A Canadian citizen had her passport information, immigration history and contact details erroneously shared with a Russian woman by the Home Office in an egregious example of mix-ups in the government’s eVisa system.
The data breach came to light after the Canadian woman was contacted out of the blue by a Russian citizen who had accessed her own eVisa, only to find that the other’s details had been merged with her own.
The Russian woman, who lives in London, was able to access the Canadian’s email address, telephone number, nationality and passport details through the eVisa, which was how she made contact. The Home Office also incorrectly sent a confirmation email to the Russian instead of the Canadian.
The Russian woman then had difficulties re-entering the UK at Heathrow after visiting Russia for Christmas. The Canadian woman, who lives in Wales, was “extremely traumatised” by the experience, her solicitor said.
The case, which happened in December 2024, has emerged as part of a joint letter sent by migrant charities and rights groups to the data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), calling for an investigation into the electronic visa system used by millions of foreign nationals. They say that there is a “systemic risk to privacy, equality and human rights” caused by problems with the Home Office’s roll-out.
The Russian woman had also tried to attend a biometric appointment, where you provide fingerprints and a photo for visa applications, but was wrongly told by officials that she couldn’t enrol because she had already enrolled her details.
Misha Slough, the solicitor representing the Canadian, tried to contact the eVisa team for help at the end of December 2024 but received a reply saying they would reply within 10 working days. The Home Office said it would take within twenty working days to reply to her formal complaint. However, by March this year, she had still had no response from either.
Problems then compounded when the Russian woman returned to Russia over Christmas and had difficulties re-entering the UK. Border force staff then told her details of the Canadian’s immigration history, despite her trying to explain the merged identities.
Ms Slough managed to get the issue resolved, with the help of a charity, but said her client was “lucky” that the Russian woman had tried to sort out the problem.
Now, 19 migrant rights groups, charities, and researchers, including Asylum Matters and the Open Rights Group, have written to the ICO urging them to investigate problems with the eVisa system.
Have you been affected by visa problems? Contact holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk
They said that the eVisa system “has caused significant distress and hardship to migrants due to ongoing technical failures, a lack of transparency, data integrity and quality issues, in addition to systemic barriers to accessing the immigration status. The problems with the eVisa scheme remain unresolved”.
They said they have seen a “high volume of instances where individuals discovered inaccurate personal details on their eVisas, including photographs, names, visa end dates, or even passport numbers”.
The experts warned that foreign nationals may be left unable to rent, study, prove their right to work, or board flights due to issues with electronic visa status.
Millions of people have now registered to access an eVisa, after physical documents were phased out for foreign nationals at the end of 2024.
The Independent has documented a number of cases where people had trouble flying due to the introduction of eVisas, which foreign airport staff often did not understand.
This included a woman, Maria Juliana Marquz Monslave, who was left stranded in Brazil after airline staff refused to let her board her flight home, and a UK community worker, Marzena Zukowska, who was challenged at Chicago O’Hare for over an hour.
Another man told The Independent how he was left unable to prove his refugee status or travel to see his family due to eVisa delays.
An ICO spokesperson said: “We regularly engage with government departments, including the Home Office, to ensure that data protection obligations are met and potential risks are mitigated. We can confirm that we have received the letter outlining these concerns, and will carefully assess the issues raised before responding.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Over 10 million eVisas have now been issued, and the vast majority of people with an eVisa continue to use them without any problems.
“They cannot be lost, stolen, or tampered with, and provide a secure digital way to prove someone’s right to work or enter this country lawfully.
“We take data security and accuracy extremely seriously. We stand ready to support any users who encounter difficulties creating or using their eVisa accounts.”
