News & Updates

Dear Community, Our latest podcast episode is out 🎙! In this episode, Rouaa and Mheo talk about how statelessness has impacted their relationship, sense of identity and belonging. Listen to this moving story about how the two had to travel to a different continent in order to marry and how they managed to reunite in Germany after five years. Listen to the new episode here 👉 on Spotify, on Google Podcasts  Thanks to @Mheo, Rouaa and @Aleksandra for this conversation! 

[Deutsch siehe unten, Espanol abajo] Hello everyone 👋🏽 The time has finally come - we are launching the first international community campaign dedicated to the 70th anniversary (28 September 1954) of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 🗣️🎉  Why? Human rights should apply to all humans, not only to "citizens"Even today - 70 years after the 1954 Convention was adopted later - we are still nowhere near this goal. With our  campaign, we want to raise awareness about the existing injustice towards stateless people, build  solidarity in society and be loud - enough to push for dialogue and change.  How? With 70 stateless voices from all over the world ! YOU can be one of the voices!  Together we are going to create a major Community Campaign. When? The launch of the campaign itself is scheduled to coincide with the anniversary in September. However, bringing together 70 stateless voices officially starts now.📍Save the date: Last call for the first round of partici

🇬🇧Dear Community,We’re excited to invite you to register for Community Lab 2025!📍When: Saturday, July 19 – Sunday, July 20, 2025📍Where: MunichThis weekend is all about connection, creativity, and community — with inspiring workshops, shared ideas, delicious food, and a great time.✨ Together, we want to:🤝 Connect and come together as a community🌱 Develop strategies to advocate for our rights👉 [Click here to register]Please sign up by Friday, June 15, 2025, so we can plan everything properly — including travel, accommodation, and food.Good to know:– We have a limited number of spots. If more than 20 people register, we will create a waiting list. We’ll get in touch with those on the waiting list as soon as we have clarity on the final participant list.– Childcare will be provided. If you need childcare, please let us know in the registration form.If you have any questions or need support, feel free to contact us at info@statefree.world.We’re looking forward to a powerful weekend t

📣 Community Call – Register Your Interest!Join us in Berlin: 5–7 November 2025 | bUm, Paul-Lincke-Ufer 21, BerlinWe’re excited to announce our upcoming conference in November! Co-organised by Statefree and the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), we’ll bring together community members, legal experts and institutional actors for three inspiring days of exchange, collaboration and innovation to take the next steps towards our shared goal: dismantling statelessness and building systems that truly include stateless people. For that, we will create a collective space to reflect, strategise and reimagine justice, belonging and protection for stateless people. 🗓 What to ExpectOver the three days, we will explore themes such as solidarity-building, innovative protection practices, and the future of advocacy while focusing on lived experiences of statelessness. Day 1 – Arrive & Reflect.We’ll begin by grounding ourselves in the broader context of statelessness in Europe, and in our own

We’re thrilled to share that Statefree has finally launched its first-ever community-driven campaign, and we’d love for you to be a part of it! What’s the Campaign About? This year marks 70 years since the 1954 UN Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons. Back then, 98 countries came together to create 43 articles aimed at ensuring basic human rights for stateless individuals. Today, 99 countries have ratified the convention.Yet, statelessness remains a global human rights violation. Over 15 million people worldwide are stateless, living without legal recognition, access to basic rights, or a place to call home. Despite decades of promises, progress has been slow, and the voices of stateless individuals remain unheard.Through this campaign, “70 Years, 70 Voices,” we’re amplifying the voices and perspectives of 70 stateless individuals from around the world. Their experiences and statements shed light on 70 years of limited progress.Our goal? To raise awareness, foster understandin

No one belongs here more than you! Dear Community,Our Annual Report 2023 is finally completed 🎉The successes presented on the following pages are joint successes.This report provides a summary of our activities in 2023. Inside, you will find details about our profile and mission, the projects we undertook, and an introduction to the organisation and its members. Additionally, we offer an overview of our financial situation and our plans for 2024. Some of you will find themselves on the pages 😄 We are deeply grateful for everyone who supports us and accompanies our journey ♥️ 👉🏼 Click here to download the english version.pdf👉🏼 Click here to download the german version.pdf Thanks to everyone involved!  Deutsch Niemand gehört hier mehr dazu als du! Liebe Community,unser Jahresbericht 2023 ist endlich verfügbar 🎉Die präsentierten Erfolge sind gemeinsame Erfolge.Dieser Bericht gibt einen Überblick über unsere Aktivitäten im Jahr 2023. Darin findet ihr Einzelheiten über unser Profil u

