and 2010, 109 people applied for stateless status in Hungary, of which 56 were recognized as stateless persons.736 Between 2011 and August 2014, 104 people applied for status as stateless persons, 67 of whom were granted status.737 The majority of applicants granted stateless status were Palestinians and persons from the former Yugoslavia or the former Soviet Union.738 Applications based on statelessness must be submitted to the Office of Immigration and Nationality. Residence permits based on statelessness are granted for a maximum 3-year period initially and can be renewed for one year at a time.739 However, this residence permit is flawed in that it comes with “seriously restricted access to the labour market, no access to state-funded higher education, [and] no preferential treatment with regard to access to health care.”740 Stateless persons are eligible to apply for citizenship after living in Hungary for 5 years (“having a registered domicile”).741 Appeals against negative decisions can be made to the Metropolitan Court, and a further negative decision may be brought to the Supreme Court in a judicial review procedure in some cases.742 7. Additional Relevant Jurisprudence Hungary - Metropolitan Court, 29 August 2013, H.A.I. v Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN), 3.K.30.602/2013/15743 The applicant was a stateless Palestinian from Lebanon who had worked for Fatah. He claimed that his life was in danger due to numerous conflicts with other groups (Usbet Al Ansar, Jund Al Sham), during which several of his companions were killed. The OIN rejected his application, and the applicant appealed. The Office 735 Ibid. Gábor Gyulai, Statelessness in Hungary - The Protection of Stateless Persons and the Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness (Hungarian Helsinki Committee, December 2010), 5. 737 Information provided by Grusa Matevzic. 738 Gyulai, Statelessness in Hungary - The Protection of Stateless Persons and the Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness, 5. 739 Gábor Gyulai, Statelessness Determination and the Protection Status of Stateless Persons (European Network on Statelessness, 2013), 36, http://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/ files/attachments/resources/Statelessness%20determination%20and%20the%20protection%20 status%20of%20stateless%20persons%20ENG.pdf. 740 Gyulai, “Statelessness in the EU Framework for International Protection,” 293. 741 Gyulai, Statelessness Determination and the Protection Status of Stateless Persons, 40. 742 Gyulai, “Statelessness in the EU Framework for International Protection,” 292. 743 Metropolitan Court of Hungary, “H.A.I. v. Office of Immigration and Nationality (OIN) [Hungarian],” August 29, 2013, 3.K.30.602/2013/15, http://www.asylumlawdatabase.eu/sites/www. asylumlawdatabase.eu/files/aldfiles/Original%20judgment%20-%203.K.30.602-2013-15.pdf. 736 150 Handbook on Protection of Palestinian Refugees