EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM 8. Nationality as a reason for persecution The definition of refugee refers to five reasons for persecution: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group and political opinion. When considered as a reason for persecution, nationality is understood in a broad sense, as the QR defines, in a nonexhaustive manner. Article 10(1)(c) QR ( 119) – reasons for persecution […] the concept of nationality shall not be confined to citizenship or lack thereof but shall, in particular, include membership of a group determined by its cultural, ethnic, or linguistic identity, common geographical or political origins or its relationship with the population of another State; (emphasis added) Hence, ‘nationality’ as a reason for persecution has a much broader socio-political meaning than ‘nationality’ in the legal sense ( 120). Figure 2. The (non-exhaustive) components of ‘nationality’ as a reason for persecution cultural identity ethnic identity common geographical or political origins linguistic identity relationship with the population of another state As clarified by the QR, nationality as a reason for persecution encompasses nationality in the legal sense, meaning formal citizenship or a lack thereof. For example, it includes both the case where a person does not enjoy ‘full citizenship’ in their own state and is reduced to an inferior status in terms of civil and political rights or that of a person who is altogether deprived of citizenship in their own country, rendering them stateless ( 121). In addition, nationality as a Refugee Convention ground comprises many other elements. It refers to a person’s identification as a member of a culturally, ethnically, linguistically, (119) The same wording is used in Article 10(1)(c) QD (recast). (120) 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, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV. 4, reissued in 2019, paragraphs 74-76. (121) H. Storey, The Refugee Definition in International Law, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2024, pp. 613617; J. Hathaway and M. Foster, The Law of Refugee Status Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 397-398. 76