An Afghan asylum seeker with grey hair has been ruled a child by a judge at the time of his small boat crossing.

The asylum court deemed the migrant, who had previously failed to cross the Channel three times, was 15 despite going grey on the side of his head.

Authorities in the UK believe the asylum seeker was an adult, with an "established jawline and lack of youthful glow".

However, an upper immigration tribunal ruled that the "stress" of journeying from Afghanistan may have led the asylum seeker to go grey.

The asylum seeker arrived via a small boat after three failed attempts

A tribunal judgment said: "He claims to have left Afghanistan in or around August 2021. He travelled through various countries including Iran, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and France.

"Following three unsuccessful attempts to enter the UK, he arrived here by small boat on October 10, 2022.

"In an interview with the Home Office shortly after his arrival, he explained that he had come to the UK 'for a better future, for better opportunities', that he would 'return to my country after I complete my studies in the UK' and that he had come here 'to support my family financially'."

After being placed into foster care, a number of social workers from East Sussex County Council raised questions of his age as "there was some doubt as to whether he was as young as he claimed to be".

After an assessment from the social workers, they said: "The assessors took into account that the [migrant] had been described as having an appearance older than his claimed age of 16, specifically some grey hair earlier in the report described as 'flecks' on the sides of his head and an 'established jawline and lack of youthful glow'.

"Furthermore, [he] had not grown out of his clothes or shoes during his journey to the UK and, by his own account, had reached his 'adult height' before leaving Afghanistan in August 2021. He also appeared to have facial hair before starting his journey to the UK."

Upper Tribunal Judge Matthew Hoffman criticised the council's reliance on physical appearance, saying at the judicial review that it is a "notoriously unreliable basis for determining a person's age".

Judge Hoffman stated: "This is not a case where it is asserted that the [Afghan man] looks so much older than his claimed age that this can be considered to be a reliable indicator.

Over 20,000 small boat migrants have arrived so far in the UK this year

"We also find that little weight can be attached to the fact ... that he has some grey hairs on the side of his head. It is not impossible for a teenager to have some grey hairs, but it is unusual. However, it does not seem to us to be much less unusual for a 19-year-old to have grey hairs than a 16-year-old.

"That is especially the case here, where there appears to have been some acknowledgement by the assessors that this may have been the result of the stress caused on his journey to the UK and that other possible explanations include vitamin deficiency and genetics."

The judge added that the evidence suggesting he was shaving before arriving in the UK is of little weight, noting that "the presence of facial hairs was not an uncommon feature of adolescent males from his ethnicity".

Judge Hofmann concluded: "We find it more likely than not that he is telling the truth when he claims that he was 15 years old when he arrived in the UK. After careful consideration, we find it more likely than not that he was born during Ramadan in 2006."