Hey everyone! 👋🏾  | Find translations in Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish below  We're thrilled to announce that our next Community Lab is scheduled for April 20th & 21st, 2024, in Berlin, Germany!  Join this weekend if you want to…… meet other stateless people from across the world 🌍 AND … become part of our first co-created Community Campaign 🙌 Fill out this form (click link) to register for the event and join us in Berlin!  Community Campaign ?! What this is all aboutSince our last gathering in November, a dedicated group of members has been brainstorming ideas for our first international Statefree community campaign. And now, during our upcoming weekend in April, we're ready to bring those ideas to life!We're inviting every stateless person who wants to become part of this project and is committed to contribute to the campaign. All travel costs and accommodation will be covered by Statefree. Additionally you will receive a compensation of 100 € (in to

Deutsche Version untenThe way in which statelessness is portrayed in the media is often simplistic, while the legal aspect of statelessness is often very complex. Statelessness also has an emotional dimension that needs to be taken into account - our Statefree Community Lab emotion. The Statefree Community Lab is an open invitation to all people with lived experience of statelessness to come together, exchange and build community. The weekend was filled with personal stories, networking, bonding, and collectively discussing what we want to achieve next year. Envisioning a statefree futureRecognition is a central aspect of statelessness. Especially in Germany, where the path to getting one’s status as a stateless person recognized is often impossible, recognition is crucial in order to have access to basic human rights and live a life in dignity, peace and self-determination.That’s why the focus of the Community Lab was on recognition: How do we envision a statefree future, in which rec

[English]Dear Community,We have more news to share on the German Nationality Act! After the first reading and demonstration on Friday, Dec 1st, the expert hearing will take place on Dec 11th at 14h in the Bundestag. @Christiana has been invited to speak as an expert on the proposed reform of the nationality law and will talk about the necessary changes that still need to be made to address statelessness.The expert hearing is a public hearing. If you are in Berlin and can/want to join in person, you can register by sending your name and birthdate to innenausschuss@bundestag.de. It will also be streamed live. You can find more information about it here (unfortunately in German). ******[Deutsch]Liebe Community,wir haben weitere Neuigkeiten zum deutschen Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz! Nach der ersten Lesung und Kundgebung am Freitag, den 1. Dezember, wird die Sachverständigenanhörung am 11. Dezember um 14 Uhr im Bundestag stattfinden. @Christiana ist als Sachverständige zu der geplanten Refor

[Deutsch] Im Sommer 2022 war Statefree zum ersten Mal im Bundestag, um mit Abgeordneten über Staatenlosigkeit zu sprechen. Seitdem haben wir viel zu Staatenlosigkeit sensibilisiert und zusammen mit unserer Community politische Forderungen entwickelt. Im Frühjahr haben wir dann eine Stellungnahme eingereicht, die erklärt, warum Staatenlosigkeit momentan noch nicht im neuen Gesetzesentwurf berücksichtigt wird und welche Änderungen dafür notwendig sind. Trotzdem mussten wir feststellen, dass im Entwurf kein Wort zu Staatenlosigkeit drin stand. Noch ist nichts entschieden - unsere Forderungen können im restlichen parlamentarischen Verfahren noch eingefügt werden. Nur so können wir sicherstellen, dass Staatenlosigkeit in Deutschland reduziert wird und Staatenlose Zugang zu ihren Rechten haben.Wie läuft der politische Entscheidungsprozess ab? Lies mehr dazu hier.Jetzt ist es endlich soweit: Das neue Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz wird im Bundestag besprochen. Die erste Lesung findet bereits morg

Apatride Network is planning the first ever stateless-led international forum, titled Statelessness Awareness Forum (Europe), to be held on 20-24 March of 2024, in Alicante, Spain. Apatride Network invite university students and young professionals from all across Europe to engage and learn on the topic of statelessness. Alongside Apatride members providing lectures and leading workshops, there will be other experts from the field, such as from the European Parliament, UNHCR, academia, and leading statelessness NGOs.Applications are now open! First applicants have a higher chance of being selected.  You can apply here.For any inquiries, email contact@apatride.eu

