European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

17 Family unity for those seeking asylum or other protection in Europe

(1) A Minister of the Crown must seek to negotiate, on behalf of the United Kingdom, an agreement with the EU under which, after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, in accordance with the agreement—

(a) an unaccompanied child who has made an application for international protection to a member State may, if it is in the child’s best interests, come to the United Kingdom to join a relative who—

(i) is a lawful resident of the United Kingdom, or

(ii) has made a protection claim which has not been decided, and

(b) an unaccompanied child in the United Kingdom, who has made a protection claim, may go to a member State to join a relative there, in equivalent circumstances.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)(i) a person is not a lawful resident of the United Kingdom if the person requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom but does not have it.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)(ii), a protection claim is decided—

(a) when the Secretary of State notifies the claimant of the Secretary of State’s decision on the claim, unless the claimant appeals against the decision, or

(b) if the claimant appeals against the Secretary of State’s decision on the claim, when the appeal is disposed of.

(4) In this section—

• “application for international protection” has the meaning given by Article 2(h) of Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted;

• “protection claim” has the same meaning as in Part 5 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (see section 82(2) of that Act);

• “relative”, in relation to an unaccompanied child, means—

  (a)

  a spouse or civil partner of the child or any person with whom the child has a durable relationship that is similar to marriage or civil partnership, or

  (b)

  a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, brother or sister of the child;

• “unaccompanied child” means a person under the age of 18 (“the child”) who is not in the care of a person who—

  (a)

  is aged 18 or over, and

  (b)

  by law or custom of the country or territory in which the child is present, has responsibility for caring for the child.