A new Sexuality Credit Rating is to be introduced for immigration and asylum applicants, allowing officials to assess not somebody’s actual sexuality, but the likelihood of another country getting the wrong idea.
Under the new system, applicants will receive a score between 0 and 999, calculated using public advocacy, social-media activity, known associations, personal presentation and something officials are calling Overseas Perception Exposure.
Scores above 750 will be rated Strongly Perceived, while applicants below 500 may be asked to provide additional evidence that people in their home country could reasonably reach conclusions about them without possessing all the facts.
The Office for Immigration Perception said the system would replace the current “outdated reliance on what people actually are”.
“An applicant may have an excellent underlying sexuality but a very weak perception history,” an official explained. “Equally, somebody with no qualifying sexuality whatsoever may present an exceptionally strong international perception profile.”
Ratings will also vary by country, meaning an applicant could hold a score of 318 domestically but rise to 846 after entering a jurisdiction with sufficiently aggressive assumptions.
Officials stressed that applicants should not attempt to improve their rating artificially by changing clothes, attending events or suddenly following musical theatre accounts, as unusual movements may trigger an Enhanced Perception Check.
Those unhappy with their score will be able to appeal to the Independent Orientation Reference Agency, which can upgrade applicants to Potentially Misunderstood, Widely Assumed or, in exceptional cases, Investment Grade Gay.
The department said the reform would finally bring immigration policy into line with modern financial services, where important decisions have long been made using a mysterious number nobody fully understands.
Source: Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber – UI-2026-000896, published 19 August 2026.
