Seeking Support a Guide to the Rights and Entitlements of Separated Children

Seeking Support a guide to the rights and entitlements of separated children Fifth Edition 2017 Acknowledgements Our thanks go to all those at the Coram Children’s Legal Centre who have been involved in producing the fifth edition of this guide, including Anita Hurrell, Alison East, Rosalind Compton, Jane Barrett and Jessica Evans. Special thanks go to Marianne Lagrue, for her administration and input into the 5th edition, as well as her unlimited patience in the face of constant drafts and legal jargon. We would also like to express our gratitude to the professionals who provided legal checking and comments on all chapters - Jennifer Ang (MiCLU); Alison East, Sophie Freeman and Michelle Elcombe (Coram Children’s Legal Centre); Alison Harvey and Zoe Harper (ILPA); Shu Shin Luh (Garden Court Chambers); Deirdre Sheahan (Paragon Law); Kate Aubrey Johnson (Just for Kids Law); Nadine Finch (University of Bristol); Judith Farbey QC (Doughty Street Chambers); Asma Nizami (1 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers); and Judith Dennis (Refugee Council). Our thanks also go to the writers of the previous editions - Elli Free (first and second editions) and Kamena Dorling (third and fourth editions), as well as to Stephen Jones for layout and typesetting. The production of this guide, and the work of the Migrant Children’s Project in general, would not be possible without the continued support from our funders to whom we are extremely grateful. Authors Kamena Dorling, Stewart MacLachlan & Frances Trevena ISBN: 978-0-9957805-0-7 contents what is this guide about? 2 education 71 introduction 3 how can you help? 78 types of immigration status 4 work and training 80 asylum process 7 how can you help? 83 how can you help? 16 healthcare 85 tips on accompanying a young person to a how can you help? 90 meeting or interview 18 travelling overseas 93 immigration routes 20 trafficking 96 how can you help? 25 how can you help? 104 citizenship 28 criminal justice 106 legal representation 34 how can you help? 109 how can you help? 40 return 111 children’s services support 42 how can you help? 114 how can you help? 49 support for young people turning 18 51 glossary 116 how can you help? 55 further reading 126 private fostering 57 contact details 132 how can you help? 60 age disputes 61 TABLES how can you help? 69 1 - The asylum process 8 2 - Categories of ‘looked after’ children 46 3 - Flowchart of National Referral Mechanism 99 List of abbreviations ARC Application Registration Card ILR Indefinite leave to remain ARE Appeal rights exhausted IRO Independent reviewing officer AVR Assisted voluntary return JR Judicial Review BRP Biometric residence permit LAC Looked after child CAMHS Child and adolescent mental health services LASPO Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of CCG Clinical commissioning group Offenders Act 2012 CPS Crown Prosecution Service LGO Local government ombudsman CTD Convention travel document LOTR Leave outside the rules CLR Controlled legal representation NHS National Health Service DL Discretionary leave NINO National Insurance number DWP The Department for Work and Pensions NRM National Referral Mechanism ECF Exceptional case funding OISC Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner ECAT Council of Europe Convention on Action against SEF Statement of evidence form Trafficking in Human Beings SEN Special educational needs ECHR European Convention on Human Rights SRA Solicitors’ Regulation Authority ECS Employer checking service UASC Unaccompanied asylum-seeking child EEA European Economic Area UKVI UK Visas and Immigration ESOL English for speakers of other languages UN United Nations FGM Female genital mutilation UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights GP General Practitioner of the Child HMCTS Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs JANUARY 2017 1 what is this guide about? This guide is about the rights and entitlements of separated This guide is aimed at professionals working with separated children in England. It aims to provide guidance to children and young people, including: professionals on how to support children and young people • teachers and other professionals working in schools in accessing those entitlements. Separated children are and colleges children under 18 years of age who are outside their country of origin and separated from both parents or their legal or • social workers customary primary care-giver (definition from UNHCR and • career advisers Save the Children Separated Children in Europe Programme, • youth workers Statement of Good Practice). The majority of separated children come to the UK on their own, but in some cases • mentors they may be accompanied by an adult who is not their parent • voluntary agency and refugee community or legal or customary carer. Some children also become organisation staff separated in the UK after the breakdown of informal foster • foster carers arrangements or through care proceedings. In all cases, separated children are, by definition, children who have been • residential and hostel workers deprived of their family