The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates the number of migrant children increased from 24 million in the 1990-2000 period to 36 million in 2020. The European Parliament’s briefing on the ‘Vulnerability of unaccompanied and separated child migrants’ reported about 35 200 children arriving in Southern European states in 2022 alone.
Some of these children arrive with their family, but most arrive unaccompanied: many times, they are smuggled, persecuted, sold (including by their own family), or get accidentally separated along the way.
The EU – now hoping to put in place a Common Asylum Policy – has provided schemes and funding to member states to aid unaccompanied children arriving in the bloc.
Legal Status of Migrant Minors in the EU
Any child under 18 entering an EU country without a legally responsible adult is considered an unaccompanied migrant minor.
UN documents bridge the gap between national and global legislation: the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants enshrines the rights of migrant minors to receive education within a few months of arriving in host states and ensures they are protected. The Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child were the first international treaties to identify children with innate human rights. While the EU is not a part of the Convention, it guided the creation of the EU’s own legislation.
In EU law, the Commission and Parliament appoint coordinators for children’s rights to represent them in all policies and legislation while focusing on regional programs to help their integration. The Dublin Regulation states that if an unaccompanied minor’s family member is in an EU state, that state becomes responsible for the minor as well. Minors can only be transferred to safe third countries if said country is able to immediately take over their protection and provide adequate services.
When entering the EU, a special representative is designated for each unaccompanied minor for the screening procedures, including taking their biometric data into the Eurodac database. Collecting data, even from minors, is mandatory for anyone entering over the age of six. Once they file their application for protection, Member States must designate a representative for them within 15 working days.
Under the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework, unaccompanied minors, along with other vulnerable individuals arriving in the EU, are eligible for the special resettlement program or for humanitarian admission. For each unaccompanied minor they admit, Member States receive €8 000.
While laws stipulate the need to consider what is in the child’s interest first and foremost, as well as considering them a child over being an illegal migrant, official protected status is still a matter of Member States accepting applications. The children’s detention, however, is absolutely prohibited.
Eurostat reports 24% of asylum applications in 2024 were minors, representing about 272 000 applications. About 51 100 migrant minors were ordered to leave the EU in 2023, making up 4.5% of total returnees.
For those accepted, their integration and education become the priority. The European Committee of the Regions advised member states to frequently ask children about their needs and provide them with education with inclusive and tailored support to aid their integration into the labor force later.
Across the EU, there have been programs reaching out to migrant children this way.
Italy: EU and UNICEF Facilitate Program for Civic Education
For example, Italy focuses on aiding migrants at the local level, with individual care. The European University Institute collaborates with UNICEF and the city of Florence to bring together Italian high school students, unaccompanied migrant minors, and the academic community in a 12-week course.
During the U-LEAD program, participants are divided into diverse teams, overseen by an experienced Youth Coach and a Research Coach for academic guidance. Then students are asked, “What rights matter most to us, and how can we protect them?” to identify which rights are most important to them and how those are experienced or denied.
The following discussion teaches data collection, teamwork, and public speaking in an environment susceptible to their political, social, and emotional realities.
“U-LEAD was developed through months of consultations with over 50 local stakeholders, reception centers, NGOs, and local authorities,” said Andrew Geddes, director of the EUI’s Migration Policy Center and co-creator of the program.
“This foundation ensures that the project is locally relevant while also geared toward European-wide solutions.”
Children Must Be Protected
Approximately 3 500 children died on the Central Mediterranean route between 2015 and 2025, according to a UNICEF report. About 7 out of 10 children cross borders without a guardian or parent. Surveys showed more than half experienced physical violence, and a third were held against their will.
For the EU, the great challenge is timing: the overburdened child support systems are further strained, reception facilities are unprepared, and the unpredictable flows and sudden surge in arrivals all contribute to the shortening of time spent on each child’s wellbeing. Many areas, like the Canary Islands in Spain, reported the lack of EU funding for supporting unaccompanied migrants, which is a significant burden. Places like Athens, Greece, struggled with integrating migrants due to the language and administrative barriers, despite proactively creating roles and structure for them specifically.
Most migrant children are unaccompanied, relying on host states to care for them. Utilizing the right tools, these children can become part of the next generation of Europeans, socialized in European culture and education.
The last U-LEAD program in June 2025 showed such potential, successfully facilitating connection and civic participation among young people of diverse backgrounds.
