Hungary: Information for stateless people and those at risk of statelessness fleeing Ukraine 3. Right to Protection, Who are stateless persons who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion on 24 of February, 2022 STATELESSNESS DETERMINATION AND PROTECTION STATUS For stateless people, it is important to determine both a claim for international protection and their statelessness. Each application should be assessed and both types of status should be explicitly recognised so that even if international protection ceases, the person remains entitled to protection as a stateless person. Statelessness determination should be conducted either in parallel with or following the refugee status determination, with due regard to the primacy of the asylum claim and the principle of confidentiality for refugees in statelessness determination procedures. For more information, see: ENS briefing on statelessness determination & protection in Europe. Hungary has a dedicated Statelessness Determination Procedure and statelessness protection status. The procedure is summarised in the table below. For more information, see: ENS Statelessness Index Hungary and Hungarian Helsinki Committee Information leaflet on statelessness. Persons wishing to apply for statelessness status are advised to contact the Hungarian Helsinki Committee for free legal assistance. What is it? Can stateless and/or undocumented persons apply? Where to apply? Procedure & rights Rights upon recognition Statelessness Status Protection for a person who is not considered a national by any State ‘in accordance with its law’ (NB. Hungary applies a definition of a stateless person that is narrower than the 1954 Convention definition) Yes At a local office of the ‘National Directorate-General for Alien Policing’ Applications in writing or orally in any language, no formal requirements, no fee, no time limit, no requirement for legal stay, interpreter provided, free legal aid available, mandatory interview; decisions within 45 days (extendable); 6-month renewable temporary residence certificate (not issued to people in removal or detention proceedings); no right to work, accommodation or social security; right to appeal a negative decision Humanitarian residence permit with 3-year maximum validity, renewable every year; travel document; right to work based on a permit (difficult to acquire); may apply for naturalisation after 3 years’ “domiciled” residence (stringent requirements, inaccessible in practice); access to education, social security if employed, basic emergency public healthcare 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR ONWARD TRAVEL TO THIRD COUNTRIES Recognised stateless persons with a travel document may be permitted to travel on to third countries. Applicants for statelessness status, persons at risk of statelessness, and undocumented people are not permitted to travel onwards to third countries. This includes people with a temporary residence certificate, beneficiaries of temporary protection, and asylum-seekers, who may not leave Hungary during the process and must hand over their identity and travel documents to the authorities. 5. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION It is reported that arrival points in Hungary are well-staffed with food and other essentials freely available. Free accommodation is provided with volunteers allocating refugees to housing. Most help is provided by charities and individual volunteers. There are reports that the Hungarian authorities have forced people to disembark trains crossing the Hungary-Romania border on grounds that they do not hold a biometric passport