EU Training for guardians of unaccompanied children

Age assessment is a formal process by which authorities seek to establish the age, or range of age, of a person or determine whether an individual is an adult or a child.^[1]

The age of a person may be unclear where a child has not been registered at birth, has lost their identity documents due to migration or flight, or is for other reasons not in a position to provide documentary evidence of their age. In these cases, age assessment procedures might be initiated to determine if a person is an adult or a child and, in consequence, to decide about specific entitlements and rights of the person, in accordance with the person’s age.

The age of majority is the age at which a child becomes an adult and acquires full legal capacity. Having reached the age of majority means that a person can engage in legal activities and is liable for contractual obligations.

For further information, see the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ website on the age of majority.

A request made by a third-country national or a stateless person for protection from a EU Member State, who can be understood to seek refugee status or subsidiary protection status, and who does not explicitly request another kind of protection, outside the scope of the Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU, that can be applied for separately.

Qualification Directive (2011/95/EU), Article 2.h 

Asylum-seekers are persons who “request international protection on the basis that they cannot return or be returned to their country of origin because they have a well-founded fear of persecution or are at risk of being ill-treated or being subjected to other serious harm (…).”[1] 

Under EU law, asylum seekers are defined as “applicants” for international protection, whereas applicant means a third-country national or a stateless person who has made an application for international protection in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken.

Qualification Directive (2011/95/EU), Article 2 (i)