most instances the provision in question should apply to all refugees [stateless persons] whose presence in the territory was lawful, if it applied also to other aliens in the same circumstances. Wherever higher requirements were made the Committee used the expression “lawfully staying.”237 For further clarity the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons states: For stateless persons to be “lawfully in” a State party, their presence in the country needs to be authorized by the State. The concept encompasses both presence which is explicitly sanctioned and also that which is known and not prohibited, taking into account all personal circumstances of the individual. The duration of presence can be temporary…As confirmed by the drafting history of the Convention, applicants for statelessness status who enter into a determination procedure are therefore “lawfully in” in the territory of a State party. By contrast, an individual who has no immigration status in the country and declines the opportunity to enter a statelessness determination procedure is not “lawfully in” the country.238 In sum, “lawfully in their territory” means those who are physically present in the territory, provided that their presence is not unlawful, and includes short-time visitors and even persons merely travelling through the country.239 Article 18 further requires that stateless persons fulfill the conditions necessary for the exercise of the self-employment activity in question, such as specific qualifications, licences or concessions.240 For stateless persons not residing in the country in which they want to engage in self-employment, or where they wish to establish commercial or industrial companies, are not within the scope of Article 18, instead Article 7(1) of the 1954 Convention applies.241 II. Canadian Legal Framework As discussed in Article 17, all foreign nationals require a valid work permit to work in Canada. 242 This also applies to foreign nationals who wish to be self-employed and establish their own business. For stateless persons in Canada wishing to establish their own business there are a few options to obtain authorization to work in Canada. a. Economic Classes – Permanent Resident Status Some programs allow a foreign national in Canada to apply for permanent residence status as Robinson Commentary to the 1954 Convention, supra note 11 at 40. Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, supra note 12 at para. 135. 239 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Commentary of the Refugee Convention 1951 (Articles 2-11, 13-37), October 1997, at 45, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4785ee9d2.html [Atle Grahl-Madsen 1951 Commentary] 240 1951 Convention travaux préparatoires, supra note 61 at 109; and Robinson Commentary to the 1954 Convention, supra note note 11 at 40. 241 Robinson Commentary to the 1954 Convention, ibid., at 39. 242 IRPR, supra note 21 at s. 186. 237 238 49 49