Migrant Children's Project Newsletter August 2019 Follow us on Twitter If you used our guidance and resources recently, please take two minutes to help us improve them by completing our short survey here. Fewer children than expected have applied to the EU settlement scheme Only 1 in 12 applicants to the EU settlement scheme so far have been children under 16, according to recent Home Office statistics. But analysis from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford suggests that there were 700,000 EU children under 18 in the UK in 2018 (21% of the population), meaning hundreds of thousands of children may still need to apply for settled status or British citizenship. Coram are supporting vulnerable children and young people (including looked after children and care leavers) to apply to the scheme. If you are working with a child, young person or family from the EU, EEA or Switzerland or their family member, email us at [email protected] to make a referral.For more information on the scheme, including how it works for children in care, see our fact sheets here. Times investigation reveals shocking levels of Home Office profit An investigation by The Times has found that the Home Office has made hundreds of millions of pounds of profit from immigration and citizenship fees, including from children making human rights applications. The investigation includes analysis by Marianne Lagrue, the MCP's policy manager, who describes the system as ‘a game of snakes and ladders without the ladders’, and a feature with Michelle Ezeuko and Melvin H Clarke, two of Coram’s youth rights trainers, who share their personal experiences of the complex and expensive system. Marianne and Michelle were also both interviewed on Channel 4 News, urging the Home Office to act to make the process fairer, faster, and more affordable. New school year, new guidance on further education from the MCP Results are out and young people up and down the UK are enrolling in colleges, changing schools and heading off to university. Are you supporting young people to access their education? Read our fact sheets on school education and university education for young migrants and refugees. And if you are helping young people enrol in college, read our fact sheet on further education which has been updated to keep up with changes for EU nationals before Brexit. If you have queries about these or other issues, please contact our advice line at [email protected]. Our upcoming training courses Our courses can all be booked online - just visit our Eventbrite page! An introduction to the rights of children and young people in the immigration system Coram Campus, London Tuesday, 26 November 2019, 2pm - 5pm Access to education for migrant children Coram Campus, London Thursday 17 October 2019, 2pm - 5pm The rights and entitlements of young refugees and migrants Coram Campus, London Wednesday, 9 October 2019, 10am - 4:30pm For more information and to book, please see our eventbrite page. To commission in-house training for your organisation, please see our website. New reports and guidance Asylum process instruction: Children’s asylum claims Home Office, August 2019 (updated) ‘Normality is a luxury: How limited leave to remain is blighting young lives' Let Us Learn, July 2019 Latest news Rise in EU citizens not getting UK settled status causes alarm The Guardian, 30 August 2019 'I can't just be kicked out': EU national damns Brexit settlement scheme The Guardian, 29 August 2019 Humiliation for Home Office as settlement scheme advert banned for ‘misleading’ EU citizens Politics Home, 28 August 2019 The visa system should not be run as a money-making scam The Independent, 17 August 2019 Priti Patel questioned child citizenship fees before taking home secretary job The Times, 13 August 2019 UK Home Office accused of making £500m profit off immigration fees in shocking development The Daily Express, 12 August 2019 Hostile environment: Home Office makes £500m from immigration fees The Times, 11 August 2019 Let us know what you think! Do you use our website, publications or advice line? Your thoughts and feedback help us ensure that we're providing the right information and support. Please take two minutes to complete our short survey. You can read our privacy policy here. If you have any questions or concerns about your data, you can contact us on [email protected]. |