Editorial: A year of mixed progress – Europe’s ongoing efforts to advance the right to a nationality and address statelessness

by Alexia Tizzano , Legal Coordinator, European Network on Statelessness

Next week at our annual state of play assessment webinar on statelessness in Europe, we will launch two new Statelessness Index country profiles for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, as well as 14 country updates. With 34 countries now covered by the Index, this is an opportune moment to reflect on how Europe is doing in its efforts to address statelessness.??

Last year, we saw promising steps towards reducing in situ statelessness in some countries and progress towards new mechanisms for statelessness determination. However, we also reported on a worrying increase in barriers to accessing a nationality. In this editorial, we explore what progress 2024 has brought in protecting stateless people and preventing and reducing statelessness and ask whether European countries have built on last year’s momentum or have new challenges emerged??

(Slow) progress towards improved frameworks for determining statelessness and granting protection?

While the vast majority of European countries still lack dedicated statelessness determination procedures that confer a dedicated statelessness status, 2024 saw some progress towards the introduction of procedures to enable stateless migrants to access their rights in several countries. A new administrative procedure came into force in Belgium in September 2024, introducing a residence permit for stateless people for the first time. While this is a welcome development, significant challenges remain with the procedure (further explored here and here), which means that it unfortunately falls short of offering a fair and accessible route to protection for stateless migrants in Belgium.??

?In Albania, important steps have been taken to implement the country’s recently established statelessness determination procedure. While there are positive elements to the procedure, crucial gaps persist that limit access and protections for stateless people. For example, applicants must be lawfully resident to access the procedure, and it is still unclear what rights people will have after being recognised as stateless. We must wait and see how it is implemented in practice to understand its impact in full.?

In Ireland, the government has indicated that it is considering introducing a statelessness determination procedure and says that it considers statelessness on a case-by-case basis. While this signals potential progress, the lack of a formal procedure means that stateless people continue to be unable to fully enjoy their rights and remain at risk of being incorrectly assigned a nationality, leading to possible further legal complications.??

In Portugal, as reported last year, legislation introduced in 2023 defines a stateless person and recognises that stateless people are entitled to a travel document and statelessness status. However, the secondary legislation necessary to implement these rights has yet to be adopted, although draft laws have been prepared, and discussions are currently ongoing in Parliament.??

There have been some improvements to existing procedures in Italy, for example, where the Ministry of Interior has adopted a more flexible approach to documentary requirements, and has taken the view that lawful residence is no longer a requirement to access the procedure. This very welcome change eliminates a key challenge for many applicants that we had previously highlighted.??

There have also been positive developments in case law, for example, in Bulgaria, where a recent judgment ruled that the authority must share the burden of proof with the applicant and take proactive steps to verify their nationality status if this is in doubt. However, this has yet to be implemented in practice.?

While some steps in the right direction have been made, it is clear that European countries must intensify their efforts to introduce and implement statelessness determination procedures that align with their obligations under the 1954 Convention and good practice.??

Positive trends in naturalisation amid ongoing barriers?

Most European countries still deny facilitated naturalisation routes for stateless migrants and refugees and fall short of international standards – an issue we have been highlighting since the launch of the Index, as this remains one of the areas with very few examples of good practice in Europe. Although progress sadly remains limited, 2024 saw some encouraging developments. Several countries reduced the residence requirements for naturalisation. In Germany, as of June 2024, people who work in the country and are ‘well integrated’ may acquire German nationality after three years of residence, down from five. In Italy, a recent ruling by the Court of Cassation clarified that stateless individuals should be exempt from the five-year lawful residence requirement to obtain Italian nationality – a promising shift, though its practical application remains to be seen. The introduction of the new residence permit for stateless people in Belgium may ease access to the facilitated naturalisation regime as it provides a route to permanent residence??

Discussions are also underway in several countries to reform laws to facilitate access to citizenship for stateless people (for example in Romania) or for some groups of stateless people (for example in Spain).?

