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Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Monday, 5 February 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 February 2018. It was answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford (Conservative) on Monday, 19 February 2018 on behalf of the Home Office.

Undocumented Migrants: Children

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimate by the Thomas Coram Foundation that there are some 120,000 children in the UK without regular immigration status, of whom half were born here; what are their proposals for improving this situation in line with the best interests of the child; and whether free legal advice is, or will be, available to such children who wish to claim citizenship.

Answer

Any non-European Economic Area national child wishing to remain in the UK to settle here must apply for leave under the family Immigration Rules. These Rules give direct effect to the Secretary of State’s statutory duty in section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, to have regard, as a primary consideration, to a child’s best interests in making an immigration decision affecting them.

Comprehensive information about applying for citizenship is available on the GOV.UK website. If an individual wishes to seek additional legal advice there are a number of sources available, including regulated immigration advisers. Whether a person is charged for that advice would depend on the organisation concerned and the individual’s situation.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5373
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Children British nationality Undocumented migrants Legal opinion
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk