More than 50 unaccompanied child asylum seekers who disappeared soon after arriving in the UK remain missing, raising fresh concerns about child trafficking and serious failings in the care system.
Kent County Council (KCC) reveal that 345 children have gone missing in recent years, with 56 still unaccounted for. Many of these young people are believed to have been taken by traffickers after arriving in small boats or lorries, with Kent often serving as the first point of entry.
Missing from hotels and reception centres
Between 2021 and 2023, when the Home Office operated two hotels in Kent to house child asylum seekers, 132 children went missing. Of those, 108 were later found, while 24 remain missing.
A further 213 children disappeared from council-run reception centres between 2020 and August 2025. While most were eventually located, 32 have never been found.
The majority of those who vanished were from Albania, followed by Afghanistan and Iran, the data shows.
‘Behind each number is a frightened child’
Esme Madill, of the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre, called the findings “shocking”.
“Behind each number is a frightened child who has already endured unimaginable trauma before reaching the UK,” she said.
Madill added that many children who go missing are victims of trafficking rather than runaways. “They have not chosen to disappear,” she said. “These are children who should be in school, not trapped in exploitation or abuse.”
Ruling against use of Home Office hotels
In December 2023, the High Court ruled that placing lone asylum-seeking children in hotels was unlawful, prompting Kent County Council to expand its use of reception centres.
However, since the ruling, another 44 children have gone missing from those facilities — 10 are still unaccounted for.
Calls for stronger protection
Patricia Durr, chief executive of Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK), said the figures were deeply troubling.
“Once a child goes missing, their risk of exploitation rises sharply,” she said. “Unaccompanied children are particularly vulnerable, often trafficked before, during, or after arriving in the UK.”
She urged the government to put child protection above immigration priorities. “Safeguarding must come first. These children need care, stability, and safety, not bureaucracy,” she said.
Council and Home Office responses
A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “Every child missing from care is a serious concern, and we take every step possible to protect them.”
They added that trained social workers assess each child’s risk of exploitation and work with the police and Home Office to locate those missing.
The Home Office said the issue was treated with the utmost seriousness.
“The safety and welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is a priority,” a spokesperson said. “We work closely with police and local authorities to investigate every disappearance.”
