Asylum Process
Guidance and Policy
Coram Seeking Support Guide
Coram’s Seeking Support guide is a practical guide for professionals dealing with unaccompanied and separated young people, covering a wide variety of topics related to unaccompanied children.
Safeguarding UAS Children
The Department for Education (DfE) has produced guidance on the government’s strategy to safeguard and promote the welfare of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children.
Home Office EU Settlement Guidance for Looked-After Children and Care Leavers
The Home Office has created EU Settlement guidance for looked-after children and care leavers in the UK.
Home Office Temporary Changes to the Streamlined Asylum Processing for Children
The Home Office has updated guidance on the re-instated temporary changes to streamline children’s asylum processing.
Resources
There are lots of free online resources available to help separated migrant children, and those supporting them, understand the asylum process in the UK.
Refugee Council: Asylum Process Map
The asylum process map is colour-coded and designed to help newly arrived separated children and care leavers who 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. It was produced by the Refugee Council and partners in Kent. You can ask for hard copies to be sent to you by post.
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.
Know Your Rights
Migrants’ Right Network have complied a comprehensive guide to migrants’ rights which explains laws and regulations for migrants living in the UK, including asylum seekers and those without status.
Young Asylum Guide
The Young Asylum Guide is an interactive guide explaining the different stages of the asylum process for children, from welfare interviews to submitting appeals. There are examples and ‘problems solved’ on each step.
Legal Aid and Immigration Advice
CORAM Children’s Legal Centre provides Guidance on Legal Aid for Unaccompanied and Separated Children on immigration and nationality cases. This form of legal aid will also cover children in the care system who might be struggling to get through the EU Settlement Scheme due to the complexity of their situation.
Know Your Rights is a short film made by young people in London from a youth group called Brighter Futures about immigration advice and what a good and bad solicitor looks like.
The National Transfer Scheme (NTS)
The National Transfer Scheme for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children is a UK Government scheme to enable the planned transfer of an unaccompanied asylum seeking child from one local authority to another local authority in the United Kingdom. The NTS was launched in July 2016, and became mandatory for all local authorities in November 2021.
About the NTS
The NTS protocol for UASC has been created to enable the safe transfer of unaccompanied children in the UK from one local authority (the entry authority from which the unaccompanied child transfers) to another local authority (the receiving authority). The care responsibilities is shared by the local authorities across the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Local authorities should aim to safely transfer the child from the entry authority within 10 working days.
Only unaccompanied children that meet the definition of a UASC, as set out in paragraph 352ZD of the Immigration Rules, are eligible to be referred to the NTS.
The Home Office provides guidance and information on the new NTS protocol, which includes frequently asked questions. This is linked in the button below.
Video Resources
Asylum Process Film
‘We are tired. We are tired of waiting, tired of not understanding, tired of feeling alone. Nothing is certain, we can’t plan our futures.‘
Asylum: a #SurvivingtoThriving UpRising film is a short film made by young people in Birmingham as part of the Surviving to Thriving Project about their experiences of the asylum process.
Waiting for Refugee Status
‘I wish had had somebody to talk to and tell me what is happening.’
Waiting for Refugee Status: a #SurvivingtoThriving UpRising film is a short film made by young people in Cambridge as part of the Surviving to Thriving Project. They talk about their experience of waiting for their refugee status and the impact this has had on them.
