Rare EU law allows Syrian children into UK

The unaccompanied boys, aged 14 to 16, include one orphan who lost his parents in the Syrian war.

The boys are expected to live with their relatives in the UK as authorities assess their asylum claims, after a long campaign by charities, refugee groups and celebrities backed their cause.

The boys are the first group to successfully be admitted into Britain using the Dublin III process - also known as the Dublin Regulation.

The vague European Union law puts responsibility for examining asylum applications aiming for protection under the Geneva Convention on EU nations.

Describing the children, Rabbi Janet Darley, spokesperson for Citizens UK said they "have already experienced more loss and hardship than any child should have to bear," The Guardian quoted.

But she says they "will be returning to the work of reuniting the rest of the 150 children who are still stuck in the system, waiting to be reunited with their families in the UK," calling on "the government to speed up this process so that the children can be where they belong; with their families in the UK."

But the current system is "too slow and too complicated," Kirsty McNeill, director of advocacy, policy and campaigns at Save the Children said, adding it puts children at risk of falling into the hands of people smugglers.

"We need the UK and other EU governments to work together in the best interests of children, to process their claims quickly so they can join their families and begin to rebuild their lives," McNeill told The Guardian.

The Dublin agreement, first announced in January 2013, states that refugees must claim asylum in the first country they arrive in Europe.

However, an unaccompanied child with relatives in another EU country should have a "take charge" request issued on their behalf to allow them to travel to that country to be with family while their asylum application is processed.