A Vietnamese asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by small boat in March last year was found to have deliberately misrepresented his age, an immigration court heard. The man, initially claiming to be 16 years old to receive child protections, was later determined to be 22. Officials uncovered discrepancies in his account, notably through evidence linked to his TikTok social media profile.

Upon arrival, immigration and social services assessed the man’s birth year as 2002, making him an adult rather than a minor as he claimed. Despite this, he asserted he was 15 or 16 during interviews and challenged the age determination through a judicial review. However, his appeal was unsuccessful, and the upper immigration tribunal ruled against him.

A key piece of evidence was a screenshot of his TikTok account, which suggested he was an adult at the time he created the profile. The man explained that neighbors in Vietnam had provided him with a smartphone to bypass age verification on the app, and that the date of birth listed was random. He further contended that TikTok’s age restrictions, including the requirement to link a local phone number or personal identification number, were circumvented by using a neighbor’s device.

Judge Helen Rimington, who presided over the tribunal, expressed skepticism about these claims. She deemed it “not plausible” that an expensive smartphone would have been given to a minor by neighbors solely for accessing TikTok. The judge also noted inconsistencies in the man’s testimony, particularly his inability to explain why he entered a random date of birth when creating the account.

During the age assessment process, officials questioned the claimant’s physical appearance, pointing to features such as a pronounced Adam’s apple. The man attributed this to a past throat infection rather than age, but this explanation did not satisfy authorities.

The man, who has been granted anonymity, was ordered to pay legal costs to Derby City Council, which conducted the initial age determination. His asylum claim remains under consideration, though the ruling confirms his status as an adult within the immigration system.