What the words mean

“To seek alteration to regulation to entitle individuals admitted to this country as “unaccompanied asylum seeking children” to automatically receive right of residence.”

Some of the more cautious amongst you have hesitated about the exact significance of this sentence. The desire for clarification is understandable and indeed to examine it in more detail might give guidance not only to its meaning but to the means by which its important goals can be achieved.

Regulations
These are all rules, procedures and legislation that may impact on the prospect of these children receiving the protections provided to British children who are without parents or carers. This will include all child welfare legislation, all education legislation and regulation and in the case of these children all existing immigration legislation and procedures.

“Unaccompanied asylum seeking children”
This clumsy phrase refers to all children who cannot be identified as the children of British residents and who are accepted as without parent or adult carer of any sort. If these were British children the courts would most certainly identify them as either abandoned children or orphans.

Right of residence
This phrase carries no other implication than to say that any person under 18 years who is found to have no viable adult carer should be assured of the right to plan their future in this country. The phrase does not imply that such children will be entitled automatically to British citizenship, a British passport, right to bring relatives to this country or any other right beyond that of being able to anticipate a secure future for themselves on reaching adulthood.