Young asylum seekers far more likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers

Local authorities deem UK arrivals to be children more than twice as often as border forces, Home Office data shows

Young asylum seekers in the UK are more than twice as likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers, according to Home Office data.

Between July 2025 and March 2026, 4,320 initial age decisions made by immigration officials found 1,363 new arrivals (32%) to be children.