History Main / TheStateless

* In ''Film/RobinsonCrusoeland'', the last Creator/LaurelAndHardy film, Antoine is a stateless refugee aboard a boat and ends up citizen of "Crusoeland", an island found by the boat.

* In ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', Le Chiffre's nationality is given as 'stateless' on the [=MI6=] file Bond is seen reading.
* Count Dracula is welcome nowhere on Earth in ''Film/Dracula2000'', because it's revealed that he's actually [[spoiler:Judas Iscariot]], sentenced to deathlessly WalkingTheEarth, forever hated, hounded and hunted.

* Some self-professed "sovereign citizens" have tried to make themselves stateless, believing that this would let them [[ArtisticLicenseLaw avoid owing taxes]] to whatever country they may live it. Needless to say, tax laws do not work that way and [[IntimidatingRevenueService tax agencies]] do not appreciate anyone trying to renounce their citizenship solely to avoid paying what they owe.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trop_v._Dulles Albert Trop]] was deprived of his nationality in 1944 for deserting while in Morocco; he found this out when his request for a passport was denied. He then appealed and, in ''Trop v. Dulles'', his denaturalization was reversed for being a cruel and unusual punishment. Since the US has the death penalty, this means the official position of SCOTUS is that statelessness is a FateWorseThanDeath. The later ''Afroyim v. Rusk'' decision basically made it impossible for someone to lose US citizenship involuntarily for just about any reason (that case involved a naturalized citizen voting in an Israeli election).

** Strict application of ''jus soli'' (right by soil -- you get citizenship by being born in that country; this rule is predominantly in the Americas) or ''jus sanguinis'' (right by blood - -you get citizenship at birth if your parents were) can help too -- depending on a country's exact rules, gaps in coverage may form.

** Strict application of ''jus soli'' (right by soil - you get citizenship by being born in that country - this rule is predominantly in the Americas) or ''jus sanguinis'' (right by blood - you get citizenship at birth if your parents were) can help too - depending on a country's exact rules, gaps in coverage may form.

* In 1945, the Formosans and [[UsefulNotes/KoreansInJapan Koreans]] residing in Japan were stripped of their Japanese nationality with the intent to give them the nationalities of their new countries. At the time of Japan's surrender, there were about 2.4 million Koreans living in Japan. Within a year most had left to return to (South) Korea, but issues rose [[UsefulNotes/KoreanWar when the Korean peninsula was divided]] - those still living in Japan had to choose between whether to affiliate with the pro-South Mindan or pro-North Chongryon. As Japan only recognizes the Republic of Korea in the South, those who had chosen to align with the North are effectively stateless since 2010 due to a South Korean court ruling them not to be citizens of the Republic of Korea.
* UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was stateless from 1926 - when he renounced his Austrian nationality - to 1932, when he got the German one.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehran_Karimi_Nasseri Mehran Karimi Nasseri]] became effectively stateless in 1988 when his documents, including his [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Iranian]] passport were stolen at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. He ended up living in the airport for the next 18 years since he could neither legally enter France nor be expelled (without the passport, he could not return to Iran) and was the inspiration for ''Film/TheTerminal''. He later died of a heart attack in 2022 while still at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
* [[LaResistance Free French people]] were de-naturalized by [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy.]]

* In September 2014, the Dominican Supreme Court declared anyone born to illegal immigrants since 1929 didn't legally have Dominican citizenship. The reason given was that being a foreigner "in transit",[[note]]Which disqualified you from giving Dominican citizenship to your children.[[/note]] which was restricted to people who stayed fewer than ten days, was broadened to people without legal permanent residence (see [[http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/4/stateless-in-thedominicanrepublicresidentsstrippedofcitizenship.html here]]), making 210,000 people stateless.

