44 Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned that this evidence was not enough and did not completed and signed application form, photos amount to a fresh claim. Recently, the Red Cross and travel tickets provided by the Home Office. contacted the Ethiopian embassy to request In addition, in the absence of documentation, written confirmation that Joshua had visited he must provide two witness declarations from it. Eight months later, no response has been Algerian nationals, registered at the consulate in received. London, testifying that he is an Algerian national. Samir does not know any Algerian nationals, so it Joshua has made several attempts to apply for has not been possible for him to find a witness to assisted voluntary return (AVR). However, his confirm his Algerian nationality. The Red Cross has return has not been possible. Most recently, he tried to assist him with finding witnesses, but none contacted the Home Office Voluntary Departure of these enquiries has been successful. team, who say they are trying to facilitate his return. On the advice of his solicitor, in 2015, Samir submitted further evidence for his asylum claim Joshua is desperate to find a solution to his long- based on statelessness. However, this evidence term life in limbo and is willing to return to Ethiopia was not considered since he was told that he had or Tanzania. He currently cannot be returned to not followed the correct format. He should have either country. been advised to make a Stateless application. Qareen’s story Samir is now seeking advice on making a Stateless application, but there is no legal aid to Qareen is 44 years old and comes from Palestine. do this. Samir is trapped in the UK and simply He has no documents to prove his nationality. wants to leave. Samir’s story Violet’s story Samir is 36 years old and comes from Algeria. His Violet is 49 years old; she is from Zimbabwe and parents died when he was a child. Samir moved came to the UK nearly 13 years ago. She has to Belgium when he was 14 years old and ended no identity documents and is therefore unable up in a children’s home. He ran away from the to obtain a Zimbabwean passport. Violet has home, but continued living in Belgium for 17 years applied for leave to remain in the UK based on before coming to the UK five years ago. Samir statelessness, despite having no access to legal has no passport or ID from Algeria or Belgium. For aid. Her family had to scrape together the money over three years, Samir has been trying to leave to help her fund a solicitor in order to apply. She is the UK. He applied for AVR twice. Both of these awaiting the outcome of this application. applications expired since he was unable to get a travel document from the Algerian consulate within Zareb’s story the three-month validity of the application. The Home Office refused to grant him an extension of Zareb is 29 years old and was born in Darfur, time to do this. Sudan. He came to the UK with his birth certificate and both of his parents’ passports. However, Samir has been to the Algerian consulate five these documents have been confiscated by times to try to apply for a travel document to the Home Office as they are believed to be return to Algeria. Samir has completed the travel counterfeit. The embassy does not believe Zareb document application and, on one occasion, to originate from Sudan. Zareb is now without his the Red Cross arranged for a volunteer from documents, so he cannot take them to an expert a local organisation to accompany him. She for independent verification. He cannot establish provided photos and a written statement of the his nationality with the Sudanese embassy or even visit. However, the Algerian consulate will still not begin enquiries to obtain a travel document to cooperate because Samir has no ID. They advised allow him to return home. that he should return to the consulate with a