FAMILY REUNION TO THE UK FOR UNACCOMPANIED MINORS
FAQ Menu
WHAT IS SAFE PASSAGE INTERNATIONAL?
Safe Passage International is a non-governmental organisation that champions the rights of refugees and displaced people as they flee conflict and persecution, using the law to help them access safe routes to a place of safety and family.
We have offices in France, Greece, and the UK, and are collaborating with partners transnationally, to assist refugees throughout Europe. Since our inception, we have helped over 2,500 children and their families reach a place of safety via safe routes.
We notably represent unaccompanied minors who wish to submit applications to join their family members in the UK through safe routes.
CAN I JOIN A FAMILY MEMBER IN THE UK?
If you are a minor (under 18 years old) and one of your close family members (parent, sibling, uncle, aunt) is living legally in the UK, it may be possible for you to make an application to join them.
In Europe, you are considered a child when you are below 18 years of age. This is called being a minor, as opposed to being an adult (someone who is over 18 years old or older).
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS I HAVE TO MEET FOR ME TO BE REUNITED WITH A FAMILY MEMBER?
The requirements are different depending on your situation. In all cases, however, you will need to show that:
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You are a minor
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You are related to your family member
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Your family member lives in the UK
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In some cases, you may also need to show that your family member in the UK
has the means to support you
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In some cases, you may also need to show that your family member in the UK has the means to support you (they have enough money and they have accommodation with enough space and not too many people are living there). In these cases, you will also need to show there are serious reasons why you should be allowed to go to the UK and be with your family member.
Examples of “serious reasons” can include where it is better for your safety, education, physical and mental health overall to be with your family in the UK rather than stay in France, that you cannot return to your home country, and that you have no other family elsewhere who can take care of you. There are many other reasons which may be accepted as long as you are able to provide enough evidence to support them.
Where your family member in the UK cannot meet either the financial and accommodation requirement or show that there are serious reasons why you should be with them in the UK, you may still be able to make an application, if you can show that there are “exceptional circumstances”.
“Exceptional circumstances” are similar to “serious reasons” but in this case, you will also have to show that you are dependent on your family member in the UK (for example, you rely on them to support you financially, emotionally, and psychologically).
WHAT KIND OF DOCUMENTS DO I NEED TO GIVE?
You will need to provide a document with your picture proving your identity, which can be different types of official documents or a document provided by French authorities.
You will need to provide proof that you are a minor (under 18).
For example: a travel or identity document. Or a document from the French authorities confirming you are a child.
You will need to provide proof that you are related to your family member in the UK.
For example: birth certificates, a family book, identity documents (for example, taskera).
You will also need to provide evidence of your circumstances in France, information about your life in your home country, and the reasons you had to leave in order to help explain to the British authorities the reasons why you need to be in the UK.
Your lawyers and the staff supporting you in the shelter are there to support you through the process and should help you prepare all of the documents.
WILL MY APPLICATION HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING?
These applications are difficult to make and take a long time to prepare. It is possible to get the applications accepted, but in some cases, the application might be refused. A refusal does not mean the end. If an application is refused, everyone has the automatic right to make an appeal to challenge the decision. This means going in front of a judge to present the case so that they can overturn the original refusal.
The most important thing is to provide as much evidence as possible to show that you meet the requirements.
How long does the process take?
It is not possible to give an exact time frame, but it can take between 6 to 18 months from start to finish.
What are the costs?
There is sometimes a fee to pay for the visa application. The cost will vary depending on the type of application that needs to be made for you and can range between £0 and £1500+. Depending on the financial situation of your family member in the UK, it might be possible to apply for a fee waiver which means there is no need to pay the fee.
WHERE DO I STAY IN THE MEANTIME?
As the process will take a few months, it is important that you are in a place where you are safe and looked after.
As a minor, the French State has the legal obligation to protect you and care for you while you are on the territory. This means that you have the right to be accommodated and supported. You also have the right to go to school for free while you wait for your application to go to the UK to be processed.
You should ask the French authorities to recognise you as a minor and accommodate you.
Who can help me submit my application?
Safe Passage is an organisation that represents unaccompanied minors wanting to reunite with family members in the UK. We have a team of lawyers who (depending on capacity) may be able to provide you with information on the process, assess your eligibility, and support you and your family member in making an application.
