important at this point in time, when the previous rule of granting beneficiaries of international protection permanent residence permits has been temporarily changed. The Act on Swedish Citizenship further provides, in Section 7, that children born stateless abroad, who have permanent residence and have been lawfully and habitually residing in Sweden for the last two years, can acquire citizenship by notification. This provision is commendable and clearly aimed at preventing childhood statelessness, in line with the spirit of the 1961 Convention and the CRC. However, despite these quite strong protections in the Swedish citizenship legislation, it is concerning that only a relatively small number of stateless children in Sweden, both those born in the territory and those born abroad, seem to use the notification procedure. Swedish legislation is fully compliant with the 1961 Convention in regard to the prevention of statelessness in the case of birth outside the State’s territory and foundlings, while the situation of births on board a Swedish ship or aircraft has not been specifically regulated and would need to be further examined. The national legislation is also fully compliant with the 1961 Convention in regard to its protections against statelessness in the case of renunciation, loss or deprivation of Swedish citizenship. The Act on Swedish Citizenship contains, since April 2015, a preambular paragraph which emphasizes the role of Swedish citizenship as something which unites all citizens and symbolizes belonging and ties with Sweden. The Act also contains provisions which aim to facilitate the naturalization of stateless persons, namely by reducing the required period of permanent residency from the normal five to four years, and by waiving the application fees. In light of the above, UNHCR presents the following summary recommendations aimed at bringing the Swedish legal framework, practice and administrative capacity fully in line with the standards set out in the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness: Identification and registration of statelessness IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE DEFINITION OF A STATELESS PERSON SET OUT IN ARTICLE 1(1) OF THE 1954 CONVENTION IS TRANSFORMED INTO THE NATIONAL LEGISLATION to ensure a consistent identification, determination and registration, by the responsible authorities, of a person as stateless. It is also recommended to clearly define the criteria for identifying and registering a person as having “unknown” nationality. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT STEPS BE TAKEN TO REMOVE THE REMAINING RESERVATIONS TO THE 1954 CONVENTION in line with the commitment expressed by Sweden at the Ministerial Intergovernmental Event on Refugees and Stateless Persons convened by UNHCR in December 2011. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT COMMON GUIDELINES BE DEVELOPED FOR THE RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES ON HOW TO DETERMINE AND/OR REGISTER A PERSON AS STATELESS or as having “unknown” nationality in the context of establishing an applicant’s identity within asylum and other immigration procedures, as well as for the purpose of birth and civil registration and assessment of statelessness for the purpose of acquiring Swedish citizenship by notification or naturalization. Such guidelines should, inter alia, ensure that the respective authorities apply the same criteria and burden and standard of proof. 76 M A P P I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S I N S W E D E N