Children are often regarded as ‘dependents’ within migration studies, rendering their care work invisible. Drawing on the ethics of care, this paper analyses young people's active roles in caring for family members in Sweden and the UK and for transnational kin, based on qualitative and participatory research with young people (aged 6–25). Many young people provided emotional support, language brokering and practical assistance to navigate care, welfare and immigration systems. Some young people engaged in higher levels of caregiving, often linked to inadequate formal care resources and the absence of a parent or extended kin who would usually be expected to provide care. Caregiving was often accompanied by gendered and inter- and intra-generational conflicts, which could impact on young people's wellbeing and competence to provide ‘good care’. More awareness is needed of young people's crucial roles in filling the gaps in care, welfare and migration regimes in transnational spaces.