See also Safeguarding Children who may have been Trafficked Procedure
Large numbers of children arrive into this country from overseas every day. Many of these children do so legally in the care of their parents and do not raise any concerns for statutory agencies. However, recent evidence indicates that many children are arriving into the UK
Evidence shows that unaccompanied children or those accompanied by someone who is not their parent are particularly vulnerable. As a minimum, the child should have in place:
The children and many of their carers will need assistance to ensure that the child receives adequate care and accesses health and education services.
A small number of these children may be exposed to the additional risk of commercial, sexual or domestic exploitation.
Immigration legislation impacts significantly on work under the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people from abroad. This guidance refers to the current legal framework but it is important to note that regulations and legislation in this area of work are complex and subject to constant change through legal challenge. The guidance intends only to reflect broadly the additional issues faced by families operating also within the context of immigration law. All practitioners need to be aware of this context to their contact with such families. Legal advice on individual cases will usually be required by Children’s Social Care Services.
The purpose of this guidance is to assist staff in all agencies to:
As with any guidance, it is not intended to provide the answer to all situations. No practitioner or agency holds all of the knowledge; the groups of children and families change and our knowledge of specific issues is developing.
There are some key principles underpinning practice within all agencies in relation to unaccompanied children from abroad or those accompanied by someone who does not hold Parental Responsibility. These are:
See also Appendix 1 for information about Legal Status
Children who arrive in the UK alone or who are left at a port of entry by an agent invariably have no right of entry and are unlawfully present. They are likely to be in a position to claim asylum and this should be arranged as soon as possible if appropriate. They are the responsibility of the Children’s Social Care Services to support until they are 18 years of age, under section 17 or section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
If their asylum claim is not resolved before they reach 18 years old, support after the age of 18 years is generally provided by the National Asylum Support Services (NASS) and jointly with Adults’ Social Work Services where appropriate.
Children who arrive in the UK with or to be with carers without Parental Responsibility may have leave to enter the country or visas or may be in the UK unlawfully. Children’s Social Care Services may have responsibilities towards them as they may be Privately Fostered. If close relatives care for the child, Private Fostering Regulations will not apply. If the child is assessed to be a Child in Need, support can be provided by the Children’s Social Care Services for the child, and for the family, if this is not excluded by section 54 of the National Immigration Act 2002 (see Appendix 1).
Some children who arrive in the UK with their parents belong to families of European Economic Area States or European Union nationals migrating into the UK. Such families cannot be supported by Children’s Social Care Services except for the provision of return travel (and associated accommodation). If such families decide to stay and seek further help, Children’s Social Care Services still have responsibilities towards any child who is a Child in need, including providing accommodation for the child alone. Department of Works and Pensions practice is to declare such families ordinarily resident after 3 months and to pay benefits.
Housing Department practice is to consider housing after 6 months. Children’s Social Care Services remains in the position that services may only be provided directly to the child alone – see Appendix 1.
Whenever any professional comes across a child who they believe has recently moved into this country, the following basic information should be sought:
This should be done in a way which is as unthreatening to the child and carer as possible.
If this information indicates that the child has come from overseas and is being cared for by an unrelated adult or one whose relationship is uncertain, Children’s Social Care Services should be notified in order that an assessment can be undertaken.
The immigration status of a child and his/her family has implications for the statutory responsibilities towards the family. It governs what help, if any, can be provided to the family and how help can be offered to the child.
Where families are subject to immigration legislation which precludes support to the family (see Appendix 1), many will disappear into the community and wait until benefits can be awarded to them. During this interim period the children may suffer particular hardship – e.g. live in overcrowded and unsuitable conditions and with no access to health or educational services. They are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because of their circumstances.
Children who disappear where there are concerns about the child's welfare should be considered to be missing and agencies should notify the Police and Immigration and Nationality Department – see also Missing Children and Families Procedures.
Age is central to the assessment and affects the child’s rights to services and the response by agencies. In addition it is important to establish age so that services are age appropriate and developmentally appropriate.
Citizens of EU countries will have a passport or ID card (usually both). Unaccompanied children very rarely have possession of any documents to confirm their identity or even to substantiate that they are a child. Their physical appearance may not necessarily reflect their age.
The assessment of age is a complex task, which often relies on professional judgement and discretion. The advice of a paediatrician with experience in considering age may be needed to assist in this, in the context of a holistic assessment. Such an assessment may be compounded by issues of disability. Moreover, many societies do not place a high level of importance upon age and it may also be calculated in different ways. Some young people may genuinely not know their age and this can be misread as lack of co-operation. Levels of competence in some areas or tasks may exceed or fall short of our expectations of a child of the same age in this country.
The Children Act 1989 is built around the concept of Parental Responsibility. This legal framework provides the starting point for considering who has established rights, responsibilities and duties towards a child.
In some cultures, bringing up children is a shared responsibility between relatives and members of the community. Adults may bring to this country children for whom they have cared for most of their lives, but who may be unrelated or distantly related.
An adult whose own immigration status is unresolved cannot apply for a Residence Order or Special Guardianship Order to secure a child for whom he/she is caring.
Children whose parents’ whereabouts are not known have no access to their parents for consent when making important choices about their life.
Children who do not have someone with Parental Responsibility caring for them can still attend school, and schools should be pragmatic in allowing the carer to make most decisions normally made by the parent.
Such children are entitled to health care and have a right to be registered with a GP. If there are difficulties in accessing a GP, the local Patient’s Services should be contacted to assist.
Emergency life-saving treatment should be given if required. However, should the child need medical treatment such as surgery or invasive treatment in a non life-threatening situation, the need for consent will become an issue and legal advice will be required.
