The notion of stateless person is used to describe the individual who does not have nationality . The term comes from the French word apatride , in turn derived from the Byzantine Greek language.
According to the United Nations ( UN ), a stateless person is someone that no State recognizes as a national . This means that there is no State that considers the stateless person as a citizen according to the criteria established by its laws.
There are various reasons that can cause a person to become stateless. If you were born in a territory that is disputed by two or more countries , to mention one possibility, you may become stateless. The same if you had the nationality of a State that disappeared or if you are part of a minority to which the government does not grant the right to nationality.
A subject who has a certain nationality, on the other hand, can become stateless by an express provision of the State authorities or by his own will . In the first case, we can mention what happened with the members of the so-called White Movement , from whom the socialist regime took away their Russian nationality through a decree in 1922 .
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzche , on the other hand, became stateless in 1869 due to his decision. That year, Nietzche settled in Basel ( Switzerland ) and chose to renounce his Prussian citizenship. Since he did not acquire Swiss nationality or try to regain Prussian nationality later, he remained stateless for the rest of his life .
It is important to note that stateless persons have protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ). A convention signed by numerous countries, meanwhile, protects their rights .
A concept related to this is the so-called Stateless Person Statute . Let us remember that a statute is a rule or an establishment that enjoys the force of law and that is created to govern a body; It can also be understood as a special law for an autonomous region or as a legal regime to which goods and individuals are subject in reference to their territory or nationality. In this particular case, it is about the protection that a State provides to those who are recognized as stateless.
It is worth mentioning that this procedure is not very common; In fact, one of the few countries that have it is Spain. Its presence in the legal system of this nation is a reason for great legal security and in fact it is recommended by the UN Refugee Agency (which is known by the acronym UNHCR ). This is included in the relevant Recognition Regulation, and allows the Ministry of the Interior to recognize as stateless persons those individuals who lack nationality and meet a series of requirements set out in the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons .
This convention took place at the United Nations to reverse the lack of international protection for stateless people. Thanks to the existence of this procedure, people who are recognized as such enjoy the right to remain in Spanish territory and perform a job in an absolutely legal manner. Furthermore, if there are no reasons of public order or security that prevent it, they also receive a card that certifies their condition and a travel document that gives them the possibility of traveling outside of Spain.
Currently, people who complete the process to begin the application for this status automatically receive access to the social benefits of those seeking asylum, although this is not specified in the regulations.