New asylum screening rules change support for unaccompanied children
Unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Sweden are now covered by new screening and legal-support rules introduced as the EU migration pact began to apply.
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Screening is carried out in Boden, Sigtuna, Mölndal and Malmö by the Police, Migration Agency and regional health services. It may last up to seven days for someone stopped at the border, or three days for a person already in Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare says.
Officials must assess a child's vulnerability. A child found elsewhere is normally directed to a screening municipality the next day. Unaccompanied children are exempt from the accelerated asylum border procedure and continue through the ordinary process before being assigned to a longer-term municipality.
The rules also remove their automatic right to publicly funded counsel in the asylum case. Shorter free legal advice replaces it. A temporary representative supports the child during screening, followed by a representative with wider responsibility for the application and contacts with social and health services.
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