Okuzeka
Immigration & Visas vocabulary · Citizenship & Naturalisation

Stateless

Meaning in immigration & visas, with examples

/ˈsteɪtləs/adjectiveAdvanced term

In immigration & visas, stateless means: Not recognised as a citizen by any country, which can make it hard to get documents, travel, work or use public services.

In Turkish: vatansız

How it is used

The noun is statelessness. International law, including the 1954 and 1961 UN conventions, aims to protect stateless people and reduce statelessness. Some countries issue a special travel document to stateless persons.

Example sentences

  1. Children born to stateless parents may also be left without a nationality.

  2. As a stateless person, he could not get a passport from any country.

Common collocations

  • stateless person
  • become stateless
  • statelessness
  • stateless travel document
  • citizenshipThe legal status of being a full member of a country, with rights such as voting and holding its passport, and duties such as obeying its laws.
  • dual citizenshipThe status of being a citizen of two countries at the same time, with the rights and duties of both.
  • refugeeA person who has left their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution and who needs international protection.
  • naturalisationThe legal process by which a foreign citizen becomes a citizen of the country where they live, usually after several years of residence.

More terms: Citizenship & Naturalisation

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.