Education International Research
“Asylum-seeking minors are subject to colossal administrative processes and they remain without any documents for months which prevents them from starting an educational or professional integration process. Now, the document released by the police when the asylum application is submitted can be considered sufficient by education institutions but it sometimes takes months to get this document which is only the starting point of the whole process”. —Social worker, Accommodation centre for unaccompanied minors (Milan) The new 2017 regulation45 could result in significant progress in this regard as it provides for the possibility of applying for a residence permit or international protection, before the appointment of the legal guardian. 2.1.3. “Transiting” migrants Several interviewees mentioned that a significant proportion of unaccompanied minors - especially from Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan - arriving by sea in Italy decide to continue their journey towards another European country. This phenomenon is reflected in the data above (figure 3), concerning the number of unaccompanied minors fleeing from the accommodation centres and becoming “invisible”. While asylum-seeking unaccompanied minors may apply for family reunification, according to the Dublin Regulation III, or relocation to another EU country based on the EU relocation scheme46, the poor quality of accommodation centres, the length of administrative procedures47, and the lack of awareness concerning the existence of such opportunities were cited as the most common factors leading most (potentially eligible) minors to go underground. For example, as of December 2016, not one unaccompanied minor had benefited from the EU relocation programme48. This situation, apart from putting these children in a vulnerable position, also prevents them from exercising their fundamental rights, including their right to education. With the reintroduction of border controls inside the Schengen area, field actors warned that unaccompanied minors might remain exposed to these risks even longer: “In the past, they wouldn’t have stayed longer than a week [here] but now that borders are closed, they can be blocked up to two or three weeks”. —Municipality representative (Milan) 45 46
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Draft Law 1658-B, article 6, comma 3 This scheme only applies to migrants from Syria, Eritrea, Burundi, Mozambique, Bahrain, Bhutan, Qatar, and Yemen. For more information concerning the EU relocation mechanism, see https://www.easo.europa.eu/what-relocation (Accessed on 28 April 2017) Here again, the newly adopted regulation should accelerate such procedures (see article 6, comma 3), especially in relation to family reunification procedures for unaccompanied minors having relatives residing in another European State as provided for in the Dublin Regulation III. Rozzi, E. (2017) “In primo luogo minori? I diritti violati dei minori stranieri non accompagnati in Italia”, in Il diritto d’asilo. Report 2017. Minori rifugiati vulnerabili e senza voce, a cura di Delfina Licata e Mariacristina Molfetta, Fondazione Migrantes.