Stateless children a nationwide issue

Date: 5th November 2012
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, Civil Rights and Freedoms

While there are an estimate 120,000 children living in the United Kingdom without legal immigration status, there are no concrete figures for the number of children with no nationality, precisely because there is no official record of them.

With stateless children unable to access education or apply for social housing or care, they are increasingly turning to crime and prostitution to survive. For children attempting to become a legal citizen retrospectively, it can be close to impossible, as those no longer in contact with their families struggle to prove their identity to immigration officials.

Meanwhile some local authorities are believed to be trying to assess stateless children to be older than they are so they can avoid being responsible for them, and providing them with support and accommodation.

• Read the full story here.