Authorities are considering various ‘promising scientific and technological methods’ to support the immigration system, with AI claimed to offer possible operational and cost advantages over alternatives such as MRI scans
Government has used 2.5 million images to conduct trials of artificial intelligence technology designed to estimate a person’s age by scanning their face – with the tools reportedly showing evidence of delivering “workable results” cheaply and at speed.
The Immigration White Paper published by government 11 months ago represented a commitment to “strengthening the age-assessment process” for asylum-seekers and others going through the UK immigration system, according to Lord David Hanson, a junior minister in the Home Office.
Shortly after the release of the policy document, tests began of potential new technological methods for estimating the age of individuals – with another minister claiming last summer that AI-powered face scans “could be fully integrated” into immigration processes by the end of 2026.
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In a recent update – provided in response to a written parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Sally Hamwee – Hanson suggested that the AI tech has shown promise, and could offer significant advantages over other potential age-assessment options.
He added that testing has been extensive – and is ongoing.
“Early assessment suggests that facial age estimation is effective and could produce workable results much quicker than other potential methods, such as bone X-rays or MRI scans, and at a fraction of the cost,” the minister said. “As part of our testing of facial age estimation, industry algorithms have been used to test its performance against approximately 2.5 million images with a known age across different ethnicities, genders and age ranges. Further tests are planned throughout 2026.”