Jurisprudence has also driven progress. In Belgium, the Constitutional Court ruled in 2023 that the lack of exemptions to the language requirement for illiterate individuals was unconstitutional, which led to amendments to the Nationality Code in 2024, adding necessary exemptions.??

However, not all developments have been positive. In Germany, stricter requirements for commitment to liberal democratic principles were introduced in 2024, including an acknowledgment of ‘Germany’s special historical responsibility for the National Socialist reign of injustice and its consequences’, which could create additional barriers for some applicants.?

Mixed progress on children’s right to a nationality and birth registration?

A child’s right to a nationality is not just a legal issue – it’s about belonging, identity, and access to fundamental rights. Across Europe, too many children still face an uncertain future, born into statelessness due to gaps in law and policy, as most countries still lack full safeguards in their nationality laws. Nonetheless, we have seen some real progress on this issue in recent years.???

Positive developments include North Macedonia’s introduction of a simplified birth registration procedure, providing that every child must be registered irrespective of the residence status or identity of their parents. In Moldova, since 2023, children born stateless in the country may acquire nationality by application if they are recognised as stateless through the statelessness determination procedure, which goes some way to closing previous gaps in the law. Malta amended its law to remove discriminatory provisions relating to conferral of nationality by descent and Austria ensured access to late birth registration for people who no longer have ties to their country of origin for reasons similar to those of refugees, including beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Discussions are also underway in Romania about the need for a route to nationality for children born stateless on the territory. In Italy, the Ordinary Court of Rome recently recognised the Italian nationality of a child whose mother lacked formal recognition of her statelessness status, challenging the typical requirement for such proof.??

Sadly, however, we have also seen some setbacks. In Belgium, stateless children born to Palestinian parents in the country had their nationality withdrawn in 2024, and recent reports reveal that stateless children born to Paraguayan parents have been refused Belgian nationality. Despite Spain’s landmark 2022 judgment enhancing the child’s right to a nationality, in practice, it appears that this judgment is implemented inconsistently across regions and authorities. Moreover, new information reveals that administrative and legal hurdles are causing delays in the conferral of Spanish nationality to the children of Sahrawi parents born in the country.??

Children born to refugees are also facing hurdles in some countries. In Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs Passport Office has stopped issuing passports to children born to refugee parents pending a case on this matter. Similarly, in Slovenia, despite the Ministry of the Interior’s recent acknowledgment that children born on the territory to refugee parents can apply for nationality, significant gaps in safeguards against statelessness at birth persist.?

Children born to same-sex parents, including through surrogacy, are also increasingly at risk of statelessness. Despite judgments from the Court of Justice of the EU finding that Bulgarian and Polish authorities’ refusal to issue identity documents to a child born abroad to same-sex parents was unlawful, the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court ruled in 2023 that there was no obligation to issue a birth certificate to the child in question. In Poland, while amendments introduced in August 2024 allow a child born to same-sex parents abroad to have their birth registered in the country under a specific act (as opposed to the transcription of their foreign birth certificate) concerns remain about how effective this will be in practice. In Albania, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that same-sex marriages are against the provisions of the Family Code, and Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled that a child born abroad through surrogacy could not derive Irish nationality from their non-biological Irish-British father. In October, Italy criminalised international surrogacy agreements, leaving children born abroad through such arrangements at risk of statelessness.??

Keeping the momentum going?

The progress we’ve seen since launching the Statelessness Index in 2018 is undeniable. Legal reforms, policy shifts, and powerful jurisprudence (read more about the role of courts to end statelessness) signal a growing commitment to addressing statelessness in many countries, but the pace of change is far too slow.??

Fundamental rights for stateless people and people at risk of statelessness are still being denied, and in some cases, States are regressing on their international commitments. Despite this, we remain steadfast that statelessness is a preventable and solvable issue. With critical tools like the Statelessness Index and the collective efforts of dedicated stakeholders, we can ensure this issue remains at the forefront of international, regional, and domestic agendas.??

Join our upcoming webinar to hear from experts across Europe and learn how you can contribute to this vital issue.??