Unaccompanied refugee minors: settlement experience in Toronto

This paper begins by outlining the legal rights of unaccompanied refugee minors. The paper explores the initial settlement experience of unaccompanied refugee minors who live in Toronto. Their experiences with the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), their refugee hearings, and their experiences as they waited to be notified of their immigration status have been examined through primary research. Research questions that frame this project include: 1) How does the asylum process, which includes such elements as their legal rights, hearing date, and waiting for status, impact unaccompanied refugee minors’ sense of belonging, their establishment/settlement experience in Toronto, and their overall well-being? 2) How does arriving to a new place challenge and modify an existing identity, and what are the challenges unaccompanied minors face in their transition to Canada that have an effect on their identity? And, 3) How does this time in their life influence their perceptions of their future?