BAföG, the German mainstream programme of student grants often denied: Staatenlosigkeit oder ein früheres Studium im Ausland können von der Förderung ausschließen English version below Manche glauben, BAföG gäbe es nur für deutsche Staatsbürger*innen. Auch manche Informationsseiten im Internet klingen so, als ob die Förderung von Ausländer*innen eine großzügig gewährte Ausnahme wäre:Eigentlich ist BAföG eine Förderung für deutsche Staatsbürger. In einigen Fällen allerdings ist es möglich, dass auch Bürger der Europäischen Union oder Geflüchtete, die in Deutschland leben während der Studienzeit mit BAföG gefördert werden. (https://www.meinbafoeg.de/bafoeg-als-auslaender/)Das ist schon vom Ansatz her falsch. Das BAföG ist ein besonderer Teil des Sozialgesetzbuches. Und dieses sagt:Die Vorschriften dieses Gesetzbuchs gelten für alle Personen, die ihren Wohnsitz oder gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt in seinem Geltungsbereich haben. (§ 30 Abs. 1 SGB I).Das wurde in § 8 BAföG umgesetzt. Der Paragraph

At least half a million people in Europe are stateless. The true number of those affected is undoubtedly much higher due to a lack of reliable data. Stateless people are denied fundamental rights that many of us take for granted: to go to school, to work, to marry, to register the birth of a child, to ‘legally exist’. But statelessness is preventable.Together with the European Network in Statelessness and the Robert Bosch Foundation we are co-hosting the event  and panel discussion: Building alliances of changemakers: Working alongside stateless communities to end statelessness in Europe The event will address statelessness in Europe and focus on how organisations and changemakers can build inclusive alliances to address the issue across the region.The event will take place on 28th November at Robert Bosch Stiftung, Französische Straße 32, 10117 Berlin (map)10:30 – Registration with coffee11:00 – Main event and discussion13:00 – Networking lunch14:00 – End of eventPlease register onlin

Fill out this survey to collaboratively create a Community Storytelling Policy How do we make sure speaking out about statelessness is safe, accessible and empowering? Have you talked about your experience of being stateless publicly? What was your experience like?Together with the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), we are developing guidelines for best practices around storytelling and interviews. This survey is to better understand your experience of telling your story, or doing 'storytelling'. We are interested in examples of both good and harmful practices that you have experienced.Your input will shape good practice guidelines and collaborative working models, helping to ensure that stateless voices are genuinely represented and that stateless people are treated with respect and dignity when sharing their stories. Füll diese Umfrage aus, um eine gemeinsame Community Storytelling Policy zu gestalten Wie können wir sicherstellen, dass das Sprechen über Staatenlosigkeit sicher,

Joint Statement by the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati), European Network on Statelessness, and Statefree on why statelessness cannot be ignored in the violence in Gaza and Israel We issue this statement as three civil society actors working with people affected by statelessness in the region and in Europe.First and foremost, we want to express our solidarity with everyone impacted, particularly those with family or friends directly affected by the appalling developments on the ground. We have been deeply saddened by the recent and ongoing violence in Gaza and Israel. We reiterate calls for an immediate ceasefire, lifting of the blockade of Gaza, and for all actors to respect international law to avert further loss of civilian life and humanitarian catastrophe. As is often the case, civilians are bearing the brunt of this violence. It is imperative to urgently end the present violations of human rights. Collective punishment of civilians can never be tolerated. At such moments of e

Dear Community,We want to warmly invite you to our Statefree Community Meeting on the 11. & 12. November in Berlin. ✨Statefree has a lot planned for 2024, with a strong focus on recognition – in all its forms: societal, legal, political. For this we are developing projects like a media campaign and an action research to develop solutions for the recognition of statelessness. At the centre of this is the community: you.​👉🏼 Do you want to be part of envisioning how these projects should take shape?👉🏼 Do you have lived experience of statelessness and want to get involved in the Statefree Community? ​The weekend will be a space to connect with other stateless people, to envision change and experiment with possible solutions.If you want to join us and participate, pease sign up by sending an email until the 12th of October to margarida@statefree.world. Please include 2 sentences why you would like to join and from where you will be travelling to Berlin. Statefree is covering the cos

