European Migration Network

This report contains a list of answers to 59 questions contained in EMN questionnaire, which all EMN Member States and Norway were asked to fill in 2014. In the case of Poland information provided by the Office for Foreigners; the Aliens Department and the Border Department of the Border Guard, Department of Family Policy and Department of Labour Market at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, as well as by International Organisation for Migration office in Warsaw were supplemented with data presented in reports and studies prepared by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Office of the Human Rights Defender, as well as non-governmental organisations. In addition, the report also includes articles and presentations available on various institutions’ websites, including poviat centres for family support and municipal social welfare centres, as well as previously unpublished comments and opinions concerning the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors presented by experts during formal and informal meetings.

This Synthesis Report presents the main findings of the 2014 EMN Study Policies, practices and data on unaccompanied minors. The study aims to update the findings of the 2008-2009 EMN study Policies on reception, return and integration arrangements for, and numbers of, unaccompanied minors and to provide up-to-date information and comparable data on the numbers and state of protection of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) arriving in Europe. The study has a special focus on the following issues identified as knowledge gaps:

• Entry procedures and arrangements in place for UAMs who are not in the asylum process, including those who entered irregularly and/ or are victims of trafficking;
• Unaccompanied minors who abscond or go missing from care facilities – their profile, reasons for absconding and policies/ practices to prevent this and/ or reduce harm when they go missing;
• Arrangements to support the transition to adulthood for UAMs turning 18; and
• Policies and practices in place for (voluntary) return of unaccompanied minors.