EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM In the context of international protection, a stateless applicant is an applicant who does not hold any nationality at the time of the assessment. The fact that the applicant has not (yet) taken steps to have their ex lege nationality recognised by their national authorities (e.g. by registering themselves with their national authorities) does not detract from the fact that they are, legally speaking, nationals of that country. However, any indications that the national authorities will not recognise that nationality should be considered. It should also be noted that the mere absence of, or inability to produce documents substantiating a nationality does not make a person stateless. See Chapter 5. Evidence to determine nationality, statelessness and the country of origin. The fact that an applicant who cannot, in practice, access certain rights to which they should normally be entitled as a national, does not mean they are rendered stateless as long as they are considered a national by a state under the operation of its law. Whether the applicant enjoys the rights to which nationals are generally entitled or can avail themselves of the protection of their country of origin has no bearing on the fact that they are nationals of that country. 2.5.2. Statelessness determination procedure States that have acceded to the Stateless Persons Convention have rights and obligations towards stateless persons ( 53). Recital 24 APR mentions that: Without prejudice to the competence of Member States on the acquisition of nationality and the fact that, under international law, it is for each Member State, having due regard to Union law, to lay down the conditions for the acquisition and loss of nationality, in applying this Regulation, Member States should respect their international obligations towards stateless persons, in accordance with international human rights law instruments, including where applicable under the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, adopted in New York on 28 September 1954. Where appropriate, Member States should endeavour to identify stateless persons and strengthen their protection, thus allowing stateless persons to enjoy core fundamental rights and reducing the risk of discrimination or unequal treatment. In the country of asylum, a specific procedure may exist to formally determine whether an applicant is a stateless person and thus enable them, by granting them a formal status, to assert their rights in practice. Depending on national law, the rights and obligations of stateless persons may differ from those granted to beneficiaries of international protection. (53) The EU+ countries that are party to the Stateless Persons Convention are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. 20