LONDON: The UK Home Office came under scrutiny after it was revealed that officials used a study commissioned by razor manufacturer Gillette to assess the ages of migrants, as reported by The Times on Friday. This unconventional method was exposed during a hearing involving a young Afghan asylum-seeker who had been rescued from a sinking boat in the English Channel in October 2021.
The unnamed Afghan asylum-seeker had insisted to immigration officials that he was below the age of 18. However, during an appeal into his right to stay in the UK in July of this year, a judge determined that he was, in fact, 16 years old when he arrived in the UK.
Criticism was directed at the Home Office and immigration officials for relying on what the judge described as “guesswork and speculation” to determine the ages of some asylum-seekers. In this particular case, officials had concluded that the young Afghan was older than he claimed based on his statement that he had started shaving regularly before fleeing Afghanistan in 2021.
The judge emphasized that such a decision based on shaving habits was “inherently subjective and not properly capable of bearing much evidential weight.”
Migrants Age Assessment in UK
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, commented on the issue, stating, “Distinguishing between adults and children is not something that can be done quickly; it takes time and expertise to make the right decision. But the reality is that poor quality decisions are resulting in far too many children being wrongly age-assessed and put at risk.”
In response, a Home Office spokesman defended the practice, saying, “It’s vital that we remove incentives for adults to pretend to be children in order to remain in the UK.” The spokesman cited statistics, stating, “Between January 2016 and the year ending in June 2023, 49 percent of asylum applicants whose age was disputed were found to be adults.”
To address concerns about age assessments, the Home Office mentioned several measures, including strengthening the age verification process through the National Age Assessment Board, introducing scientific assessments such as x-rays, and implementing measures under the Illegal Migration Act to enhance the robustness of age assessments and protect children in migration cases.
