Determining legal identity is a crucial element within the context of various migration procedures, including visa and residence permit applications, regularization measures, and other regular migration channels. For migrants, legal identity is also an important condition for access to rights and services. Especially for those without resident status in their host country, specific processes of establishing legal identity and providing proof of such are not regulated internationally. The entire human rights law framework warrants, for example, the respect of the right to privacy, not to be subjected to torture or any cruel or inhumane treatment, the prohibition of discrimination, and the right to liberty – to name just a few. There is, however, a lack of international guidance regarding practical ways to establish legal identity for migrants where proof of legal identity is lacking. The proposed project therefore aims to conduct participatory field research in pilot countries in order to collect and promote good practices of how states determine legal identity of foreign nationals without proof of identity. Based on the participatory field research, the project will formulate an innovative gender-sensitive global guidance in the form of a compendium which would guide Member States in establishing legal identity to uphold the rights of migrants and of their children, without putting them at risk. The proposed project will also develop a comprehensive online knowledge platform focusing on legal identity and migration which would be the first of its kind and serve as a global resource and interactive platform for international dialogue for Member States in facilitating access to legal identity for migrants on their territories.