Years Later, Dozens of Asylum-Seeking Children Remain Missing from UK Hotels

Dozens of children who went missing from asylum hotels in the UK have still not been found years later. According to a Human Rights Joint Committee report, more than 470 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing from hotels in 2023, with 40 still unaccounted for.

The figures have shown a gradual decline, dropping from 118 in 2024 to 78 in 2025. The authors of the report note that all but two of the 40 individuals who remain missing have now reached adulthood.

“This is an extremely concerning situation that has been developing for years without resolution, and one that we have vigorously pursued since 2023,” the committee's report stated. “We urge the government to take further steps to publish data and to take action to locate all missing children and to avoid missing episodes in the future.”

The committee urged the Home Office to regularly publish data regarding the missing children and disclose their efforts to locate them through updates every three months. Earlier investigations revealed that missing asylum-seeking children faced significant vulnerabilities to exploitation by organised crime groups.

In a letter to the committee last year, Dame Angela Eagle, serving in her capacity as border security and asylum minister, noted that some children who had been found were “in exploitative situations and may have been trafficked”.

In March 2024, the High Court ruled that utilizing hotels for permanent or long-term housing of unaccompanied children was unlawful, prompting the closure of seven hotels that housed them. The UK government has pledged to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by the next election, shifting toward alternative buildings such as former military barracks, despite facing widespread public backlash and overcrowding issues.

Dame Rachel de Souza, England’s Children’s Commissioner, described the situation as an “unacceptable failure.” She added, “Every child arriving in this country has the right to safely apply for asylum and to be provided with shelter and support while they do so. The disappearance of these children represents an unacceptable failure, and the government must set out the action it is taking to locate those still missing and prevent this happening again.”

In response, a government spokesperson stated, “The safety and well-being of children is paramount, and we take any child going missing extremely seriously. The Home Office-operated accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children closed in January 2024. Since then, the vast majority of children reported missing from those settings have subsequently been located. Police forces are responsible for investigating missing children cases, and we continue to review our records, share relevant information with them and work closely with local authorities and safeguarding partners to support those investigations.”