the existing return decision in case of an incorrect determination of nationality made therein which is allowed under Article 127 of the Code of Administrative Procedures. In respect of the facts that are to be established in order to determine that a person is stateless or of unknown nationality, the Border Guard service stated that every case is assessed individually. If a person claims that he or she is stateless and can provide documentary evidence of that fact, or if that fact is established in cooperation with foreign diplomatic posts, such a person is determined to be stateless. If the identity cannot be confirmed for reasons attributable to the person concerned, such as non-cooperation or when no information is provided by the diplomatic post or when the person cannot comply with requirements of the diplomatic post, it is determined that a person’s nationality is unknown. It was also indicated by the Border Guard that they are able to make a successful determination on statelessness regarding persons originating from the former USSR who did not register their citizenship after the dissolution of the USSR, as well as Palestinians and persons of Tibetan origin. According to the Border Guard service, the most common difficulties regarding identity verification concern foreigners not willing to cooperate with the competent bodies, purposefully providing false or incomplete data in order to disrupt the removal process, as well as foreign diplomatic posts not cooperating or not conducting procedures within reasonable time limits, e.g. setting requirements that are difficult to meet. The Border Guard service also stated that difficulties concerning identity determination in cooperation with foreign diplomatic posts occur mainly with regard to the following countries of origin: Iran, Eritrea, Guinea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Togo, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Cuba. 3.3.3 Other relevant types of proceedings According to Article 260 of the Act on Foreigners, a Polish Identity Document may be issued to a foreigner who is staying on the Polish territory, who is a stateless person and has no identity document, if obtaining such a document is not otherwise possible and if it is in the interest of the state. Therefore, the issuance of such a document is conditional upon prior identification of the applicant as stateless. The document confirms that a person is stateless but does not confer a statelessness “status” to its holder and the rights attached thereto. Obtaining the Polish Identity Document does not allow a person to travel abroad and does not exempt its holder from the obligation to obtain a visa, a temporary residence permit, a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident permit to be able to stay legally on the territory of Poland. 32 MAPPING STATELESSNESS IN POLAND

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