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Legal Update: Use of dental X-rays to determine a child's age

Recent judgments cast more doubt on processes used to determine the age of young asylum seekers who arrive without documentation

The use of dental X-rays to assess the age of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has been a key issue before the Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal in recent months. Every year, thousands of young asylum seekers arrive in the UK and many are unable to show how old they are, because, for example, they lack the requisite identification documents. If their age is questioned by Home Office officials and/or social workers, they may undergo detailed assessments in order for their age to be determined. The outcomes of these assessments will not only determine how a child may be housed, supported and educated, but how their asylum claim is assessed and whether or not they are at risk of being placed in immigration detention or adult accommodation.

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