FantasticSearch

1. Where an application is made by a person who claims to be a minor, or in relation to whom there are objective grounds to believe that that person is a minor, Member States shall designate:

(a) a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative under this Directive until a representative has been appointed;

(b) a representative as soon as possible and no later than 15 working days from the date on which the application is made. The representative and the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall meet with the unaccompanied minor and take into account the minor’s own views about his or her needs. Where a Member State has assessed that an applicant who claims to be a minor is without any doubt above the age of 18 years, that Member State need not appoint a representative or designate a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative in accordance with the first or second subparagraph, respectively. Member States shall include in their contingency plans referred to in Article 32 measures to be taken to ensure the appointment of representatives and the designation of persons suitable to provisionally act as representatives in accordance with this Article in cases where they are confronted with a disproportionate number of applications made by unaccompanied minors. Where the implementation of measures referred to in the fourth subparagraph is insufficient in order to respond to a disproportionate number of applications made by unaccompanied minors, or in other exceptional situations, the appointment of representatives may be delayed for ten working days and the number of unaccompanied minors per representative may be increased, up to a maximum of 50 unaccompanied minors. When applying the fifth subparagraph, Member States shall inform the Commission and the Asylum Agency accordingly. The duties of the representative and the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall cease where the competent authorities, following the age assessment referred to in Article 25(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, do not assume that the applicant is a minor or consider that the applicant is not a minor, or where the applicant is no longer an unaccompanied minor.

2. Member States shall ensure that the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative is immediately informed when an application for international protection is made by an unaccompanied minor of any relevant facts pertaining to that minor. Persons whose interests conflict or could potentially conflict with those of the unaccompanied minor shall not be designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative. The unaccompanied minor shall be immediately informed that a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative has been designated.

3. Where an organisation is appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative, it shall appoint a natural person to carry out the tasks of the representative in respect of the unaccompanied minor in accordance with this Directive.

4. The representative provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article may be the same person as provided for in Article 23(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.

7. Member States shall place a natural person appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative in charge of a proportionate and limited number of unaccompanied minors and, under normal circumstances, of no more than 30 unaccompanied minors at the same time, in order to ensure that that person is able to perform tasks effectively.

8. Member States shall ensure that there are administrative or judicial authorities or other entities responsible to supervise the proper performance of tasks by the representatives and persons suitable to provisionally act as representatives, including by reviewing the criminal records of those appointed representatives and designated persons at regular intervals in order to identify potential incompatibilities with their role. Those administrative or judicial authorities or other entities shall review complaints lodged by unaccompanied minors against their appointed representatives or designated persons.

9. Unaccompanied minors who make an application for international protection shall, from the moment they are admitted to the territory of a Member State in which the application for international protection was made or is being examined until the moment when they are obliged to leave that Member State, be placed:

(a) with adult relatives;

(b) with a foster family;

(c) in accommodation centres with special provisions for minors;

(d) in other accommodation suitable for minors. Member States may place unaccompanied minors aged 16 or over in accommodation centres for adult applicants, if it is in their best interests, as provided for in Article 26(2). As far as possible, siblings shall be kept together, taking into account the best interests of the minor concerned and, in particular, his or her age and degree of maturity. Changes of residence of unaccompanied minors shall be limited to a minimum.

10. Member States shall start tracing the members of the unaccompanied minor’s family, where necessary with the assistance of international or other relevant organisations, as soon as possible after an application for international protection is made, whilst protecting the best interests of that unaccompanied minor. Where there is a possible threat to the life or integrity of the minor or the minor’s close relatives, in particular if those relatives have remained in the country of origin, care must be taken to ensure that the collection, processing and circulation of information concerning those persons is undertaken on a confidential basis, so as to avoid jeopardising their safety.

5. The competent authorities shall immediately inform:

(a) the unaccompanied minor that a representative has been appointed for him or her and how to lodge a complaint against that representative in confidence and safety in an age-appropriate manner and in a manner that ensures that the minor understands that information;

(b) the authority responsible for providing reception conditions that a representative has been appointed for the unaccompanied minor; and (c) the representative of relevant facts pertaining to the unaccompanied minor.

6. The representative or the person suitable to provisionally act as a representative shall be changed only where necessary, in particular when the competent authorities consider that that representative or person has not performed his or her tasks adequately. Organisations or natural persons whose interests conflict or could potentially conflict with those of the unaccompanied minor shall not be appointed as a representative or designated as a person suitable to provisionally act as a representative.