AI facial recognition to check age of asylum seekers claiming to be children

Christopher McKeon, Press Association Political Correspondent

The Home Office is set to begin using AI facial recognition tests to estimate the age of asylum seekers claiming to be children.

Harlow-based IT company Akhter Computers has been awarded a £322,000 contract to provide “an algorithm that can accurately predict the age of a subject”, according to an official notice published on Friday.

It added the Home Office could use the technology to determine the age of people who lack “verifiable identity documents”, such as those arriving in the UK on small boats.

Unaccompanied children seeking asylum are treated differently to adults, and being under the age of 18 can in some cases have an impact on whether asylum is granted.

Age assessments are currently carried out by immigration officers in cases where the age of an asylum seeker is disputed.

But a report last year found some staff at the Western Jet Foil reception centre in Dover lacked adequate training.

The report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration also noted it was “inevitable” some assessments would be wrong “in the absence of a foolproof ‘test’ of chronological age”.

In the year to March 2026, some 6,420 people were subject to an initial age assessment – 7% of all those claiming asylum in the UK – and 43% were found to be adults.

But those decisions can be challenged. Official figures show 17% of those initially found to be adults in the second half of 2025 were later found to be children, with more awaiting a reassessment.

The Home Office notice lists German company Cognitec as a sub-contractor, with the firm already working with border agencies in Germany and Australia to verify passengers’ identities at airports.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.