Children's asylum process
Contents
Young Asylum Guide and other resources
The Young Asylum Guide by Right to Remain provides an overview of the UK asylum process for young people. It covers key stages, from claiming asylum to welfare interviews, with illustrations by young asylum seekers. Explore specific stages by clicking on them.
The Child-Friendly Welcome leaflet by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) offers essential information for young migrants and asylum seekers.
The Home Office also publishes guidance for its own staff about children’s asylum claims on the Processing children’s asylum claims: caseworker guidance website.
Sorted and supported
Coram Voice’s Sorted and Supported is a comprehensive guide for care leavers in the UK. It explains your rights and entitlements as you transition to adulthood after leaving care. The guide covers various topics, including advocacy, access to records, and support for care leavers with disabilities. If you ever find the information confusing, don’t hesitate to contact Coram Voice’s helpline on 0808 800 5792 or visit their website for independent advice. Becoming a young adult can be challenging, but seeking help is a sign of strength. You can find more details in the guide itself or explore additional resources.
Right to Remain toolkit
The Right to Remain toolkit is a comprehensive guide to the UK immigration and asylum system. It gives an overview of the legal system, rights, and actions to take to support an individual. The toolkit is available in a range of languages. It includes flow charts of the asylum process at different stages including appeals, judicial reviews, and fresh claims.
Legal Aid and immigration advice
If you’re seeking asylum in the UK, it is very important to get help from an immigration advisor to support you with your application. You can get legal aid (Legal aid: Overview – GOV.UK) for your asylum applications if you:
- have been separated from your parents.
- aren’t being cared for by someone with parental responsibility for you.
If you are in the care of a council, your social worker should help find an immigration advisor for you.
They can find advisors who give immigration advice by searching on the UK Government Find an immigration adviser webpage.
Young people at Brighter Futures — Praxis for Migrants and Refugees, a youth group in London, have produced a short film called Know Your Rights which is about immigration advice and what a good and bad solicitor looks like.
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) which has expertise in lone children’s asylum claims in England, have been issuing regular briefings and leaflets as the legal landscape has been changing. These include the following:
- A briefing on children’s asylum streamlining process.
- Information leaflets on
- Preliminary Information Meetings (PIMs), aimed at young people and appropriate adults: Children’s Asylum Streamlining – Information.
- The Why Are We Waiting? leaflet for young people who are waiting for a legal representative (this leaflet is at the bottom of the page).
Asylum process map
Refugee Council and partners in Kent have produced a colour-coded map called the Separated-children-asylum-process-journey-map-January-2024.pdf This helps newly arrived separated children and care leavers that have made a claim for asylum in the UK. It explains the asylum process and people’s rights and responsibilities as looked after children and care leavers in England.