EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM • The lack of cooperation on the part of the applicant in establishing their nationality should not result in the conclusion that they are stateless but rather that their nationality claim has not been sufficiently substantiated ( 71). • If the applicant has fulfilled their duty to substantiate and you have fulfilled your duty to investigate, yet the applicant’s nationality remains indeterminate, the examination of their need for international protection may be determined in a manner similar to that of a stateless person. In such cases, the country of former habitual residence of the applicant is used as a country of reference, instead of their country of nationality ( 72). This could happen, for example, when evidence is lacking because the applicant was cut off from their family at a young age and does not know what their parent’s nationality was or where exactly they were born ( 73). Certain evidence (such as an applicant’s statements indicating in-depth practical knowledge of a country) may help to establish that a person has lived in a specific country for a longer period of time. It does not prove per se the person’s legal status as a national of that country. Yet, in the absence of other elements indicating that the person holds another nationality or is stateless, evidence demonstrating a person’s prolonged residence in a country would normally be considered sufficient to substantiate the credibility of the claimed nationality. Of course, evidence indicating that a person has resided in a specific country for a long period has a specific significance for persons who are stateless. This is because residing in a country is the main, although not the only, criterion when determining their country of former habitual residence (see Section 3.3. For stateless applicants: the country of former habitual residence). Remember that in the asylum procedure, any type of evidence is admissible (as long as it is not in breach of the applicant’s fundamental rights) ( 74). Some applicants may be able to present documents to support their claim, while for others, your assessment may have to rely on their statements and/or other types of evidence. • For applicants who do not submit documents, keep in mind that there may be many legitimate reasons an applicant has never been or is no longer in possession of relevant documents that can attest to their nationality. This may include, for example, discriminatory practices relating to the issuance of documents, the applicant’s fear of the authorities, the collapse of administrative processes due to a general conflict situation, loss or non-intentional damage and any objective impossibilities for applicants to obtain relevant documentation. In the absence of probative documents submitted by an applicant and/or in case of their inability to contact their national authorities, other relevant elements, notably the applicant’s statements, may substantiate an applicant’s nationality or statelessness. (71) See the obligations of the applicant in terms of cooperation in Article 9(2) APR and Article 4 QR as well as in Article 4 QD (recast). (72) UNHCR, Handbook on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status and guidelines on international protection under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, reissued April 2019, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV. 4, paragraph 89. (73) EUAA, Qualification for International Protection – Judicial analysis, Second edition, January 2023, Section 1.3.2. Nationality. (74) EUAA, Practical Guide on Evidence and Risk Assessment, January 2024, p. 39. 42