PRACTICAL GUIDE ON NATIONALITY The statelessness determination procedures vary among Member States of the European Union and the Schengen associated countries (EU+ countries). Depending on the national context, the procedure may be carried out by the determining authority as a part of the asylum procedure or may take the form of a different procedure carried out before another administrative or (quasi-) judicial authority, for example. The existence of a link between the two procedures may also vary. Do not expect the applicant to go through the procedure for statelessness determination When a stateless person is an applicant for international protection, they may not be in a position to gather the evidence that is expected from them in the framework of a statelessness determination procedure, where that determination is done by an authority other than the determining authority. Gathering such evidence may put them or their family members at risk. This is because it would require them to contact the relevant competent authorities from all the states to which they have a link (e.g. by birth, ancestry or residence). It could therefore put them at risk of persecution and would compromise the confidentiality principle in asylum claims. Therefore, you should not expect them to necessarily go through the statelessness determination procedure before you assess their need for international protection, unless both those procedures are conducted by the determining authority. In the latter case, the specific situation in which applicants for international protection find themselves may be considered during the statelessness determination procedure. As a case officer, you may be confronted with three main situations with regard to a formal statelessness determination procedure. 1. The applicant has already been formally declared stateless in your country: in this scenario, the statelessness of the applicant can be considered as established. This is the case unless new elements have come to your attention which may change the conclusion of this assessment (e.g. the information on which the competent authority relied at the time of the assessment was outdated, incomplete or fraudulent). In this case, you should consult your national administration’s policy on how to proceed. 2. The applicant’s request to be formally recognised as stateless has been rejected in your country. You need to ascertain the reason(s) the status of stateless person has not been recognised. Assess to what extent these reasons may influence your preliminary findings on their statelessness in the context of the examination of their application for international protection. Based on all of the elements at your disposal, you may, exceptionally, still consider the applicant to be stateless for the purpose of the examination of their application for international protection ( 54). 3. The determination procedure of the formal statelessness of the applicant is pending in your country. As a case officer it is your responsibility to conduct the preliminary assessment on the statelessness of the applicant for the purpose of identifying a country of reference and examining their need for international protection, just as you identify and assess the possible nationality of an applicant. Your assessment is not (54) For more information on the topic of evidence assessment, consult EUAA, Practical Guide on Evidence and Risk Assessment, January 2024. 21