Rights groups concerned over UK’s plan to use biometric age estimation on migrants

Rights groups and social work experts are expressing concerns about the UK’s plans to introduce biometric facial age estimation for vetting underage migrants arriving in the country.

Using “flawed” AI tools could prove dehumanizing and may not provide accurate age estimations, organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Freedom from Torture argue. The result could be placing children in adult asylum hotels without safeguards or adequate support.

“Assessing the ages of migrants is a complex process which should not be open to shortcuts,” Luke Geoghegan, head of policy and research at the British Association of Social Workers, told Context. “This should never be compromised for perceived quicker results through artificial intelligence.”

Last week, the UK Home Office closed a £1.3 million tender (US$1.7 million) for procuring an algorithm that can accurately predict the age of a person without verifiable identity documentation. According to plans laid out earlier this year, age estimation technology should be integrated into government work by 2026.

The tender is part of a broader initiative to tackle the “small boat” migrant crisis: Over 33,500 people have arrived on UK soil in small boats since the start of 2025, the highest year on record. Among them many are children who are entitled to support, especially unaccompanied children who automatically receive care and accommodation from local authorities.

Currently, age assessments are done by humans, but this has opened space for mistakes.

Research by the Helen Bamber Foundation has found that some 680 children were wrongly assessed to be adults in 2024, 56 percent of the total cases that were re-assessed. On the flipside, statistics from the Home Office show that an identical percentage of migrants who claimed to be children on arrival in the UK turned out to be 18 or older.

The difficulties in assessing age, especially when different ethnicities are involved, have allowed adults to pose as children and exploit the UK asylum system, according to the government. In July, Minister of State Dame Angela Eagle told the UK Parliament that facial age estimation is likely “the most cost-effective option to pursue” for improving age assessment.

Article Topics

biometric age estimation  |  biometrics  |  children  |  facial age estimation (FAE)  |  Home Office Biometrics (HOB)  |  immigration  |  UK age verification