National Law 14. The definition of a stateless person in Moldovan law is consistent with the 1954 Convention. 12 According to Article 1 of the 1954 Convention, “a ‘stateless person’ means a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. To be able to provide the protection and rights enshrined in the 1954 Convention, including a residence permit and the right to work, study and facilitated naturalisation, State parties need to be able to identify stateless people on their territory. UNHCR recommends that this is best fulfilled through a dedicated statelessness determination procedure (SDP).13 15. Moldova established a dedicated SDP in law in 2011, which in many ways is an example of good practice.14 The procedure is accessible, with no fee or residence requirement, and can be initiated ex officio, in person, orally or in writing. The dedicated Statelessness Unit must examine claims within six months (with the possibility to extend to 12 months), and whilst free legal aid during the administrative procedure is provided for in law, in practice it is provided by NGOs. An interview is mandatory, interpreters are made available, and training is provided by UNHCR. The burden of proof is shared, and although not established in law, the standard of proof is the same as in the asylum procedure, and cross-referral between procedures is established. Applicants are protected from expulsion and have access to some basic rights, including the right to work. People recognised as stateless are granted permanent residence and rights (except political rights) in line with nationals.15 Persons recognised as stateless have facilitated access to Moldovan nationality by way of naturalisation, but must still wait eight years before being eligible for naturalisation (see Issue 2 below). 16. Moldovan nationality law contains partial safeguards to prevent statelessness. There are full safeguards for foundlings and children born to nationals abroad, but since 2018, children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless may only acquire nationality automatically at birth if at least one of their parents has legal residence (see Issue 1 below). Grounds for the deprivation of Moldovan nationality are established in law and include where a person acquired nationality by fraud, enlisted in a foreign army, or committed particularly serious deeds damaging the State. There is a safeguard against statelessness in all cases of deprivation and renunciation of nationality except for fraudulent acquisition of nationality.16 ISSUE 1 – Children’s right to a nationality 17. The right to a nationality is a right that is ‘essential for the protection of every child’. 17 As signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Moldova must implement Article 7 to provide for the right of every child to be registered immediately 12 Law 200/2010 on foreigners in the Republic of Moldova, available in English at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4f520.html. The original version in Romanian is available at: http://lex.justice.md/md/336056/. 13 UNHCR (2014), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/statelessness/53b698ab9/handbook-protection-stateless-persons.html. 14 Law 200/2010 on foreigners in the Republic of Moldova, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4f520.html. More information about the SDP is available at: https://index.statelessness.eu/country/moldova. 15 Ibid. 16 Law 1024/2000 on Citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, Art.23, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b60ba.html (English) and the original at: http://lex.justice.md/md/311522/ (Romanian). 17 UNHCR (2018) Ensuring the right of all children to acquire a nationality: Connecting the Dots between the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness: https://www.refworld.org/docid/52206aa54.html 4