Undocumented Migrant Children in the UK

January 2010 – June 2012

Overview Theory Methods Partners Findings Outputs Impact News & Media

Overview

This project was part of a comparative project on irregular migrant children in the US and the UK, which was carried out in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. The study estimated that 120,000 irregular migrant children live in the UK. A large majority of these are either born in the country or migrated here at an early age. These children were brought up in the UK, educated in British schools and many speak English as their main language.

This research examined the ways in which lack of legal residence status is experienced by migrant children and their families, and how these intersect with ‘race’, country of origin, ethnicity, gender, religion, poverty and housing. The project also explored the challenges faced by service providers in working with this client group. In doing so, it looks to advance knowledge on the experiences and everyday lives of undocumented children in Britain; to cast light on the challenges facing the communities in which they reside; to explore services and resources available to them in relation to health, education and employment; and to contribute to the policy debate on how to reconcile and balance the implications of two policy objectives affecting irregular migrant children, namely the protection of all children and immigration enforcement.

Principal Investigator

Nando Sigona

Researchers

Vanessa Hughes

Funding

Barrow Cadbury Trust

The study estimated that there are 120,000 irregular migrant children in the UK, with over half of them born in Britain. Irrespective of their status, these children are holders of certain rights under international and British law, such as access to compulsory school education, and primary and emergency healthcare. At the same time, undocumented migrant children find themselves at the intersection of two contradictory policy areas, namely the protection and welfare of the child, and immigration enforcement. This tension has concrete consequences for undocumented migrant children in their interaction with the state and public services, and fundamentally shapes their everyday lives.

Importantly, this study found that ‘irregularity’ is not a single, homogenous and fixed (non-) status. There are multiple pathways into such a status, where the child’s legal situation is largely determined by that of their parents, and their status can change over time.

The study found that most undocumented migrant families live in privately-rented and overcrowded houses, and experience high housing mobility. Family income is often insecure and destitution is an everyday reality for many. The way in which immigration status becomes visible varies, and the impact of this status varied considerably among young people depending on age, migration pathway and circumstances in the UK.

Although parents reported some initial difficulties with enrolment in primary and secondary schools, the study found that most undocumented migrant children interviewed did attend school. In fact the school offered an environment of stability in which many felt protected. Problems in relation to education were mostly associated to destitution, while access to pre- and post-compulsory education was reportedly almost impossible.

The study also found a high prevalence of mental health issues, which could often be linked to their precarious immigration status and financial hardships. In relation to access to healthcare, the study found that most interviewees were registered with a GP, although registration was not always straight forward and often took several attempts.

Many service providers lamented what they described as the UKBA’s ‘invasion’ of public services. This undermines a necessarily trusting relationship between public service providers and users, which in the healthcare sector may lead to migrants not accessing needed and available healthcare. Education professionals in particular felt that they were asked to increasingly perform immigration control-like tasks, which they did not see as part of their job role, and which could create dangerous situations for undocumented migrants, increasing their isolation, destitution and vulnerability.

While irregular migrant children are given some degree of protection in the UK, there are nonetheless significant variations in access to public services among and within different areas.