Unaccompanied minors, also known as Separated children, are defined as non EU nationals or stateless persons below the age of eighteen:
- who arrive in the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for them (whether by law or custom) for as long as they are not effectively taken into the care of such a person;
- or who are left unaccompanied after they have entered the territory of the Member States.
These unaccompanied minors come to the EU from all parts of the world, most especially from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Separated from their communities of origin, these children often experience an unfamiliar culture shock and loss of a social network.
