European Network on Statelessness

13/08/2026

🥳WIN: Portugal takes decisive action to support and protect stateless people.

On 7 August 2026, Portugal established a dedicated statelessness determination procedure (SDP).

We welcome this new law, which is a major milestone for the protection and rights of stateless people in Portugal and will hopefully inspire similar positive reforms in other European countries . Until now, stateless people did not have any route to a residence permit in Portugal.

The law establishes specific rights for stateless migrants including during the application process and once granted a temporary residence permit. They will be able to access travel documents, consular protection and other rights, as well as a route to acquire Portuguese nationality.

As Europe becomes ever more hostile towards asylum seekers and migrants, we welcome this positive and progressive step forward in Portugal. Political parties across the spectrum in Portugal have recognised the importance of establishing an SDP, and meaningfully heard the recommendations that ENS, our members and other stakeholders have been advocating for.

At ENS, we stand ready to monitor the roll-out of this new law in practice. And we will continue to support efforts to strengthen protection for stateless people across Europe.

🔗Read more: https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/news/welcoming-portugals-new-statelessness-determination-procedure

The new law provides some of the strongest procedural safeguards for stateless applicants, establishing a positive example for other countries. People recognised as stateless will receive a temporary residence permit, travel documents, consular protection and several other economic and social rights...

03/08/2026

14/07/2026

📢 Updates on Statelessness Litigation in Europe - July 2026.

Read our overview of developments on statelessness from European courts, an update on our litigation activities across the network, recent publications relevant for legal practitioners, and notification about upcoming events and opportunities.

🔗 Learn more: https://buff.ly/ms5c4OU

🔗 Visit our Statelessness Case Law Database: https://buff.ly/ThQJzLk

10/07/2026

📢 A short guide for stateless Palestinians in Europe, by stateless Palestinians in Europe

Statelessness is one of the least understood features of forced migration in Europe. For Palestinians seeking protection, it shapes everything from how they are treated at a border to the nationality recorded on their file years later.

In our latest guest blog, members of our Community Advisory Board for our work with Palestinians in Europe share helpful information from their own experiences of navigating asylum and statelessness procedures in Europe.

🔗 Read our blog: https://buff.ly/WCpxH33

We have been working to develop resources for lawyers, decision-makers, communities and individuals about the protection of stateless Palestinians in Europe.

🔗 Visit our dedicated webpage to learn more: https://buff.ly/O17MPkJ

29/06/2026

In our latest interview, we caught up with Radha Govil, Deputy Director at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the Law School, to hear about the Global Caselaw Database on Statelessness: a new tool for researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on statelessness across the world.

🔗 Learn more: https://buff.ly/Qb7P6sn

26/06/2026

📢 Our June newsletter is here!

Read all about our activities over the past few months, including:

🔹 An interview with Radha Govil, Deputy Director at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness on the launch of the Global Caselaw Database on Statelessness
🔸 Our briefing taking stock of progress towards implementation of statelessness provisions in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
🔹 Our awareness-raising campaign on the importance of States having a process to determine statelessness
🔸 Our Guide to Collaborative Advocacy on Statelessness, which we jointly developed with Apatride Network and statefree
🔹 Our video reflecting back on our impact in 2025
🔸 Suji v. Greece – this week’s landmark ruling for statelessness and family reunification
🔹 Plus lots of other news, updates and events from across Europe (and beyond!)

Thank you to all our members and partners who make our work possible.

🔗 Read more: https://buff.ly/sTEmr72

25/06/2026

In our latest guest blog, Anastasiia Koval and Sofiia Kordonets of Право на захист (Right to Protection) explore statelessness in Ukraine past, present, and future.

They discuss recent developments and procedural challenges faced by people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness when trying to access documents and acquire Ukrainian citizenship.

And they make recommendations for how Ukraine can address statelessness on its path to EU integration.

🔗 Read more: https://buff.ly/j744mcU

11/06/2026

In 2026, 45 countries – approximately 1 out of 4 – still have nationality laws that do not grant female citizens the same rights as male citizens.

In our latest guest blog, Catherine Harrington, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights Director, Women's Refugee Commission, shares a new resource to assist efforts to end Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws (GNDL).

The Legal Atlas on Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws is the first global interactive database dedicated to mapping and documenting GDNL. It brings together nationality laws, constitutional provisions, international legal obligations, and related laws and policies affecting impacted families’ access to rights and services into one accessible platform.

🔗 Learn more: https://buff.ly/tBEmypD

🌍️ Visit the Legal Atlas: https://buff.ly/xg3nFEE

29/05/2026

Stateless people face the risk of rights violations every day because most European States lack a proper process to determine statelessness and provide a route out of limbo.

In Germany, the determination of statelessness has so far not been formally standardised at the national (federal) level. As a result, identification and recognition are inconsistent across different regions and lead to legal uncertainty.

Due to a lack of visibility as well as legal gaps and the absence of relevant regulations, guidance, or information for authorities, tens of thousands of people live in Germany without a recognised nationality, including many who may be stateless or at risk of statelessness.

In the last blog post in our series, Denis Neselovskyi, Legal and Policy Coordinator at statefree explores why Germany needs a statelessness determination procedure (SDP).

Read more: https://buff.ly/IiASCuX

27/05/2026

📢 Read our new briefing: Applying the statelessness provisions in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

Ahead of the 12 June deadline, we take stock of how EU Member States are implementing statelessness provisions under the Pact.

Some progress has been made, but there’s a long way still to go.

Our briefing includes recommendations for Member States, EU institutions, the European Parliament, UNHCR, and civil society to work together and deliver real change.

Read more 👉https://buff.ly/skVmxTF

Our briefing includes recommendations to Member States, the European Commission, EU agencies, the European Parliament, and UNHCR and civil society, on how they can work collaboratively to remedy any remaining implementation gaps and to support full application in practice of the statelessness provis...