* The approximately 1.5 to 2 million Rohingya people who live in Rakhine State of western [[UsefulNotes/ThatSouthEastAsianCountry Myanmar]] do not have Burmese citizenship. They have been described as the world's least-wanted people group - Myanmar's government considers them foreign migrants from present-day Bangladesh (the views of ethnic Rakhines regarding Rohingya are on average considerably less kind)[[note]]That the Rohingya are Muslim while Rakhines are Buddhist exacerbates the tensions[[/note]] while already-overcrowded Bangladesh[[note]]How overcrowded? Well, the country has roughly the same land area as Wisconsin. As of the latest available estimates, Wisconsin has a bit under 6 million people. Bangladesh? Over ''160 million''. Not to mention that a significant portion of the country's area is subject to flooding either by rivers or storm surges.[[/note]] has accused Myanmar of shoving Rohingya that were originally living in Rakhine State onto them. The situation has gone so bad that some Rohingya have attempted to TakeAThirdOption and leave ''both'' countries in boats towards Southeast Asian countries, many of whom have not signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and as a result do not want to host them either. As a result of the 2017 crackdown by Burmese troops, 75% of the world's Rohingnya today live in UN-sanctioned refugee camps in Bangladesh (who reluctantly hosts them, even though it also didn't sign the refugee convention). However, the world seems to have finally taken notice as Myanmar has been constantly criticized and pressured to take the Rohingya back, although it still refuses to give them citizenship.

* Francis Pegahmegahbow was born in Canada in the Perry Island Band of the Ojibwe people (now Wasauksing First Nation), which meant he was not legally a Canadian citizen at the time. After volunteering for the Canadian Army in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and becoming a decorated sniper--the deadliest of the war, as chronicled in Music/{{Sabaton}}'s song "A Ghost in the Trenches"--he became an activist for indigenous rights and lived to see the First Nations be granted full citizenship.

** Simply being non-registered or being the child of a stateless person.[[note]]The last way is usually a DeadHorseTrope since most states ''automatically'' give citizenship to babies who would be stateless otherwise.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear:'' Lengendary soldier Big Boss became tired of states using and then discarding soldiers, so he worked to create a system where soldiers could live outside of any country's influence. There were several groups formed by Big Boss that follow this ideology, and this eventually lead to the creation of Outer Heaven.

** Children (either by birth or through parents' naturalization) with dual citizenship of two countries that do not allow multiple citizenship. they are excepted until they come of age, when they must choose one citizenship over another. Failure to renounce either, or forgetting to follow through with paperwork proving they have renounced the other citizenship could lead to this.[[note]]However, some countries that don't normally allow dual citizenship do recognize it for people born with two nationalities. A notable example of this is current NBA player Domantas Sabonis, who is a dual Lithuanian–US citizen by birth. He was born in [[UsefulNotes/{{Portland}} Portland, Oregon]] to Lithuanian parents; his father Arvydas, a Hall of Fame player in his own right, was playing for the Trail Blazers at the time.[[/note]]

* In 1935, UsefulNotes/NaziGermany passed the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped all Jewish people living in Germany of their citizenship. Several Jews across Europe, intellectuals, philosophers, scientists and artists, including Hannah Arendt and the Frank family ended up victims of this order. Exiled opponents were also deprived of their German citizenship, future German chancellor Willy Brandt and [[Creator/KurtTucholsky Kurt Tucholsky]] are just two of many examples.

** Children (either by birth or through parents' naturalization) with dual citizenship of two countries that do not allow multiple citizenship. they are excepted until they come of age, when they must choose one citizenship over another. Failure to renounce either, or forgetting to follow through with paperwork proving they have renounced the other citizenship could lead to this.
** Renouncing your nationality without having another one.[[note]]This is [[AvertedTrope impossible]] in most countries, except UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates.[[/note]]

** As of 2015, the [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Australian]] government is discussing cancelling the citizenship of people accused of terrorism.

** Although [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]] law does not allow that an individual is made stateless, female Islamic State member Shamima Begum had her citizenship revoked in 2019 when declaring her desire to return. UsefulNotes/{{Bangladesh}} also made a point that she is ineligible for its citizenship (Bangladesh adopts ''jus sanguinis''. Since Shamima's parents are both Bangladeshi citizens, she was technically eligible for one).

* During UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra, black South Africans were de-naturalized and made "citizens" of Bantustans (the black [[PuppetState puppet states]] set up by the government within UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica, which no other country recognized). This caused great trouble to exiles such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had no valid passport. Arrangements were finally made for them by different governments.

* In ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' the villain flaunts his statelessness, claiming to have lost his memory during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo and calling himself [[GratuitousFrench Le Chiffre]] or any other equivalents in other languages.

Is likely to be a status for SpaceCossacks, or anyone else who is [[TheMigration migrating]] or SettlingTheFrontier. Sometimes it is kind of the point as the reason they went into the wilderness was specifically to get away from the state.

* Mehran Karimi Nasseri became effectively stateless in 1988 when his documents, including his [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Iranian]] passport were stolen at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. He ended up living in the airport for the next 18 years since he could neither legally enter France nor be expelled (without the passport, he could not return to Iran) and was the inspiration for ''Film/TheTerminal''.

This became common with the rise of nationalism and citizenship, where the importance of having papers signified access to property, voting rights, bank accounts and inheritance, all of which wreak havoc on citizens. This became especially common in the 20th century, when wars and revolutions meant your country could no longer exist or a dictatorship could expel you [=and/or=] strip you of your nationality. It's a CyclicalTrope in the media and stories, rising and ebbing with increasing and lowered international tensions, as a result of poor diplomatic relations, sanctions, and wars and revolutions. Since the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar the treaties [[ObviousRulePatch were redacted]] so as to reduce the number of cases where someone could end up without nationality; nevertheless, some might end up stateless by not having their birth registered or if the governments fall outside the purview of the united block from the end of the Cold War.

* [[Franchise/TheWitcher Witcher]] neutrality means that, in theory at least, witchers are not meant to be allied to any particular fiefdom, effectively making them stateless. In practice, however, many witchers adopt home cities to make themselves more marketable and Wolf School witchers could technically be considered Kaedweni. During the second Nilfgaardian invasion, Coen ends up fighting for the Northern Kingdoms at the Battle of Brenna, and during the third invasion, Vesemir expresses a preference for the North.

* One of the defining features of the (purportedly) utopian society of ''Literature/TerraIgnota'' is that it's become possible to be one of these and still live a normal life. In fact, it's the default: people are born stateless, into the protection of the Universal Laws, which apply to all humans everywhere regardless of status, and only when they come of age does it become possible to apply for citizenship to a nation of their choice. And if that nation later makes decisions they disagree with, they can ''renounce'' their citizenship and join another, or go back to none at all.

* One of the defining features of the (purportedly) utopian society of ''Literature/TerraIgnota'' is that it's become possible to be one of these and still live a normal life. In fact, it's the default: people are born into the protection of the Universal Laws, which apply to all humans everywhere regardless of status, and only when they come of age does it become possible to apply for citizenship to a nation. And if that nation later makes decisions they disagree with, they can ''renounce'' their citizenship and join another, or go back to none at all.

* UsefulNotes/ColonelTomParker possibly may have been. He emigrated to the US from UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands illegally at age 19, changing his name from Andreas van Kuijk and inventing a false biography of being from West Virginia. Shortly after arriving in the country, he enlisted in the US Army. Generally, someone who enlists in a foreign country's military is viewed as a forfeiting their citizenship in their birth country. But, for reasons he never explained, Parker refused to pursue American citizenship, despite being qualified via his Army service (though that was complicated by a desertion charge) and marrying a citizen, with an apparently fear of having his true identity exposed. In 1982 Parker tried to invoke his Dutch citizenship to get a lawsuit against him dismissed, but the court ruled that because of the Army service, he was no longer a citizen. However, one [[https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/a-new-light-on-colonel-tom-parker.shtml Elvis researcher]] has asked the Dutch Department of the Interior about this, and they said they'd never received an official notice that he'd served in the US Army, so his citizenship was still on record. Basically, Parker was ''de jure'' a Dutch citizen until his death, but ''de facto'' stateless.