English version belowWie kommen wir von XXX nach XXA? Wir wissen es noch nicht, aber gemeinsam wollen wir es herausfinden  Bewirb dich bis zum 10. September hier 👈Liebe Community,Wir haben tolle Neuigkeiten, die wir mit euch teilen möchten! Statefree startet im Oktober ein partizipatives Forschungsprojekt, um Lösungen für die Anerkennung von Staatenlosigkeit zu entwickeln. Wir werden uns mit den folgenden Fragen beschäftigen: Was sind die aktuellen Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten bei der Identifizierung und Feststellung von Staatenlosigkeit in Deutschland und anderen EU-Ländern? Wie könnte ein faires, wirksames und digitales Verfahren zur Feststellung von Staatenlosigkeit in Deutschland aussehen? Warum? 💡Ein zentrales Problem in Deutschland ist, dass viele Staatenlose Schwierigkeiten haben, ihre Staatenlosigkeit von den Behörden anerkennen zu lassen. Das liegt daran, dass es kein Verfahren zur Feststellung der Staatenlosigkeit gibt. Dadurch gibt es mehr als 97.000 Menschen in Deu

[Deutsch]  Heute wurde im Kabinett der aktuelle Entwurf verabschiedet. Obwohl es in der Verbändebeteiligung vom BMI hieß, man möchte sicherstellen, dass vor allem vulnerable Gruppen berücksichtigt werden, ist im neuen Entwurf kein Wort zu Staatenlosigkeit. Unser Statement zum finalen Gesetzesentwurf des Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz: Sollte es bei diesem Entwurf bleiben, wird Staatenlosigkeit in Deutschland weiter steigen, und  die gleichberechtigte Einbürgerung für staatenlose Personen unmöglich gemacht. Noch ist das Gesetz nicht vollständig beschlossen, aber viel Zeit für Veränderung bleibt nicht mehr. Im nächsten Schritt erfolgt das parlamentarische Verfahren. Hier wird das Gesetz Innerhalb von drei Lesungen im Bundestag diskutiert - und potentiell verbessert - werden.  Wir arbeiten dementsprechend weiter daran unsere Forderungen und ihre Notwendigkeit and die Regierung zu kommunizieren und werden im laufenden Prozess regelmäßig Updates zum Gesetzgebungsverfahren teilen._______________

[German version below]The evening of the 22nd of June showed that political participation can take many different forms besides the right to vote.At our very first Statefree Dinner we had the honor of bringing together members of our Statefree community and politicians from the German Bundestag for the first time. The goals of the evening were to openly discuss the future of statelessness in Germany and, most importantly, to finally close the gap between those who have lived expertise with statelessness and those who have the political power to create positive change.In a relaxed atmosphere and in a group of 16 people, Statefree Community members and Members of German Bundestag from the SPD, GRÜNE and LINKE as well as their office staff were able to discuss the following questions:What has to happen in Germany in order for stateless people to be part of society? How do we ensure that law not only remains law and theory but also changes something in the real life of those affected? Thro

We went to Madrid - and all we got was … so much! New food for thought and insight on statelessness, so many new allies, synergies and friends working on statelessness and so much new inspiration 💛The European Network on Statelessness and everyone involved outdid themselves with the organization of this year’s conference “Addressing Statelessness in Europe”, which took place in Madrid on 8th and 9th of June 2023. Invited were over 200 participants from 34 countries - (almost) all working on statelessness.Stateless changemakers, NGOs, lawyers, academics and European as well as national government representatives spent two days focussing only on statelessness - a topic so often overlooked. Statefree feels honoured to be part of this great network and getting to meet all these brilliant people dedicating their time to this important human rights issue. Besides the conference being incredibly inspiring and informative, it was packed with real experts on the topic, which allowed for discus

Dear Community, dear Friends, dear Allies,  We are proud and happy to inform you about the submission of our comment on the reform of the German Nationality Act to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.The submission of this statement and the related involvement in the legislative process represents an important milestone for Statefree's work which allows us to stand up for equal rights for stateless people.We would like to thank all our partner organisations as well as individual supporters for supporting us through this journey with their expertise and valuable input. Many thanks also to the Robert Bosch Foundation, JoinPolitics and Echoing Green for enabling Statefree to engage in this important work. AND - special thanks to our Statefree Community members and stateless experts who were engaged in the process of developing these demands. The quality of this submission would not be the same without your input 🖤! In our submitted comment we incorporated the following four core demands