EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM Keep also in mind that the effects of deprivation of nationality do not cease with the act of deprivation itself. Denationalisation often has consequences that may be sufficiently serious as to give rise to a future risk of persecution or serious harm ( 111). Consequences of deprivation of nationality for stateless applicants An applicant may be rendered stateless by the act of deprivation. The deprivation in itself could amount to persecution or serious harm when it leads to the statelessness of the applicant, depending on the circumstances in which it happened. Additionally, becoming stateless generates great difficulties in accessing the most fundamental civil, economic, social and political rights. Due to their lack of identity documents, stateless applicants may be or have been segregated from society, for example, with limited or no access to education, medical treatment, social welfare or the official labour market. This brings increased risk of forced employment, gender-based violence and abuses because of their precarious legal and administrative situation in the country of former habitual residence. They may also not be able to return to their home. Therefore, the consequences of depriving a person of a nationality may include the loss of fundamental rights and possible further discrimination due to the lack of nationality. These consequences may be sufficiently serious as to amount to persecution or serious harm, depending on the individual circumstances. Example of consequences of deprivation of nationality for a stateless applicant The applicant was deprived of his nationality because of his religious affiliation, rendering him stateless. As most of the people from the same religion in his country, the applicant lost his right to reside there, was stripped of his and his family’s belongings and was expelled by the national authorities from the country of which he had been a national and where he had always resided. The applicant was forced to find his way to another country but was not accepted there because the authorities and the population were hostile to his settlement there and to that of the people of his country in a similar situation. He had to work in dire conditions; he could barely cater for his basic needs and lived with the constant fear of being mistreated and expelled again. The deprivation of nationality combined with the reasons for the deprivation, the acts taken by the authorities in the aftermath of denationalisation and the concrete consequences for the applicant could be considered as several acts of persecution, with continuous effects on the applicant. All relevant general and personal circumstances and COI at your disposal should be taken into account in the assessment. Depending on the circumstances of the loss of nationality, you may consider whether and to what extent the individual has endeavoured to reverse the deprivation of nationality and to recover the nationality that was withdrawn. If applicable, you would need to examine the reasons that prevented or would prevent them from doing so. (111) J. Hathaway and M. Foster, The Law of Refugee Status, Second edition, Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 251–252. 70