The Home Office signed a three‑year contract with Harlow‑based IT firm Akhter Computers Ltd to develop AI facial‑age estimation for asylum seekers. The deal totals £322,000 and aims to have the system ready for deployment by mid‑2027. Officials say the tool will supplement border officers’ existing visual assessments, reducing false claims that divert resources from genuine child migrants and predicts age quickly.

Last year Home Office data showed 6,400 alleged child migrants were age‑checked at the border, with 43% identified as adults. Over the past year asylum applications rose 14%, reaching 111,084. The government argues existing methods—document checks, appearance and demeanor—are insufficient, prompting the search for a “cost‑effective” technological fix. Officials also cite the technology’s ability to process diverse ethnicities, a factor highlighted in recent internal tests.

Human‑rights groups and the British Association of Social Workers warn the AI could worsen safeguarding failures, arguing social workers, not algorithms, should decide a child’s status. Pilot trials will begin next year on live cases at the Western Jet Foil processing centre in Dover, where the system will act only as an additional aid to officers.