Alternatively, your family member can also reach out to a private immigration lawyer in the UK or you may be eligible for legal aid (free legal representation) in the UK.
How do I start the process?
Are you sleeping rough?
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The first step is for you to go to an emergency shelter for unaccompanied minors (children under 18 years old who do not have their parents with them in France). This will allow you to have a place to stay for a few days, get information about your rights, and initiate the next steps of the process.
If you need support to reach an emergency shelter, you can contact these organisations for help:
- In Calais : ECPAT (+33 7 53 57 05 34) during the day and Utopia 56 at night and during the weekend (+33 7 53 91 85 96)
- In Dunkirk or Grande Synthe: the French Red Cross (+33 6 73 56 55 72) during the day and Utopia 56 at night and during the weekend (+33 7 49 08 85 54)
- In Lille: Utopia 56 (+33 6 26 30 95 21)
- In Paris: during the week (Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm) go to AMNA at 127 rue de Tolbiac 75 013 Paris for shelter and age evaluation. If you arrive in Paris on a Sunday or in the evening, at 6 pm you can go to Utopia 56 at Place de l’Hôtel de Ville 75004 Paris for support (tents, blankets, and orientation).
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Once you have been in the shelter for a few days, you will have to go through an age and isolation assessment in order to be formally recognised as a minor in France and placed under the care and protection of Child Protection Services (“ASE”).
An age and isolation assessment is a process where the French authorities will determine approximately how old you are and assess whether you are without your parent or a legal guardian in France. They will look at your documents if you have any and will ask you questions about your journey and your life before arriving in France.
If they consider you are under 18 years old, they will entrust you to Child Protection Services. It will allow you to be sheltered and looked after during the family reunion process. It will also help to prove that you are a minor for the purpose of the family reunion application.
If they do not consider you are under 18 years old, it does not mean that everything is over, it is possible to challenge the decision.
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Once the age and isolation assessment is underway, you can ask your social worker and/or your family member to contact our team at Safe Passage so that we can assess your situation and evaluate if you are eligible to family reunion.
If you have already gone through an age and isolation assessment and are in a shelter:
You can ask your social worker and/or your family member to reach out to our team at Safe Passage so that we can assess your situation and evaluate if you are eligible to family reunion.
More FAQs
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If you do not have any identity documents, we will need to consider what other evidence we can obtain. Other evidence could include, official documents from your family member in the UK in which they mention you, photos, evidence of communication between you and your family member, witness statements from people confirming your relationship with your family member.
Unfortunately, the conditions to get DNA tests are very strict in France. It is generally not possible for minors to do a DNA test and so it is important to try and obtain other forms of evidence.
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As long as you are under 18 on the date the application is submitted, the UK authorities must consider your application. If you turn 18 after the application is submitted, this should not affect your application in any way.
If you turn 18 after submitting the application and your application is refused and you have to make an appeal (go before a judge), this could affect your case but not always. Safe Passage can advise more on this if it happens.
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If your request is granted, you will get a visa and will be able to travel to the UK. Once you are in the UK, you will collect your residency card and will have a right to stay in the UK for a set amount of time.
It may be in your best interests to claim asylum even if you have been granted a visa, to ensure that you can remain in the UK long term. You would need to do this as soon as possible once arriving in the UK. Safe Passage can provide you with more information about this.
You will have the right to go to school and to work (part time) if you are between 16 and 18 years old. Depending on the type of visa you are granted, you may also have the right to access public funds.
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If your request is refused, you have the right to challenge the decision before a tribunal in the UK. Safe Passage may be able to support you in the process.
In the meantime, it will not impact the rights you have in France as a minor (access to accommodation, health services, school, and asylum).
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Under UK law, it is a crime to enter the country without a visa.
The UK recently introduced a new law that means that if you enter the country without a visa and have not come directly from the country where you face a risk (in most cases, your country of origin), the government can refuse to consider your claim to asylum, detain you and possibly remove you to a third country (such as Rwanda) once you turn 18.
It is also a criminal offence for anyone in the UK to help someone enter the UK without a visa. If you are helped to travel to the UK irregularly by a family member there, this could result in prosecution for your family member and even revocation of their status (for example, someone with refugee status could lose their refugee status).
