Statelessness in the EU

Statelessness is a global phenomenon which is also present in the European Union. At the end
of 2018, UNHCR estimated the total number of stateless persons in the European Union plus Norway at 399 283 individuals. This includes both stateless individuals and persons of undetermined nationality. UNHCR and UNICEF also estimate that, in 2017, there were 2 100 children registered stateless in Europe, a fourfold increase since 2010. Article 1 of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law’.
Statelessness is a legal anomaly, which can prevent those concerned from accessing fundamental human, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. As a result, such persons often live in conditions of protracted marginalisation and discrimination, facing numerous difficulties, such as the inability to receive medical assistance, enrol in educational programmes, acquire property, obtain legal employment, marry or open a bank account.
Even though statelessness can occur in various contexts, its most common causes include state succession, ill-defined or discriminatory nationality laws, and arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Statelessness can also be a consequence of forced displacement and forced migration and can result when people face difficulties accessing civil registration documents, including birth certificates, necessary to acquire or confirm nationality.