UNHCR

Sergio Chekaloff is a stateless person, a man without nationality. Born in 1946 in Germany, his mother was German and his father Russian, but after World War II they moved to Argentina. Sergio grew up there without being considered a citizen of Argentina or any other country. Years later, trying to travel to Spain to visit his family, he realized his legal situation and began a bureaucratic struggle to obtain the nationality of some country. After many years of struggle and thanks to UNHCR’s #IBelong campaign, Spain finally recognized him as stateless in 2019. Now, at 74, Sergio can lead a normal life and fulfill some of his dreams, such as traveling to Armenia and Germany.