Stateless Transnational Migrant Children in South Africa stop any of them from establishing ties and contributing to their societies of resettlement. Therefore, social workers should not rescue stateless children, but should learn to be therapeutic witnesses, by holding, containing and bearing witness. This requires them to be still, unafraid, and emotionally strong to bear the pain of listening to stateless children’s real, heartfelt and complex stories as they emerge, rather than hastening to be action-oriented. This stillness provides space to the children to be agents of their own recovery. However, this does not release the social worker from the obligation of engaging with practical work and support. It also means that social workers need to intervene and document these interventions towards building an evidence base for practice with stateless children and their families (Muraya and Fry, 2015). Children’s agency in birth registration should also be considered as a possible intervention. Children decide to migrate with or without documentation. Children are often assumed to be passive, although recent studies indicate that children can be proactive and have a sense of agency in matters affecting them. Approaches that focus on children’s sense of agency give recognition to their capacity to participate and make decisions. When social workers, researchers and other practitioners solicit children’s views, this can optimize their capacity to understand what is going on and to be dynamic contributors to decision-making. Research by Huijsmans (2011) reports that unregistered children tried to facilitate their individual birth registration as they inched closer to adulthood and when they faced certain glitches, such as the inability to travel or get employment. Social workers can assist with this process of birth registration. In relation to birth registration after turning 18 years, future studies from a socio-legal perspective could explore how stateless children understand their statelessness, as children and as adults living in South Africa. CONCLUSION This study considered the causes of and circumstances leading to statelessness among migrant children in South Africa, noting that these are linked to the following factors: (i) the challenges related to birth registration; (ii) children born to stateless or undocumented parents; (iii) unfair laws; and (iv) children not knowing their nationality. The review further highlighted the gaps in policy, social services and research addressing social aspects of childhood statelessness. The value of this study is its contribution to the literature and debates on childhood statelessness and its identification of the possible role of social workers in addressing this crucial phenomenon. It showed how transnational migration and national legislation can lead to statelessness and put children at risk. This is the first study on statelessness in South Africa from a social work perspective. A stateless child’s access to social services and support can lead to better psychosocial outcomes, and social workers can contribute immensely in this area. They can also draw upon the basic social work practice skills which they are already familiar with as a starting point for thinking through possible responses (Cox and Pawar, 2013). 19