Guardians of asylum-seeking minors being searched for

print this

For the first time, the Finnish authorities have managed to trace the guardians of two unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers in their native countries.
      The search was conducted by the International Social Service ISS, commissioned by the Finnish Directorate of Immigration.
      This was a trial to establish the changes needed in the Immigration Act to implement the EU directives. As of the beginning of February, the Directorate of Immigration is to make efforts to find the guardian of an unaccompanied minor asylum-seeker as soon as possible.
      "The aim is to improve the status of young asylum-seekers", reports Monica Harju from the Directorate of Immigration.
     
The future task of the Directorate will be difficult. The process will start with an interview of the asylum-seeker or his or her representative, in order to find where he or she went to school, who the teacher was, or who the relatives are.
      A total of 96 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in Finland in the course of February through November 2006. In 2005 the number of asylum-seeking minors was 220, and in 2004 some 140.
     
The purpose of such search efforts
is to create a connection between a child and his or her guardian, as every child is entitled to have personal relations and connections with his or her parents or other persons with parental rights.
      However, no search is to be conducted without the consent of the child.
      Another aim is to learn more information about the background of the child, thus improving the possibilities of the Directorate of Immigration to make a decision on the child's application for asylum.
     
A potential family reunification
could take place either in Finland or in the country where the guardians are staying.
      The trial search involved four unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers whose family members or other guardians were being sought. The guardians of two minors were found in their home country, while one child's guardians could not be traced at all, and for the fourth child, the search is still incomplete.
      As expected, the search cost around EUR 4,000 to 5,000 per one asylum-seeker.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Signs of severe depression among children seeking asylum in Finland (25.5.2005)

Links:
  Directorate of Immigration UVI
  International Social Service ISS

Helsingin Sanomat