Ahead of Brexit, all EU nationals living in the UK need to prove their immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme in order to remain in the country.
After the scheme was launched, it was billed by then Home Secretary Sajid Javid as being "simple and straightforward" to complete.
But research by immigration charity Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit has found otherwise.
According to the charity's Not so Straightforward report, the scheme is "designed for people leading ordered, uncomplicated lives who have the evidence to prove it".
It is not for "children with disrupted life histories who have little ownership of documents that show their nationality or where they have been living".
None of the EU-national children supported by the charity were able to apply as they did not have the necessary evidence.
"Two of the young people were never likely to be able to get the required evidence," states the report.
"This is despite over half of them having been in the UK for over five years (the requirement for Settled Status) and in our legal opinion having good prospects of success if applying for British citizenship."
NEW REPORT: EU Settlement Scheme designed for people leading ordered, uncomplicated lives who have evidence to prove it; not children with disrupted life histories. Read exps of #ChildrenInCare in #GreaterManchester with #Brexit #Immigration changes. https://t.co/4jfn7Vn7Gv
— GMIAU (@GMIAU) 8 November 2019
Children in care and care leavers are particularly at risk because of specific barriers they face, including not having the right paperwork due to the length of time they have been in care and documents being with parents, who may be out of the UK or unco-operative.
They are also disproportionately likely to be in contact with the criminal justice system, which can affect their claim to stay in the UK under the scheme.
In addition, there is uncertainty among social workers about what documents are needed and general confusion around the scheme.
Many social workers and personal advisers are attending Home Office appointments with invalid documents such as birth certificates and expired passports, found the charity.
One social worker told the charity about concerns around one child "who has a trip abroad planned and there's a risk of her not being allowed back".
While applications are free, councils have to pay a Home Office fee of £1,012 for every citizenship application for children in their care.
The charity wants this fee waived and the scheme overhauled to make it easier to grant rights to settled status for EU citizens. Legal aid should also be extended to care leavers wanting to apply, it says.
It claims that councils should also improve their support for looked-after children, including integrating immigration needs within care plans and following up immigration issues.
"If the lessons of this report, and others, are not acted upon it will end up with more young people struggling to access services, at risk of homelessness, facing immigration detention or being removed from the UK," adds the report.
Earlier this year the charity Coram also warned that children face a number of barriers under the EU Settlement Scheme, including documentation problems.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
