The determination of statelessness 131 stateless even if she or he has already stayed in the ‘host country’ illegally for more than a year. UNHCR overtly rejects both limitations, declaring that neither a condition of lawful stay, nor a time limit for application has any legal foundation in the 1954 Convention.56 5.4.2 The legal status of applicants A closely related and similarly challenging question is that of the legal status that should be given to those who apply for stateless status while the determination process is ongoing. The Geneva Conclusions suggest that ‘States should afford applicants for statelessness determination a minimum set of rights (including work, education, healthcare and housing rights), subject to this being consistent with the requirements of the 1954 Convention and the norms on non-discrimination contained in international human rights law.’57 UNHCR guidance advises against the removal of applicants from the territory pending their statelessness determination, as well as calling on states to provide applicants with an identity document, the right to self-employment and the freedom of movement. As a practical solution, UNHCR recommends that ‘individuals awaiting a determination of statelessness receive the same standards of treatment as asylum-seekers’.58 Yet, this question sheds light on one of the most significant shortcomings in the formalized determination mechanisms that exist at the time of writing. Currently, no national legislation applies a clear and meaningful legal concept of ‘applicant for stateless status’ or ‘applicant for statelessness determination’. Research has shown that applicants may be provided with a temporary residence permit in other national systems as well, but this only happens as a matter of discretion (in Spain) or even on an ad hoc basis, without any clear legal foundation (as in the Italian judicial determination procedure). In France, alien-policing authorities may refrain from expelling applicants for stateless status in practice, but there is no legal obligation to do so. This means that such applicants may be subject to expulsion measures, lengthy administrative detention or destitution during the determination procedure, even if their claim is well founded. 56 57 58 UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 2: Procedures for Determining whether an Individual is a Stateless Person’, paras. 17–18; UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 3: The Status of Stateless Persons at the National Level’, para. 26. Geneva Conclusions, para. 23. UNHCR, ‘Guidelines on Statelessness No. 2: Procedures for Determining whether an Individual is a Stateless Person’, para. 20. 9781107032446c05_p116-143.indd 131 6/16/2014 3:12:02 PM