Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC)
Home Office - Resettlement: Policy Statement (Gateway, Mandate, VPRS and VCRS)
Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme
The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme was announced in April 2016 and is available to children at a high risk of harm and exploitation along with their families. Identified by the UNHCR as being most in need, they are resettled to the UK from refugee camps and other unsafe environments across the Middle East and North Africa.
Wales-specific guidance for professionals on unaccompanied asylum seeking children
National Transfer Scheme
The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) was initially developed to encourage all councils in the UK to volunteer to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) so there is a more even distribution of caring responsibilities across the country. The provisions of the NTS were extended to Wales in December 2017 and the Home Office have mandated the scheme from December 2021.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre
Resources and factsheets (information on legal issues affecting young refugees and migrants).
SAFE
A European Commissioned transnational project supporting frontline practitioners and care professionals, foster carers, kinship and Dublin family caretakers by enhancing their knowledge, skills and confidence and enabling them to provide better quality family-based care to unaccompanied and separated children. They have developed UK training modules for care professionals and foster carers, focusing on the asylum process, rights and entitlements of the child, care planning and provisions and integration in the UK.
Funding for Councils
Councils may claim reimbursement of costs for supporting and caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and for those former UASC’s receiving support under Leaving Care arrangements. UKVI have produced funding instructions for councils on the process for making these claims.
Dublin III Regulation
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).
Welsh Government
Briefing: supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Wales.
Welsh Government
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Age Assessment Toolkit.