The Dublin III Regulation (‘Dublin’) is an EU law which sets out which European country is responsible for someone’s asylum claim. A child who claims asylum and is unaccompanied can be transferred to a country where they have family members (parent/carer, child or spouse) or relatives (aunt, uncle and grandparent).
The child may also be transferred on a discretionary basis under Dublin – this is particularly relevant for children with family not covered under the Dublin (such as siblings or cousins).
So-called ‘Dublin children’ are still seeking asylum when they arrive in the UK. This means that they will still need to go through the asylum process in order to remain in the UK. A child will normally already have made an asylum claim in order to be eligible for the Dublin transfer.
A Dublin child who arrives to join relatives or family members will not have the same leave as the adult they are joining. For Dublin children who have joined family, they will need to go through the asylum process.
Those joining under family reunion will normally receive leave in line with the family member, but their status may become precarious if there is a family breakdown as their leave will normally require them to reside with their family member.
It is crucial that a child is legally represented throughout the asylum process. There is legal aid available for asylum claims, subject to a means and a merits test.
A child may come to the UK to join an adult sibling, or a sibling who is also a child. Where a child joins an adult sibling, then the ‘Family and Friends Care’ statutory guidance would apply. However, a child joining an adult sibling may still not be able to live with them, and in that case would need to be cared for by the local authority as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child.
A sibling group may need additional support and a child in need assessment should be carried out in those cases. An adult sibling may acquire parental responsibility for their young sibling through a child arrangements order (see below).
Arrangements for children in care should meet a child’s needs. This should include contact with siblings unless this is not in the child’s best interests. Where a local authority does not facilitate contact, a child may make an application for a child arrangements order.
Dublin children may not know them very well, or at all. Relatives will not have parental responsibility for the children who join them. Asylum-seeking children joining relatives should be assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 if it appears that they are in need.
In some circumstances, it may not be necessary to provide any services to a child and the family they have joined, but a local authority is likely to need to conduct an assessment to establish this.
Where a child will be staying with relatives for a long period of time, then the relative should consider applying for parental responsibility through the family courts. This will be either:
- Through a child arrangements order setting out who a child should live with.
- Through a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) which includes who a child should live with, as well as any support required from the local authority.
Like any family relationship, the relationship between the family and child may break down. Those working with families in this situation need to be sensitive to the complications of family relationships, including lifestyle, financial and other circumstances. The local authority will also need to consider how to support a family in this situation and whether the child needs to be looked after by the local authority.
