EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM Other documents In some countries, other types of documents, such as a driver’s licence or voting cards are widely used as a primary identity document. They contain similar personal details and features as conventional identity cards. In addition, marriage certificates (official statements by national authorities attesting that two persons are married) commonly contain indications on the spouses’ nationality(ies). In particular for stateless persons, specific documents attesting their registration with international organisations in relation to service provision can constitute a means of identification (e.g. cards issued to internally displaced persons). Finally, other types of documents do not have probative value but may be considered to substantiate the applicant’s claimed nationality (or lack of thereof). Such document can be, for example, school certificates, medical certificates, employment contracts, property deeds or rental contracts. Be mindful of the fact that a state’s acknowledgment of the existence of nationality (e.g. by putting a ‘special’ stamp in the applicant’s passport) or a decisive indication of status by the competent authorities of the state in question (e.g. a letter from their embassy) may often be ‘indicative’, not constitutive, of the existence of nationality. 5.3. Country of origin information The availability of high-quality, reliable and relevant COI is essential to the decision-making process. With regard to evidencing nationality or statelessness in particular, a primordial element is information on nationality laws in the applicant’s country of origin. This includes national legislation which should contain precise information about the categories of persons eligible for nationality, the conditions that need to be fulfilled (if any), but also administrative procedures used to obtain nationality documents. Most importantly, COI should also include information on how these laws and regulations are applied in practice. Keep in mind that up-to-date COI on how national laws are implemented at the time of your assessment may not be relevant. This is because nationality laws and practices can fluctuate over time and the applicant’s situation must be assessed in the light of their own history. You may encounter cases where you need to look for COI on the laws and practices relevant at the time the applicant could have acquired or lost a nationality (time of birth time of creation of a new state where the applicant used to live, etc.). COI that may indicate possible situations of statelessness COI should also cover any (practical) restrictions or difficulties in the effective access to nationality and the recognition of nationality by national authorities for certain categories of the population of that country. 52