Children’s Social Care Services have statutory duties where the child is Privately Fostered - see also Children Living Away From Home Procedure.
Carers/parents are not eligible to claim benefits for their child unless they have both been granted some form of “leave to remain” in this country by the Home Office.
Seeking information from abroad should be a routine part of assessing the situation of an unaccompanied child. Professionals from all key agencies – Health, Education, Children’s Social Care Services and the Police – should all be prepared to request information from their equivalent agencies in the country or countries in which a child has lived, in order to gain as full as possible a picture of the child’s preceding circumstances.
It is worth noting that agencies abroad tend to respond quicker to email requests/faxed requests than by letter. Similarly, the Internet may provide a quick source of information to locate appropriate services abroad.
Any unaccompanied child or child accompanied by someone who does not have Parental Responsibility should receive an Initial Assessment in order to determine whether they are a Child in Need of services, including the need for protection.
Such children should be assessed as a matter of urgency as they may be geographically mobile and their vulnerabilities may be great. All agencies should enable the child to be quickly linked into universal services, which can begin to address educational and health needs.
The assessment of children from abroad can be challenging. It is helpful to use the Assessment Framework, provided that it is recognised that the assessment has to address not only the barriers which arise from cultural, linguistic and religious differences, but also the particular sensitivities which come from the experiences of many such children and families.
The needs of the child have to be considered, based on an account given by the child or family about a situation, which the professional has neither witnessed nor experienced. In addition, it is often presented in a language and about a culture and way of life with which the professional is totally unfamiliar or has only basic knowledge.
It is vital that the services of an interpreter are employed in the child’s first language and that care is taken to ensure that the interpreter knows the correct dialect. Agencies should ensure that the interpreter shares more than a common language, is professionally trained and is knowledgeable wherever possible about the traditions, politics and history of the area from which the child has arrived. They may be able to advise on issues like the interpretation of body language and emotional expression.
The first contact with the child and carers is crucial to the engagement with the family and the promotion of trust which underpins the future support, advice and services. Particular sensitivities which may be present include:
In such circumstances, reluctance to divulge information, fear, confusion or memory loss can easily be mistaken for lack of cooperation, deliberate withholding of information or untruthfulness.
The first task of the initial contact is therefore engagement. Open questions are most helpful, with a clear emphasis on reassurance and simple explanations of the role and reasons for assessment. If the engagement with the family is good, there are more likely to be opportunities to expand on the initial contact, as trust is established.
Within the first contact with the child and carer(s), it is however also vital not to presume that the child’s views are the same as the carer’s, or that the views and needs of each child are the same. Seeing each child alone is crucial, particularly to check out the stated relationships with the person accompanying them. (Someone allegedly from the same place of origin should have a similar knowledge of the place, for example). Clearly the professional is going to be seen as ‘in power’ and as such, a child may believe that they must “get it right” when they may not wholly understand the system or even the question.
Professionals should ensure that the engagement with the family is planned and thought through. This will provide opportunities to expand on the initial contact. The ethnicity, culture, customs and identity of this child must be a focus whilst keeping this child central to the assessment. The pace of the interviewing of a child should aim to be at the pace appropriate to the child, although the need to ensure that the child is safe may become paramount in some circumstances.
Things to bear in mind include:
Things to bear in mind include:
The importance of economic and social hardship is apparent. In addition there may be issues such as:
Where assessment indicates that a child may be in need of protection and child protection procedures apply, additional factors need to be taken into account. These include such things as:
The legal status of a child/family may be apparent from the documentation which the family carries.
An unaccompanied child (under 18) with an asylum claim has no access to public funds. However, the provisions of the Children Act 1989 will still apply. At least three weeks prior to reaching 18 the young person should be referred and assisted to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for ongoing support if the asylum claim is still outstanding.
The level of support given by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to a young person who has turned 18 may vary if they continue to live with relatives, e.g. no contribution will be made towards rent.
This is often complicated by duties that exist towards their parent/carers. The local authority has no powers under the Children Act 1989 to support parents or carers. Support, including financial, can only directly benefit the child.
Some children may arrive in the UK to be rejoined with their parents. If their parents have an outstanding asylum claim, the children can be recognised as ‘dependants’ and granted the same status as the principle applicant. Dependants are those who:
If indefinite or exceptional leave to remain (ILR/ELR) or Humanitarian Protection has already been granted to the parent, the child’s application is considered as one for ‘family reunion’ and not as a ‘dependent’. In these circumstances the child must have formed part of the pre-existing family unit abroad.
Children who are dependent on asylum seeking parents may also claim asylum in their own right and their applications are then considered individually, irrespective of the outcome of their parents’ claim. The claims must be registered with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND).
Section 54 is intended to discourage the concept of ‘benefit shopping’ within Europe. It is retrospective and applies to anyone who comes within the categories set out below. This is not dependent on the length of time they have been in the UK.
The Act has the effect of preventing local authorities from providing support under certain provisions, including section 21 of the National Assistance Act and section 17 of the Children Act 1989, to:
Section 55 applies to those who have made or are intending to make an asylum claim in the UK. It prevents NASS from providing asylum support unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the person applied for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable after arrival in the UK. Families with dependent children will, however, receive asylum support even if they did not apply as soon as reasonably practicable.
Section 55 does not apply to unaccompanied minors.
Those who have not yet officially lodged an asylum claim can be offered assistance with accommodation (usually overnight) and travel to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Public Caller Unit (IND) by Children's or Adult Social Care Services in order to register the claim with the Home Office. Families can then access NASS support via Refugee Action once the IND has accepted the claim and provided written confirmation of this.
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