Unaccompanied Minors in Italy and Arrivals by Sea. Migration Data, Patterns, and Pathways

In Italy, "Unaccompanied Foreign Minor" (UAM) refers to a minor who does not have Italian or other EU citizenship and is, for any reason, within the territory of the State without care or representation by their parents or other adults who are legally responsible for them under existing Italian laws. This provision was defined as the solution to a social phenomenon that became particularly significant in the country number-wise in the 1990s. Despite the attention of the government, the actual number of UAMs within the territory of the State is difficult to define, since most of them do not fulfil residence regulations and move considerably within Italian territory. Over the past seven years, the number of UAMs has remained stable with an average of 7/8000 per year, and a peak of 8461 in 2013. This figure will be greatly exceeded in 2014, 2015, and 2016. This paper analyzes the evolution of the presence of UAMs Italy, their characteristics, their migratory projects, and some aspects of the procedures to accommodate UAMs in Italy. This article is a part of a qualitative study completed by the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of National Research Council (CNR-Irpps), carried out in 2016 on behalf of the Italian Committee of UNICEF--United Nation Children's Fund.