Statelessness in Czechia | January 2024 14 Further questions are available on the Stateless Journeys website, for adults and for children. It is also important to research statelessness in the person’s home country, which can help identify whether the person’s circumstances indicate they may be stateless. Country of origin information that has specific information on statelessness may assist with this research, including the country position papers published by ENS on the Stateless Journeys website and research reports published by Asylos. Additional information about the law, policy, and practice on statelessness in Czechia is available in the Statelessness Index and jurisprudence is available in the Statelessness Case Law Database. After identifying that a person is or may be stateless, it is important that they are referred to an appropriate procedure to have their statelessness (or nationality) officially determined. Assessing whether a person is stateless can be simple or complex, depending on the circumstances. There are various legal procedures available depending on the situation and background of the person. The individual should be fully informed about all possible options from the outset so that they remain an agent of their situation as much as possible throughout. Actively referring someone to or accompanying someone through a procedure requires that they are fully informed at each step and given a choice about how they would like to progress.30 ENS’s participatory action research with member organisations and their clients shows the value of legal advisers and others engaging actively with stateless people who are seeking protection or recognition as nationals. “Through the encouragement of a participatory approach to casework and involving children and families in decisions about the strategies taken to resolve their nationality problems, the project has sought to provide a platform for affected children and their families to tell their stories and give their views on what needs to change…. [T]his approach works. Several cases in the research resulted in positive outcomes for the children and families concerned. In all cases, families and children reported feeling heard, supported, and informed about their cases, even where systemic or other external factors affected or delayed positive outcomes”. 30 In Czechia, stateless people can seek protection and regularise their stay through several routes, in particular statelessness determination or international protection procedures. For some, there may also be other ways to obtain protection. 30 Addressing the Risks of Statelessness among Children in Migration in Europe: Report on the findings of participatory action research by ENS members in five European countries (2022), p. 19.