law and are able to apply for permanent residency and eventually for citizenship. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has indicated that it tests for statelessness or the absence of citizenship documents by examining the relevant laws and practices of the countries of concern. When a person’s nationality cannot be clearly established, decision-makers consult paragraph 89 of the UNHCR Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status, which provides:18 “Where, therefore, an applicant alleges fear of persecution in relation to the country of his nationality, it should be established that he does in fact possess the nationality of that country. There may, however, be uncertainty as to whether a person has a nationality. He may not know himself, or he may wrongly claim to have a particular nationality or to be stateless. Where his nationality cannot be clearly established, his refugee status should be determined in a similar manner to that of a stateless person, i.e. instead of the country of his nationality, the country of his former habitual residence will have to be taken into account.” Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) defines a foreign national as “a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and includes a stateless person.”19 However, neither the IRPA, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), nor the Citizenship Act and its Regulations define the concept of statelessness.20 The inclusion of stateless persons in the general category of ‘foreign national’ problematically categorises groups of persons who do not have any nationality with those who have the nationality of a foreign country. Under Section 5(4) of the Citizenship Act, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has the discretion to grant citizenship to a person to alleviate cases of statelessness or special and unusual hardship.21 In legislation adopted in June 2017, statelessness was specifically added as a stand-alone ground that can be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship.22 In a recent decision23, the Court affirmed that applicants facing “special and unusual hardship” can request an exemption from application and processing. This case is important as it will also pave the way for stateless persons who make a humanitarian and compassionate application to request this exemption. Also in 2017, IRCC published a definition of statelessness and added to its guidelines on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications information for establishing proof of statelessness, including what documentation and correspondence serves as evidence.24 IRCC defines a stateless person as “a person who is not considered to be a national of any state under 18 Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, UNHCR, 1992. 19 Section 2. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27. 20 Erauw, G. Compatibility of the 1954 convention Relating to the status of stateless persons With Canada’s legal framework and its International human rights obligations. (2015), 8. 21 Section 5(4). Citizenship Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29. 22 Government of Canada. Bill C-6 Receives Royal Assent. (19 June 2017). 23 Tammie Lynn Mayes and Justice for Children and Youth v. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Docket T-797-18. For further information see: http://www.nlstoronto.org/uploads/4/4/3/9/4439251/mayes_and_jfcy_re_minister_citizenship_order_re_fee_waiver_1.pdf 24 Government of Canada. Humanitarian and Compassionate Assessment: Statelessness. (11 July 2017). 4