Landing in Dover The immigration process undergone by unaccompanied children arriving in Kent

This report follows on from the Children’s Commissioner’s earlier report Landing in Kent. It focuses on immigration procedures to which unaccompanied children arriving in Kent are subject between their first encounter with the authorities and the time they are placed in the care of Kent County Council children’s social care services.

The evidence for this report was gathered by going to the Port of Dover immigration office and being ‘walked through’ the process an unaccompanied child would encounter on arrival. Written details of relevant procedures governing the relevant policies were provided, and the working processes that should fulfil them. Consent was obtained from some newly arrived children to consider their ‘port files’ and some of the children were interviewed in more detail.

In two cases children provided their ‘reasons for refusal’ letter following the initial decision on their asylum claim. These showed how the interviews undergone shortly after arrival could impact on the asylum decision in the child’s case. The representatives of the Kent Police Force and the local authority were contacted as part of our investigation. This report brings these different sources of information together, allowing a holistic view of the immigration procedures that unaccompanied children arriving in Dover encounter.

Also read the BBC article Lone child migrants returned to France under secret deal on the findings of this report.