Statelessness
The condition of not being considered a national by any state. International law (1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness) and domestic law generally prohibit rendering a person stateless, though the UK has exceptions for national security.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
The internationally accepted definition of statelessness comes from the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Article 1(1) of the 1954 UN Stateless Convention defines a stateless person, for the purpose of the convention, as a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.
The Home Office's own caseworker guidance treats meeting that definition as a fact rather than a grant: an individual is a stateless person from the moment the conditions in Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention are met, so that any finding by a state, or UNHCR, that a person satisfies the test is a declaratory act, not one that creates the status. In the UK, a person found to meet this test can apply for permission to stay as a stateless person, a route which leads to settlement after five years.
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Official sources
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