Education under 16
Can unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) and children of asylum seekers go on school trips abroad?
Children of asylum seekers cannot go on school trips abroad as they don't have any passport or travel documents. When an asylum application is made the UK Border Agency (UKBA) will keep the applicants passport as long as the application or appeal is pending. If a request is made to the UKBA for the return of a passport in order to travel outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) the asylum application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. The withdrawal is considered to take effect as soon as the passport is returned to the applicant. If the asylum seeker travels outside the UK (even if this is within the CTA) without requesting the passport back, the claim will be considered withdrawn as soon as s/he leaves the UK. Where an appeal has been made, the appeal will be considered as abandoned when the appellant leaves the UK.
UASC with discretionary leave to remain or humanitarian protection (DL/HP) or children with refugee status can, in certain circumstances, travel abroad.
A child with DL (granted after an application for asylum has been refused) without a valid passport can obtain a certificate of identity (CID) but only if s/he can provide documentary evidence to show that s/he has been formally and unreasonably refused a passport by his/her own national authorities. It is no longer necessary to provide evidence of a need to travel before the application can be considered. The certificate will be valid for the same period of time as the leave to remain was granted. It is important to note that the following European countries refuse to recognise the CID as a valid travel document: Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria. You should therefore always check with the authorities of the country to which you want to travel before applying.
If the UASC entered the UK on a valid national passport this will have been submitted when s/he claimed asylum. If the asylum claim is then refused the UASC will be considered for HP or DL. Where such 'limited leave' is granted, the UKBA should return the passport as the UASC will no longer be considered to be an asylum seeker. Following the grant of limited leave, a valid national passport, which should be stamped with the leave entitlement, can be used to travel out of and back into the UK within the currency of the leave period. Likewise, a UASC who did not enter the UK on his or her own passport may, following refusal of asylum, approach his or her embassy and request a passport. This is a serious step which may undermine any future fresh claim for asylum at the end of the period of limited leave. It should not be undertaken before being fully considered with the assistance of a competent immigration lawyer. Where a passport is issued by the embassy in the UK, this should be stamped with the limited leave before travel takes place. Where a passport is refused, a possible basis is laid for application for a certificate of identity.
NB. If the child has been granted less than 6 months leave s/he should not travel abroad since the leave will automatically lapse when s/he leaves the Common Travel Area.
Asylum seeking children who have been granted HP do not have to approach their embassy or national authorities before applying for a CID.
If the child has been granted refugee status s/he can obtain a convention travel document (CTD) upon payment of a fee. The CTD is valid for all countries except the country of origin. It allows the refugee to travel to any country within the EU except France without a visa [1], provided that it is for less than 3 months. The CTD will be valid for 10 years if the refugee was granted ILR (i.e. before the 30 August 2005) or 5 years if the refugee was granted limited leave (i.e. after the 30 August 2005).
Revised 25/01/08
Notes
[1] See the Council of Europe Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees, 1959
