Controversial AI facial technology will be used to check the age of small boat migrants when they arrive at UK borders from next year, the Home Office has announced.
The technology will be used on asylum seekers just after they have arrived in Britain, having made the perilous journey across the Channel, at the reception centre in Western Jet Foil, Dover.
Experts have questioned whether the technology will be able to accurately account for the ageing effect of traumatic journeys, past torture and abuse – experiences that can make people look older.
And charities and campaigners have warned the Home Office that the move amounts to an “experiment on migrants” that will lead to “serious, life-changing consequences”.
The Independent revealed last week at least 755 children were wrongly placed in adult accommodation or detention last year after officials concluded they were adults during visual assessments at the border.
The government recently published data for the first time showing how many migrants have been age-assessed, and what the outcomes of these evaluations were.
It revealed that in the year to March 2026, 6,420 people were subject to an initial age-assessment – equivalent to 7 per cent of asylum claimants. Some 43 per cent of migrants whose age was evaluated, either by Home Office officials or by council workers, were found to be adults, with the remaining 57 per cent found to be children.
Between July and December 2025, 326 migrant children were designated as adults before the decision was overturned, the data found. A further 377 people are still waiting for a decision about their age.
Announcing the plan to roll-out AI facial estimation technology on Friday, the Home Office said that adults arriving in the UK were falsely claiming to be children to dodge detention and removal.
Officials said that the AI tech would be an “additional tool” for immigration enforcement to assess the age of arriving migrants.
A £322,000 contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, who will test and develop the AI tools before they are fully rolled out in 2027.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, said: “For too long, adult migrants making false age claims have exploited the system and diverted vital support away from children at risk.
“That is why we are rolling out AI technology to put a stop to this, ensuring those who game the system are identified, detained and removed without delay, and those who deserve support and protection are given it.
“We will continue to do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
Kamena Dorling, director of policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, said: “The government’s proposals to use artificial intelligence (AI) and Facial Age Estimation (FAE) technology to assess the age of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK upon arrival are deeply concerning.
“AI cannot account for the factors that can significantly affect a young person’s appearance after fleeing conflict and persecution and undertaking dangerous journeys, including trauma, malnutrition, and exhaustion. Existing evidence also shows that AI faces the same problems with bias and inaccuracy as human decision-making, with similar patterns of errors.”
She added: “Age assessments should be carried out by trained social workers, and urgent changes are needed to the use of visual age assessments at the border so that children are not left at risk.”
