The story of Richard
Richard was born in Angola. Due to the conflict he was separated from the rest of his family and came to Europe with the Red Cross. He arrived in Romania in 1994 and claimed asylum but this was rejected. He was detained while the Romanian authorities attempted to deport him. However, he was granted a tolerated stay when it proved impossible to remove him because Angola refused to recognise him as a national.
Richard wanted to return home and cooperated with this process, but Angola refused to accept that he had any entitlement to citizenship, thereby rendering him stateless. The situation has been complicated by the fact that there is no Angolan embassy in Bucharest, the nearest one being in Belgrade. Despite repeated attempts at further written correspondence, no official response has ever been provided to him by the Angolan authorities.
His tolerated stay status has now been extended for over a decade but does not entitle him to social assistance. Following a change in the law in 2011 he is at least now able to work but he still cannot get married or travel freely throughout the country. Significantly, his tolerated stay on the territory does not entitle him to receive a proper residence visa or count towards the period of stay on the territory required to be eligible for domicile (5 years) or naturalisation (8 years). He is in limbo, unable to return to his country of origin but equally unable to acquire a permanent residence status in Romania.
Romania as an EU Member state should adopt the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum by June 2026
The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, for the first time, includes a requirement in EU law to identify and record instances of statelessness, pending a determination. This is important progress towards the improved identification and protection of stateless people.
Romania, like all EU Member States, now has two years to adopt the Pact. Find out more about the new provisions.
What is the current situation for stateless people in Romania?
The new toolkit to identify and address statelessness in Romania, developed in partnership with European Network on Statelessness, explains the current situation for stateless people in Romania:
40% of recorded stateless people in Romania are registered as beneficiaries of international protection.
Statelessness may be identified during asylum procedures, temporary protection mechanism, returns, or border procedures.
There is no dedicated procedure leading to a dedicated statelessness status in Romania, but there are other procedures in which statelessness can be identified.
Useful resources
The toolkit includes useful resources for supporting stateless communities, including:
- Questions to consider and potentially ask to identify or elicit proof of statelessness or citizenship
- Good practices in relation to Statelessness Determination from other countries
Our recommendations
Authorities should ensure that all asylum officials and other frontline refugee response actors have access to training on statelessness and tools to support identification, including the 2021 EASO Practical Guide on Registration, ENS national toolkits to identify and address statelessness, and other relevant tools.
We are calling on European governments and the EU to provide the full rights and support owed to stateless refugees and to better prioritise this in asylum and migration policy
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN HERE
European Network on Statelessness (ENS) is a civil society alliance of over 180 members in 40 countries working to promote the right to a nationality in Europe. ENS is committed to ending statelessness and ensuring that everyone living in Europe without a nationality can access the rights they are entitled to under international law. https://www.statelessness.eu/
JRS Romania has been involved in individual legal and social assistance (including housing), media campaigns and advocacy in the area of statelessness. https://jrsromania.org/.