Four in 10 migrants crossing the Channel in small boats lie about being children, official figures show.
Many are believed to have destroyed their identification documents before arriving in Britain in a desperate attempt to cheat the asylum system.
Child refugees cannot be deported and have the rights to the same healthcare, education and sustenance as British children.
Home Office figures show that from mid-2022 to June 2024, 11,449 age disputes were raised by UK Border Force staff.
A staggering 1,305 of those caught lying about their age were from Afghanistan, in a bid to get special protection in the UK.
While Sudan came below with 571 trying to con officials.
A whopping 8,791 were resolved with 3,570 — 40 per cent — having lied about being under 18.
And 355 Iranians, 325 Eritreans and 318 Vietnamese asylum seekers were caught pretending to be children.
Four in 10 migrants crossing the Channel in small boats lie about being children, official figures show
Last year, 56 per cent of disputes identified adult migrants lying about their age, figures from The Sun on Sunday revealed.
It comes as a damning report by borders inspector David Bolt found a ‘lack of curiosity from immigration staff about the genuine age of Channel migrants.
So much so that one Iranian with grey hairs and stubble managed to pass for 17-years-old.
The Government is set to trial AI-powered facial recognition technology to determine whether Channel migrants are being wrongly identified as children.
The Home Office last week announced testing on new technology will begin later this year with the hope it could be fully integrated into the asylum system in 2026.
There have long been fears that some of those who cross the Channel in small boats – who often don’t carry official documents such as passports – are wrongly claiming to be children.
Unaccompanied minors are more likely to be granted asylum than adults, with some suspected to be faking their ages in a bid to boost their chances of staying in the UK.
In the first half of 2024, a total of 1,317 migrants claiming to be minors at the border were later judged to be adults.
There were a total of 2,122 age disputes raised over the same period.
Currently initial age decisions are made by Home Office staff based on a migrant’s physical appearance and demeanour.
A Home Office spokeswoman told The Sun: ‘Robust age assessments for illegal migrants are vital to maintaining border security.
‘We will start to modernise that process in the coming months through the testing of fast and effective AI Age Estimation technology at key Border Force locations, with a view to fully integrate Facial Age Estimation into the current age assessment system over the course of 2026.’
The Home Office have been contacted for comment by MailOnline.