environment. • health workers – including outreach health workers and mental health professionals Separated children can include the following groups: • Children who have been trafficked This guide does not cover the rights and entitlements of children who are accompanied by an adult who is their parent • Children who are seeking asylum in their own right or legal or customary care-giver. These children’s rights and • Children who become separated from their parents entitlements often differ from those of separated children - for or primary caregiver in transit example, support from social services under the Children Act • Children who are being privately fostered 1989 is more limited. However, accompanied children have equal rights to an assessment of need and, with this in mind, • Children who have been orphaned any concerns or difficulties around support, healthcare and • Children who are seeking relief from poverty, education and should be referred to the local authority or deprivation and hardship relevant agency. • Children who are taken into care and become The fifth edition of this guide has been comprehensively looked-after and accommodated. updated and expanded from the first, second, third and In this guide, immigration status is only included when fourth editions published in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2012 the type of status, for example refugee, asylum seeker respectively. or undocumented migrant, affects a right or entitlement; otherwise references are to separated children and/or young How to use this guide people. Please note also that much of the terminology used in this In the UK, separated children who have applied for asylum guide is explained in the glossary. are commonly referred to as ‘unaccompanied asylum-seeking children’ (UASC) and this term will often be used in the National contact details of agencies that can support guide when specifically discussing government policy and separated children are provided at the end of the guide. legislation relating to these children. The term ‘separated As legislation and policy are subject to frequent change, children’ includes unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. readers are advised to refer to the online version of this guide, This guide specifically covers the rights and entitlements which will be updated regularly. The online version is available of separated children and young people in England. As at www.coramchildrenslegalcentre.com/seekingsupport. immigration and asylum policy is non-devolved, the law Please check www.coramchildrenslegalcentre.com to see if described in this guide is also applicable in Scotland, Wales there have been any changes in law and policy. If you and Northern Ireland. However, the provision of support would like to be notified of updates, please sign up to the services to separated children (including social services, Migrant Children’s Project newsletter at health, education and housing) is devolved, and therefore www.coramchildrenslegalcentre.com/newsletter. different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 2 JANUARY 2017 introduction The exact number of separated migrant children in the UK No matter what their personal circumstances are, separated is unknown. There are statistics available for a specific group children have little control over many areas of their lives. of separated children – unaccompanied asylum-seeking Regardless of their status, these children are often very children – but these provide the number of asylum claims in vulnerable and in need of support. a year, rather than the total number of UASCs currently living in the UK. In 2015 there were 3043 asylum applications by There is a statutory duty upon agencies, including local unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This was higher authorities and the Home Office, to safeguard and promote 2 than 2014 (1945) but lower than the peak, in 2008, of 4285. the welfare of all children, yet access to support and care is often determined by a child’s immigration status. But what of those children who have not sought asylum? By law, separated migrant children in England have the There are many circumstances under which separated same entitlements as citizen children, including the right to children could be subject to immigration control. Some education and the rights enshrined in the Children Act 1989 separated children may have been trafficked for purposes of and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, but they are not sexual or labour exploitation, or for benefit fraud, while others always able to access the services that they need. may be taken into care following abandonment or neglect. There are at present no reliable means of counting them. One of the most important actions is regularising status for One report has estimated that there are around 120,000 separated children and dealing with immigration issues undocumented children in the UK,1 but this estimate includes upfront. This is relevant whether the child is claiming asylum, children who are not separated (for example living with their taken into care or abandoned.

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