Calais Charity Helped Adult Migrants Pose as Children

A British asylum charity repeatedly supported adult migrants attempting to deceive authorities by posing as children, according to a Telegraph investigation. Care4Calais helped several adult asylum seekers challenge official Home Office age assessments to secure council accommodation and school places.

An investigation by The Telegraph revealed that Care4Calais backed balding and wrinkled migrants who claimed to be under 18. In one case, an Ethiopian migrant with a receding hairline was supported by a charity volunteer in claiming to be 17, but was subsequently ruled by a judge to be 22. Judge Sarah Grey stated that the applicant had made a conscientious effort to mislead authorities to secure the perceived benefits of being an unaccompanied child.

In another instance from March 2024, Care4Calais assisted a Sudanese small boat migrant with established wrinkles and a pronounced Adam’s apple after immigration authorities judged him to be 28. Following a referral from the charity, he was placed in children’s accommodation before a tribunal judge ruled he was actually 20 years old upon arrival.

Charity Defends Humanitarian Work

Responding to the findings, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, called for Care4Calais to be investigated by the Charity Commission.

If male illegal immigrants in their 20s get away with pretending to be under 18 and are then placed with teenage girls in schools, the risks are obvious. Care4Calais’ activity is borderline illegal and certainly not charitable.

— Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary, The Telegraph

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, accused the organisation of aiding and abetting the mass invasion of unvetted males into Britain.

• Care4Calais maintains a dedicated age dispute team that helped 312 migrants in 2025.
• Government figures show 43 per cent of disputed age cases closed in the year ending March were found to be adults.
• Migrants are directed to UK help teams via new arrival guides distributed in Calais and Dunkirk.

Defending the organisation, a spokesman for Care4Calais stated that the real scandal involved child migrants incorrectly judged to be adults by the state. The spokesman insisted that their legal access department helps people seeking asylum access justice through secure legal representation.

The Charity Commission and other named organisations were approached for comment as scrutiny over age dispute casework intensifies across the immigration sector.

Original source: Read the full report at The Telegraph

Original source: Read the full report at The Telegraph