Hosted by www.ijjo.org

C H A P T E R 5
Age Disputes:
A Barrier to Entering a Child Specific
Asylum Determination Process
A very significant number of unaccompanied or separated children are denied
access to a child appropriate asylum determination process and to social services
accommodation because their age is disputed by an Immigration Officer or
an Immigration and Nationality Directorate case worker during the initial
screening process.
This sometimes occurs because the child travelled on
a passport with an adult’s date of birth, even though
the case worker accepts that the passport in question was
false. More usually it occurs because the officer simply
thinks the child looks like an adult. If this assessment
is wrong the unaccompanied or separated child is not
only denied entry to the age appropriate asylum determination
process but also the child’s credibility is put
in doubt, with obvious adverse consequences for the
child’s chances of being granted asylum. There is also
some anecdotal evidence that age disputed children
are more likely to be detained than adults because of
doubts about their reliability and the likelihood of
their absconding raised by the dispute over age. 1
The number of unaccompanied or separated
children whose ages were disputed increased rapidly
between 2001 and 2004. This increase seemed to be
consistent across the U.K. According to a case worker
at Stockport Law Centre 2 the local social services
department had reported that a growing number of
unaccompanied or separated children were having
their stated ages disputed. This perception was echoed
by a solicitor 3 in London. In addition, six of the nine
children interviewed in depth about their experiences
Hosted by www.ijjo.org
55