17 Statelessness in a migratory context The distinction between in situ Roma populations and migratory or displaced individuals affected by statelessness is often blurred in the Western Balkans, particularly given cross-border movement within and beyond the region. Migration, whether voluntary or forced, can significantly impact access to documentation, especially where individuals cannot meet documentary or procedural requirements upon arrival in a new Beneficiary, or upon return. Children born during migration or to parents residing irregularly in a host Beneficiary may also be at heightened risk of remaining unregistered and without citizenship. An emerging issue across the region is a new risk of statelessness among returnees from other parts of Europe, who often face significant challenges to access socio-economic rights and documentation on return, including for their children. Despite these risks, statelessness among migrant and displaced populations (both Roma and non-Roma) remains insufficiently addressed in domestic frameworks across the region. Several Beneficiaries have yet to establish dedicated statelessness determination procedures (SDPs) to give effect to their obligations under the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Where these do exist, they are not always in line with international norms and good practice standards, including in some cases being inaccessible to those who lack residence status or identity documentation.22 Access to legal assistance in such procedures is another significant barrier to protection, as some Beneficiaries exclude these procedures from legal aid provision. Stateless migrants and refugees may also face overlap- ping legal and practical barriers to regularising their residence status, including limitations on access to a residence permit as a consequence of statelessness determination, lengthy procedures, and limited proce-dural safeguards. Improvements to existing SDPs to bring them in line with good practice, and the introduction of SDPs in all Beneficiaries in the region, would contrib-ute significantly to reducing and ending statelessness. Barriers to naturalisation procedures also limit the abil-ity for identified stateless people to acquire citizenship and therefore resolve their statelessness. In most Ben-eficiaries, naturalisation is not significantly facilitated for stateless people, with lengthy residence criteria, stringent documentation requirements, and broad dis-cretion to refuse applications, creating high thresholds that many stateless people cannot meet. Requirements such as high fees, health insurance, or proof of subsist-ence can also pose significant barriers that disproportionately impact on the most marginalised. Taken together, these gaps highlight the urgent need for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach, led by public authorities, to reducing statelessness in the Western Balkans, particularly among Roma and migrant communities. By introducing comprehensive identification, determination, and registration meas-ures, simplifying administrative procedures, removing legal and socioeconomic barriers, and enhancing ac-cess to legal aid, Beneficiaries in the region could build on existing progress and take significant steps towards ending statelessness. 22 For more information on SDPs, see UNHCR, Good Practices Paper – Action 6: Establishing Statelessness Determination Procedures to Protect Stateless Persons, July 2020, available at: https://www.refworld.org/policy/opguidance/unhcr/2020/en/123292; See also European Network on Statelessness, Statelessness determination and protection in Europe: good practice, challenges, and risks, September 2021, available at: https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/default/files/2021-09/ENS-Statelessness_determination_and_protection_in_Europe-Sep_2021.pdf.