Unaccompanied migrant minors: at 18 years of age, there is a risk of stopping their growth path

Turning 18 can be a problem, especially for unaccompanied migrant minors. For them the paths of growth in Italy and integration can come to an abrupt halt. This is attested to by Save the Children's report 'Hidden in plain sight', which this year focuses its lens precisely on turning 18 and the transition to adulthood of unaccompanied minors. A critical and sometimes traumatic threshold for them. On the occasion of the International Migrants' Day, Save the Children turns the spotlight on the condition of these minors, who, having come back from terrible and risky journeys to escape war and poverty, continue on a path studded with obstacles and difficulties. For them a series of sliding doors: age verification, reception, opening of guardianship and issuing of residence permits.

Why minors are increasingly involved in migration. Between 2014 and 2024, 127,662 unaccompanied foreign minors arrived in Italy, alone, by sea, with an average of 11,600 arrivals per year. These are mostly adolescents and pre-adolescents and, in some cases, also children. Looking at six of the EU's main entry points - Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Cyprus and Malta - it is estimated that in 2023, 55,700 minors entered alone or with their families. 64 per cent, as many as 35,500, were unaccompanied or separated, half of whom, 18,820, arrived by sea in Italy alone, a figure that fell in 2024, to almost 7,900.

In the reception and protection system in Italy there are 19,215 unaccompanied foreign minors . More than 75 per cent are between 16 (23.75 per cent) and 17 years old (52.15 per cent), 13.66 per cent between 7 and 14 years old, and only 1.65 per cent are in the 0-6 age bracket. Sicily, once again, is the region with the highest incidence of lone foreign minors (4,555 minors present on 31 October 2024, or 24.78% of the total).

The net majority of lone minors is male (87.70%), while girls represent 12.30%, an incidence on the total number of minors in continuity with previous years. Among the most represented nationalities are Egyptian (3,849), Ukrainian (3,631), Gambian (2,224), Tunisian (1,973) and Guinean (1,515).

"Foreign minors arriving alone in Italy must be able to count on the possibility of growing up in an environment of friendships, relationships and support, like all their peers. Often, however, they come of age and must have a job and independent housing in order to be able to remain in the territory regularly, all achievements that their peers obtain over many years. However, if the first stages of arrival and reception in Italy do not allow them adequate support, the risk is that at the age of 18, the path to autonomy will be abruptly interrupted. What makes the difference is in fact the quality of care, which should be provided in a foster family or in a dedicated facility," explains Antonella Inverno, head of research and data analysis at Save the Children.