The Home Office’s planned use of Facial Age Estimation to estimate the ages of migrants has come under renewed scrutiny following reports questioning the technology’s accuracy.
Facial Age Estimation (FAE) uses machine-learning technology to analyse a facial photograph and produce an estimated age. The Home Office is currently testing the technology during 2026, with a view to introducing it at the UK border in 2027.
The technology is intended to support immigration officers when an individual’s claimed age is uncertain. However, concerns have been raised about how reliably such systems can distinguish between older children and young adults.
Why Age Decisions Matter
Determining whether someone is under or over 18 can have significant consequences within the immigration and asylum system.
Children are subject to different safeguarding arrangements and protections. An incorrect decision could therefore result in a child being treated as an adult.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has previously highlighted the difficulty of determining chronological age accurately. Its 2025 inspection noted that physical appearance and development can be influenced by factors including environment, life experiences and ethnicity.
The Home Office itself acknowledges that there is no single method capable of determining a person’s exact age.
Concerns Over Facial Age Estimation
Recent reporting by The Independent, working with Lighthouse Reports and WIRED, has raised questions about the accuracy of FAE around the crucial 18-year threshold.
According to the investigation, an internal Home Office evaluation found difficulties when estimating the ages of teenagers. Concerns were also reported about variations in accuracy between demographic groups.
These concerns are particularly important because relatively small errors could affect whether a person is initially treated as a child or an adult.
Similar concerns about facial age estimation have been identified outside the immigration system. A government-commissioned study published in March 2026 found that these tools can struggle to distinguish between narrow age groups, including 16 and 18-year-olds. It also identified differences in accuracy across gender, ethnicity and skin tone.
How Does the Home Office Plan to Use FAE?
The Home Office says FAE will provide additional information rather than make the final decision.
Under its published plans, the technology would support an immigration officer’s initial assessment. Officers would continue to consider other information and make the decision themselves.
FAE would also not replace more detailed age assessments where these are required.
This distinction is significant. An AI-generated age estimate would form part of the evidence available to officials rather than automatically determining whether someone is legally treated as a child.
Testing Continues Before the Planned 2027 Rollout
The technology is not currently operational within the immigration age assessment system.
The Home Office says testing will continue throughout 2026 before the proposed introduction at the border in 2027. It has also recognised that FAE has limitations and that age estimation cannot establish an individual’s precise chronological age.
The debate will therefore centre not simply on whether AI can assist immigration officers, but on how much weight its estimates should carry when the consequences of an incorrect decision may be significant.
As testing continues, the accuracy, fairness and safeguards surrounding the technology are likely to remain under close scrutiny.
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