Whenever an administrative procedure allows for discretion in granting citizenship, applicants for citizenship cannot be considered nationals until their applications have been completed and approved and the citizenship of that State is granted in accordance with the law. Individuals whom the law defines as eligible to apply for citizenship but whose applications are rejected are not citizens of that State under operation of that State’s law. UNHCR’s Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons provides guidance to States, UNHCR and other actors on how to interpret Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention to facilitate the identification and proper treatment of beneficiaries of the 1954 Convention. Although the 1954 Convention establishes the international legal definition of a “stateless person”, and the standards of treatment to which such individuals are entitled, it does not prescribe any mechanism to identify stateless persons. However, it is implicit in the 1954 Convention that States must identify stateless persons within their jurisdictions in order to provide them appropriate treatment to comply with their Convention commitments. UNHCR’s Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons provides guidance to States and UNHCR on the establishment of national procedures which are aimed specifically at determining whether a person is stateless. Through its representations/ offices or its services at Headquarters, UNHCR is available to provide advice on how to create and implement these procedures, if requested. Can a stateless person also be a refugee? Although most stateless people worldwide live in the country in which they were born, a significant number have fled their countries to escape persecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Such people are stateless refugees. On its own, statelessness does not generally constitute persecution under the refugee definition set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention, but it may well be an element of persecution taken cumulatively with other factors. Arbitrary deprivation of nationality on discriminatory grounds may on its own give rise to a well‑founded fear of persecution, in particular where it results in statelessness. The drafters of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1954 Convention decided to create two separate legal regimes to protect refugees and stateless persons. While the 1951 Refugee Convention covers refugees, including those who are also stateless, the 1954 Convention is designed for stateless persons who are not refugees. Most of the rights granted to stateless persons under the 1954 Convention are the same as those granted to refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. However, due to the specific situation of refugees, the 1951 Refugee Convention contains specific reference to non‑penalization for unlawful presence or entry and to non‑refoulement. These principles are not contained in the 1954 Convention. As such, if a person qualifies for both refugee and statelessness status, the State must apply to him or her the more favourable provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention. 11