1. Introduction To be stateless is to have no nationality. For the millions of stateless people around the world, this can mean denial of basic rights most people take for granted: to go to school or work, get married or register the birth of your child, to legally ‘exist’. In Europe, statelessness affects both recent migrants and those who have lived in the same place for generations. 1 It can be intertwined with other root causes of displacement, 2 such as the persecution of minority groups, armed conflict, discrimination and gaps in nationality laws, and deprivation of nationality practices. Many in Europe are also stateless in situ, they may have been born in the country where they are living or have lived there for many years, as in situ statelessness is often linked to State succession and discriminatory laws or practices against certain communities trapped in intergenerational statelessness. For example, thousands of Romani people in Europe lack any identification documents to assert their nationality, and hundreds of thousands of people are excluded from citizenship in the Baltic States, particularly Russian-speaking minority groups.3 The only way to resolve statelessness is to acquire a nationality. However, it is important to distinguish between the solutions required to address in situ statelessness and statelessness in a migratory context.4 For people who are stateless in situ, who have long-established ties to the countries where they are living, the solution is not to grant a protection status that prolongs their statelessness. Instead, States should resolve in situ statelessness by confirming or granting nationality to those who lack it, including through targeted nationality campaigns or nationality verification efforts. States should also work to identify and eliminate discriminatory laws, policies, and practices that perpetuate intergenerational (risk of) statelessness affecting minoritized and marginalised populations. In the case of stateless migrants or refugees, States should first identify who is stateless on their territory, formally determine their statelessness (giving primacy to any asylum claim), and then grant them an adequate protection status with rights aligned with the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and international human rights law.5 Establishing a dedicated SDP helps States assess the size of the stateless population on their territory and the issues they face, as well as adequately identifying and protecting stateless migrants and refugees, thereby both fulfilling their obligations under international law and providing a comprehensive, sustainable solution for individuals who cannot return to their country of origin or former residence. Most countries in Europe Stateless person A stateless person is someone ‘who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law’1. This definition is part of customary international law and has been authoritatively interpreted by UNHCR as requiring ‘a mixed question of fact and law’. 2 Undetermined or unknown nationality Refers to a situation where a person’s nationality or lack of nationality is not yet confirmed. These terms should be used with extreme caution for the shortest possible time and should always trigger a formal determination of the person’s nationality or statelessness. People who identify themselves as stateless should generally be recorded as stateless and referred to an appropriate procedure to determine their statelessness (or nationality). In situ statelessness People who are stateless in situ are commonly in a non-migratory situation. They may be stateless in ‘their own country’,3 a country they have a significant attachment to (which is often the country where they were born and have always lived), and do not have significant ties to other countries. Statelessness in situ often occurs in the context of State succession or is perpetuated due to discriminatory laws or practices against certain communities.