Snapshot of Statelessness in the UK 8. There are relatively few sources of accurate data on the stateless population in the UK, but all data indicates that statelessness occurs predominantly in a migratory context.8 UNHCR reported 4,662 stateless persons in the UK at the end of 2020.9 9. The UK Government collects, although it does not always publish, some data on the stateless population, including those granted a residence permit (‘leave to remain’) under the SDP, stateless persons with other types of residence permit, who were born in the UK, or who are held in immigration detention. However, the data is not analysed or presented in a way that enables a full and accurate understanding of the stateless population in the UK, and there are potentially overlapping statistical categories, such as 'unknown nationality', 'Palestinian Occupied Territories’, and ‘Western Sahara’. Some, who are stateless but not recognised as such, are treated as nationals of their country of previous residence. Censuses in the UK do not count stateless people and only ask what passport a person holds. 10. More detailed figures relating to the SDP have been made available through Freedom of Information Requests. For example, between 1 January 2018 and 30 September 2021 a total of 3,244 applications were made; but only 232 people were granted a residence permit under the SDP and a total of 2,949 people were refused.10 UNHCR recently recommended that the UK publish statistics on applications and decisions made under the SDP.11 11. According to UK Government statistics, in the first three quarters of 2021, 199 people categorised as stateless were granted refugee or humanitarian protection; 22 were refused, and 68 applications were withdrawn.12 Separate figures are provided for decisions on asylum claims of people recorded as 'Occupied Palestinian Territories', 'Western Sahara', 'Kuwait', and 'Other/unknown', at least some of whom are likely to be stateless. 12. The UK Government (Home Office) counts and publishes some limited data on stateless people held in UK immigration removal centres, but this does not include people who are or may be stateless but have not been recognised as such under the SDP, and people recorded under other categories may also be stateless. These statistics show that 229 people recorded as 'stateless' entered immigration detention in 2020.13 13. There is also a significant number of stateless children in the UK, although the exact number is unknown. In 2018/19, 2,972 formerly stateless children were registered as British citizens.14 However, these figures are incomplete as they exclude, for example, stateless children unable to register as British (for example, if ineligible, or due to high 8 For more information, see Statelessness Index UK country profile: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/united-kingdom; ENS (2015), No Child Should Be Stateless: Ensuring the right to a nationality for children in migration in Europe: https://www.statelessness.eu/sites/www.statelessness.eu/files/attachments/resources/ENS_Right-to-a-nationality-forchildren-in-migration.pdf. 9 UNHCR, Refugee Data Finder: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=26bAzI. 10 Responses by UK Government Home Office to Freedom of Information request submitted by Asylum Aid, FOI 66979, 10 February 2022. 11 UNHCR (2020), Statelessness Determination in the UK: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5fe349c94.html 12 UK Government statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics 13 ibid 14 UK Government, Home Office, Listing of the detailed managed migration datasets: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets#citizenship 3