Unaccompanied minors

Children and young people sometimes arrive in Europe unaccompanied. In most cases, these minors apply for asylum upon arrival in the EU. 

An unaccompanied minor:

• is under the age of 18 upon arrival in the EU;
• is not accompanied by an adult, such as a parent or another adult relative;
• is a third-country national or a stateless person.

he EU considers children and young people to be a vulnerable group of migrants, alongside older people, people with disabilities, single parents with minor children and pregnant women. The EU has specific rules and procedures for these groups, including rules on reception and the assessment of applications for international protection. For unaccompanied minors, these rules are set out in the Qualification Regulation (2024/1347).

Please note: the publications on this page are from July 2024 onwards. For earlier publications, please switch to Dutch (the EMN PDFs of the publications on the Dutch pages are in English). The filter below is in Dutch and will be available in English towards the end of 2026.