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<p>There is no official estimate of the number of children in Calais; this is primarily
a matter for the French authorities. It is only possible to assess whether an individual
has links to the UK that could enable a transfer on family unity grounds once they
make an application for asylum in France.</p><p>Once an asylum claim is lodged in
another Member State, the Dublin Regulation procedure requesting the UK to take charge
of a child on family unity grounds can take place very quickly, often in a matter
of weeks, subject to consideration of the evidence in each individual case.</p><p>Since
February 2016 the UK has accepted 30 requests from France under the Dublin Regulation
to take charge of asylum seeking children on family grounds of which 23 have already
been transferred to the UK. We are working closely with the French Government and
NGOs, including on a joint communications campaign to inform migrants of their options
and we provided a senior UK asylum official to the French Government who has put processes
in place to support an efficient procedure.</p>
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