* Music/ElvisPresley's manager Colonel Tom Parker possibly may have been. He emigrated to the US from UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands illegally at age 19, changing his name from Andreas van Kuijk and inventing a false biography of being from West Virginia. Shortly after arriving in the country, he enlisted in the US Army. Generally, someone who enlists in a foreign country's military is viewed as a forfeiting their citizenship in their birth country. But, for reasons he never explained, Parker refused to pursue American citizenship, despite being qualified via his Army service (though that was complicated by a desertion charge) and marrying a citizen, with an apparently fear of having his true identity exposed. In 1982 Parker tried to invoke his Dutch citizenship to get a lawsuit against him dismissed, but the court ruled that because of the Army service, he was no longer a citizen. However, one [[https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/a-new-light-on-colonel-tom-parker.shtml Elvis researcher]] has asked the Dutch Department of the Interior about this, and they said they'd never received an official notice that he'd served in the US Army, so his citizenship was still on record. Basically, Parker was ''de jure'' a Dutch citizen until his death, but ''de facto'' stateless.

* Music/ElvisPresley's manager Colonel Tom Parker possibly may have been. He emigrated to the US illegally at age 19, changing his name from Andreas van Kuijk and inventing a false biography of being from West Virginia. Shortly after arriving in the country, he enlisted in the US Army. Generally, someone who enlists in a foreign country's military is viewed as a forfeiting their citizenship in their birth country. But, for reasons he never explained, Parker refused to pursue American citizenship, despite being qualified via his Army service (though that was complicated by a desertion charge) and marrying a citizen, with an apparently fear of having his true identity exposed. In 1982 Parker tried to invoke his Dutch citizenship to get a lawsuit against him dismissed, but the court ruled that because of the Army service, he was no longer a citizen. However, one [[https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/a-new-light-on-colonel-tom-parker.shtml Elvis researcher]] has asked the Dutch Department of the Interior about this, and they said they'd never received an official notice that he'd served in the US Army, so his citizenship was still on record. Basically, Parker was ''de jure'' a Dutch citizen until his death, but ''de facto'' stateless.

* Since the [[UsefulNotes/{{Palestine}} Palestinian Authority]] is not technically a state, around half of Palestinians are stateless. Those who do have citizenship are mainly citizens of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} (yes, [[RealityIsUnrealistic Palestinian Israelis do exist]], although some of them identify themselves as simply "Arab") or the diasporic community, mainly in UsefulNotes/{{Jordan}} (though even those in the diaspora often don't have citizenship, since the Arab countries where the refugee camps are ultimately want them to go back to Israel/Palestine rather than assimilating them).

* Since the [[UsefulNotes/{{Palestine}} Palestinian Authority]] is not technically a state, around half of Palestinians are stateless. Those who do have citizenship are mainly citizens of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} (yes, [[RealityIsUnrealistic Palestinian Israelis do exist]], although some of them identify themselves as simply "Arab") or the diasporic community, mainly in UsefulNotes/{{Jordan}}.

** Making terrorists, or terrorist suspects, stateless is a huge problem. Closing Guantanamo Bay is such a difficult task because most inmates there do not have citizenship; countries where they originated from have by and large refuse to take them back.

* Music/ElvisPresley's manager Colonel Tom Parker possibly may have been. He emigrated to the US illegally at age 19, changing his name from Andreas van Kuijk and inventing a false biography of being from West Virginia. Shortly after arriving in the country, he enlisted in the US Army. Generally, someone who enlists in a foreign country's military is viewed as a forfeiting their citizenship in their birth country. But, for reasons he never explained, Parker refused to pursue American citizenship, despite being qualified via his Army service and marrying a citizen, with an apparently fear of having his true identity exposed. In 1982 Parker tried to invoke his Dutch citizenship to get a lawsuit against him dismissed, but the court ruled that because of the Army service, he was no longer a citizen. However, one [[https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/a-new-light-on-colonel-tom-parker.shtml Elvis researcher]] has asked the Dutch Department of the Interior about this, and they said they'd never received an official notice that he'd served in the US Army, so his citizenship was still on record. Basically, Parker was ''de jure'' a Dutch citizen until his death, but ''de facto'' stateless.