Finally, states parties are encouraged to be mindful of the great difficulties stateless persons have in proving their identity – difficulties inherent to their condition of stateless. Accordingly, states are encouraged to share the burden of establishing the identity of the person in question. It is assumed for purposes of this analysis that the requirement under Norwegian law that an applicant for nationality must establish his or her identity will be applied to stateless persons born in Norway in a manner consistent with the principles of the 1961 and 1954 Conventions, which recognize the difficulties stateless persons have in procuring documents. In sum, Norwegian law does not provide for the grant of its nationality to persons born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless on the grounds of their statelessness and birth in the territory. Even where Norwegian law provides for a reduced statutory period for stateless children who qualify for naturalization on other grounds, it imposes several requirements on the child that are not permitted under the 1961 Convention. For these reasons, Norway is encouraged to amend its nationality law so as to bring it into compliance with Article 1 of the 1961 Convention. By applying Article 1 of the 1961 Convention in conjunction with Article 7 of the CRC and the principle of the best interests of the child, UNHCR recommends that states grant nationality to children born in their territory who would otherwise be stateless automatically at birth. UNHCR thus recommends Norway to introduce provisions in its national law, allowing for the automatic grant of nationality to children born in Norway. Where states instead opt to grant nationality upon application pursuant to Article 1(1)(b) of the 1961 Convention, and the exhaustive criteria in Article 1(2), this must not have the effect of leaving the child stateless for a considerable period of time. Hence, if Norway instead decides to grant its nationality to children who would otherwise be stateless through an application procedure, then the current requirements need to be revised and restricted to the permissible conditions set out in Article 1(2). 4.3.1.2 BIRTH OUTSIDE THE STATE’S TERRITORY Article 4 of the 1961 Convention sets forth the obligation of a Contracting State to “grant its nationality to a person, not born in the territory of a Contracting State, who would otherwise be stateless, if the nationality of one of his parents at the time of the person’s birth was that of that State.” Norwegian nationality law is based on the jus sanguinis principle. Chapter 2, section 4 of the Nationality Act which governs births on or after 1 September 2006, provides that a child born to a Norwegian mother or father acquires nationality at birth. The provision applies regardless of where the birth occurs. This provision allows for transmission of Norwegian nationality to all children born to at least one Norwegian national, irrespective of whether the child would otherwise be stateless or of whether the child was born in the territory of a Contracting State. It is thus overcompliant with Article 4 of the 1961 Convention, and Norway is to be commended. Importantly, however, different rules apply to persons born before 1 September 2006. To assess whether there is a gap in Norwegian law, further investigation into the pre-September 2006 rules is warranted, including whether Norwegian law allows such children to acquire Norwegian nationality later in life. There is a question whether persons born to Norwegian nationals abroad – including persons who are still minors – might be stateless. UNHCR STOCKHOLM, OCTOBER 2015 45