Glossary

Identity and travel certificate created on the initiative of Fridtjof Nansen at the Intergovernmental Conference of July 1922 in Geneva, and initially intended for Russian stateless persons and refugees. In 1924 it was extended to Armenians and in 1928 to Assyro-Chaldeans. In 1924, 38 States including France adopted this document. The passport was written in French and the language of the refugee's country of origin; the same solution was adopted in the other host countries. Its definitive status was established by the Geneva Convention of 28 October 1933. Its use ceased officially after World War II, but it continued to be referred to in everyday administrative exchanges. It was replaced by the Travel Document (Titre de voyage).

The 1954 New York Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons is the text of international law which defines what a stateless person is and sets out the obligations of the States Parties in its regard. The whole of this document is available for consultation in the "Textes" section of this website.

When an asylum seeker does not avail of a nationality, his/her application is considered in light of his/her normal country of residence. The normal country of residence is generally the country in which the applicant was born and has always lived, or the country where s/he has family or professional ties.

Action which involves informing a person about an action or a judgment. Appeal time-limits often start to run from the date on which a decision is notified. Ofpra decisions are notified by registered post with recorded delivery, and mention the appeal options and time-limits. The notification date is the date on which the asylum seeker signs the delivery slip, or the date on which the postal services return to deliver the letter if the asylum seeker was not available the first time.