Home Office Cracks Down on Fake Child Asylum Seekers
The Home Office has launched the National Age Assessment Board to stop adults pretending to be children when claiming asylum. The new board, unveiled on Friday 31 March, brings expert social workers together to settle age disputes with tougher, standardised checks.
Specialist Team Sets Tough New Standards
The board acts as a central hub for local authorities and the Home Office, providing expert advice and training. Their goal: make age assessments more consistent and robust across the UK.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said:
“It’s a sad fact that there have been cases of asylum-seeking adults pretending to be children to try and game the system, which presents a serious safeguarding risk.
“It is vital we use every tool at our disposal to weed out people falsely claiming to be children so we can prevent abuse of our services and protect children in the UK.
“That is why we are introducing the National Age Assessment Board to set the national standard and ensure assessments are as robust as possible, alongside our commitment to deliver scientific methods to assess age as soon as possible.”
Phased Rollout Starts in London & West Midlands
The board will begin its operations in London and the West Midlands, with around 40 specialist social workers. They will perform detailed Merton-compliant age assessments following referrals, eventually expanding nationwide.
Merton assessments involve thorough background checks and analysis – far more detailed than initial checks done at the border, which often rely on limited evidence such as passports.
Why This Matters: Protecting Children and Services
- Between 2016 and 2022, nearly 7,900 asylum age disputes were resolved; half were adults falsely claiming to be children.
- Cases include adults wrongly placed in children’s care or schools, putting youngsters at risk.
- The new board also supports upcoming scientific methods to verify age for even stronger protections.
This initiative is a key part of reforms under the Nationality and Borders Act. It aims to safeguard genuine children while stopping adults abusing the system to access services they’re not entitled to.
As one example, a man claiming to be 16 was later found to be 26 after a full assessment—the kind of case the board will look to prevent going forward.
