An asylum seeker registers their asylum application at a ‘screening’ (or ‘screening interview’). This is a meeting with an immigration officer. For unaccompanied children, this meeting is called a ‘welfare interview.’ At the welfare interview the immigration officer will complete a welfare form about the child’s personal and family information and about their needs and welfare.

Asylum seekers can have their screening at the UK border (or ‘port’) if they claim asylum as soon as they arrive. Asylum seekers can also be screened while they are staying in the UK if they apply for asylum later on. In this case they will generally need to go to the Asylum Screening Unit in Croydon. Unaccompanied children can however have their “welfare interview” locally if there is a closer branch of the Home Office.

If a person is given permission to remain in the UK for a limited period of time, they will need to apply to the government for permission to stay longer if they want to stay longer than their residence permit allows. Any application must be made before the previous period of permission finishes. UK Immigration law says that when a person makes a valid in-time application (this means that they apply before their previous period of permission ends) then their permission to stay will automatically extend until a decision is made on the new application (and any appeal, if applicable).

This is known as section 3C leave because it is named after s.3C of the Immigration Act 1971 which is the source of this law.

This means that the rights and entitlements of their original permission are held in place until the application, or any appeals against a decision made about the application, have been processed.

Although s.3C leave was designed to prevent people who were awaiting a decision from experiencing problems, unfortunately there are lots of practical difficulties, because the Home Office does not issue any documentation to a person with s.3C leave, and therefore employers and service providers do not always understand what it means and think that the person no longer has permission to stay, because they cannot provide any documents to prove that they are in the UK lawfully at that point, or what their rights and entitlements are.

A person under 18 who is not living with their parent or main caregiver is known as a separated child.

This is a type of status that someone may be given after they apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). The EUSS is a special process to receive applications from European Union (EU) citizens who are currently living in the UK and wish to be allowed to remain in the UK after Brexit. Settled status is usually granted where a person has already lived in the UK for a continuous 5-year period (known as ‘continuous residence’). Settled status allows a person to stay in the UK for as long as they like. However, if a person spends too much time outside the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man they can lose this status. It is usually possible to apply for citizenship once a person has had settled status for 12 months.

Social services is the phrase used to describe services provided by the government (or local government) for the benefit of the community, and to try to ensure that everyone has an equal chance in life regardless of their financial situation. Social services include education, healthcare, employment support and childrenÕs services, among others. Social Services are particularly important for those who are vulnerable (because of their age, ill-health or disability) and who do not have anyone else to care for them.

Social workers are people whose job is to help individuals and families or groups. They are employed by the local authority. They try to protect vulnerable people from harm and support them to live independently and improve their lives. In the case of children and young people who are looked after, the social worker is responsible for managing their care plan.

After a person has made an asylum claim at the port of entry or at the Asylum Intake Unit (AIU) in Croydon, they will be asked to fill in a form that explains why they are asking for asylum. This form is called the Statement of Evidence Form or SEF.

This form is usually only given to children, who should be helped by an interpreter, legal representative and/or social worker to complete the form. Confusingly, the main asylum interview for adults is sometimes called the SEF interview, although adults are no longer asked to complete this form.

The UK government often asks organisations to carry out work on their behalf. The government writes laws (legislation) to ensure that these organisations do the right thing. Any organisation that carries out such work is known as a statutory agency.

Sometimes, people who have lived in foster care during childhood will want to continue to stay with their foster parent after their 18th birthday – just as many young people living in birth families continue to live with their parents after they become 18. People who have lived in foster care can make arrangements, known as staying put arrangements, to do this. Their foster carers must agree to the arrangement.

In early 2023, the Home Office introduced a new ‘streamlined asylum processing’ policy, where some people seeking asylum have to complete a questionnaire (this means a form) insteadof having an interview. The Home Office can then make a positive decision about their asylum application before any interview happens. However, if the Home Office cannot make a positive decision after reading the questionnaire, they should then arrange an interview. The purpose of this is to make the process quicker.

This policy is for adults only, from certain countries. The questionnaires should not be confused with a PIQ (preliminary information questionnaire for asylum claims), which is a different questionnaire that is filled in before a main asylum interview.

If a person wants to find out what information is held about them by the Home Office, they can make a subject access request (or SAR) to see any documents that refer to them. In order to make such a request, they must be able to prove their identity. Making a subject access request can be done online.

By law (the Children Act 1989), local authorities must take steps to protect the welfare and development of any child in need living in their area, and try to make sure that they are brought up by their families where possible. Children supported under section 17 Children Act 1989 and their families may receive advice, counselling, care or supervised activities, accommodation and sometimes financial help, depending on the needs of the child. Whatever their immigration status, no child can be excluded from s.17 support. Even those families who have no recourse to public funds may be eligible for support under section 17 if they have dependent children whose welfare might be affected if no support is provided.

The law says that local authorities must provide a place to live for children who do not have any parent or responsible adult to take care of them. Children who are lost or abandoned, or whose parents or carers cannot provide them with a suitable home, or who are over 16 and living separately from their parents but would be at risk if they do not have a home will be supported under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. Children who are cared for by the local authority under section 20 are often known as looked after children.