Overview

• AI facial age estimation trial will start in late 2025 with a view to replacing X-rays and ad-hoc visual checks by 2026.
• Immigration Minister Angela Eagle says the technology offers rapid, cost-effective age estimates based on millions of verified images.
• Independent inspector David Bolt’s report found high error rates and mental health impacts for young migrants at processing sites such as Dover’s Western Jet Foil.
• Home Office data shows 1,317 asylum seekers claiming to be minors were later judged to be adults in the first half of 2024.
• Refugee charities and experts warn that facial-age estimation tools may carry biases and accuracy limits despite abandoning invasive scans.