What is the statelessness determination procedure?
On 1 October 2023, the Statelessness Determination Procedure Act came into effect in the Netherlands. The law introduces a new procedure for determining statelessness, allowing stateless persons to prove that they are statelessness. This will mainly benefit persons who have legal residence but are poorly documented or do not have documents and therefore cannot be registered as stateless in the Personal Records Database (BRP).
As a result of the new determination procedure, persons residing in the Netherlands legally who are currently registered as “nationality unknown” in the foreigner administration or in the Personal Records Database (BRP) may from now on be included in the BRP as “stateless”.
Persons who do not have legal residence can also submit a request for determination of statelessness under the new procedure. However, submitting a request for determination of statelessness by the court will not result in a residence permit under the Vreemdelingenwet 2000.
The statelessness determination procedure is meant for persons who are not recognized as a citizen by any country, who have an immediate interest in having their statelessness determined and who are resident in the Netherlands.
What is the use of a determination of statelessness?
Are you registered as “nationality unknown” in the Personal Records Database (BRP)? A registration of “stateless” in the BRP makes several things possible:
- Applying for a travel document;
- The rules for becoming a Dutch citizen are more flexible. Stateless persons are allowed to apply for Dutch nationality after three years of legal residence (instead of five years), at a lower cost. Visit the website of the Dutch government for more information.
Where do you submit the application?
The application for determination of statelessness must be submitted to the court in The Hague. The court will forward your application to the IND, who will issue an advice based on all the information provided. The court will decide on the application in a civil procedure and will give a ruling on your statelessness. With that ruling, your status is established.
In addition, there remains a limited possibility for municipalities to recognize statelessness, when a person is ‘evidently stateless’. Examples of such situations can be found in the Decree on Evident Statelessness.
What is important before submitting an application?
UNHCR recommends to submit the application as completely as possible. Send all possible (nationality/identity) documents that you have ever had, and/or all evidence of attempts to obtain them with the application.
For documents, consider:
- (Copy of) old passport
- Other official documents
- School pass, vaccination card, or other indicative documents
For evidence of attempts to obtain a nationality, consider:
- Contact with an embassy, even if no response is received
- Contact with authorities, even if no response is received
- Contact with organizations, even if no response is received
For a comprehensive overview of possible evidence that you can send, click here.
For help and information:
ASKV: The Amsterdam Solidarity Committee for Refugees (based in Amsterdam)
ASKV supports undocumented refugees in the Netherlands and offers legal and social support.
INLIA: International Network of Local Initiatives with Asylum Seekers (based in Groningen)
INLIA is a network organization of communities that help asylum seekers and refugees in need.
VidK: ‘Vluchtelingen in de Knel’ (based in Eindhoven)
Vluchtelingen in de Knel supports (rejected) refugees in preparing for and realizing a future perspective and mediates in access to basic rights for undocumented people.