The Residence Workplace is but to publish details about the size of software program errors in its digital visa (eVisa) system, however what little knowledge is already accessible means that tens of 1000’s have been affected.
On 31 December 2024, the immigration paperwork of thousands and thousands of individuals dwelling within the UK expired after being changed by the Residence Workplace with a real-time, online-only immigration standing.
Whereas the division has been issuing eVisas for a number of years – together with to European Union (EU) residents who utilized to the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) after Brexit, these making use of for Expert Employee visas, and folks from Hong Kong making use of for the British Nationwide (Abroad) visa – paper paperwork have now been utterly phased out.
As a substitute, individuals at the moment are anticipated to make use of a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) digital account to generate “share codes”, which they need to use to show their immigration standing when coping with a spread of third events, together with employers and letting companies.
Regardless of persistent knowledge high quality and integrity points plaguing the system since its inception, which have left individuals unable to reliably show their immigration standing when wanted, the present Residence Workplace coverage means the eVisa system is the one method individuals can proof their lawful residence within the UK, in addition to their related rights and entitlements.
Not like the previous bodily paperwork, the Residence Workplace’s eVisa system doesn’t present a steady report of a person’s immigration standing. As a substitute, the system generates the standing in actual time each time somebody must show it, which is decided by trawling dozens of disparate databases to supply the related info.
On condition that thousands and thousands of individuals at the moment are required to show their immigration standing through the system, even a 1% error charge would imply tens of 1000’s of persons are affected on the very least.
“Greater than 10 million eVisas have now been issued, and the overwhelming majority of individuals proceed to make use of them with none issues,” a Residence Workplace spokesperson instructed Pc Weekly. “We’ll present help to anybody who has difficulties and resolve any issues raised as swiftly as doable.”
Nonetheless, whereas immigration attorneys and civil society organisations have lengthy been making an attempt to uncover the true extent of the problems being confronted, the Residence Workplace itself has to this point refused to reveal significant info that will assist these teams grasp the size of the issue.
Two separate Freedom of Data requests – submitted by attorneys and media outlet Politico in February and June 2025, respectively – have been beforehand denied by the Residence Workplace. Within the first occasion, it withheld the knowledge on the premise that extracting the knowledge from its databases would exceed the associated fee restrict. Within the second occasion, it withheld the knowledge as a result of the knowledge was supposed for future publication.
Details about the size of eVisa points was just lately unveiled by Simon Tomlinson, the Residence Workplace’s then-policy lead for eVisas in migration, borders and worldwide coverage and programmes, throughout a judicial overview problem introduced by two individuals affected by system errors.
Whereas the Excessive Courtroom heard – and finally dismissed – the judicial overview case in early March 2026, Tomlinson famous that in November 2025 alone, 41,000 calls have been made to the UKVI Decision Centre.
The Residence Workplace can’t declare the eVisa venture a hit, whereas on the identical time overlaying up the extent of technical failures Monique Hawkins, the3million
He added that, between April and October 2025, 116,011 additional eVisa enquiries have been submitted by members of the general public, though the ruling itself doesn’t clarify whether or not that’s the quantity reported to the Decision Centre particularly, or to the Residence Workplace usually.
Pc Weekly requested the Residence Workplace for clarification on the place the reviews have been made, however obtained no response on this level.
Though there was, actually, no error in 34,550 instances (29.7%), the ruling famous that the remaining 81,461 (70.2%) associated to errors that subsequently needed to be addressed.
“The Residence Workplace can’t declare the eVisa venture a hit, whereas on the identical time overlaying up the extent of technical failures,” mentioned Monique Hawkins, head of coverage and advocacy at the3million.
“We proceed to see the human influence of such failures, as individuals contact us each single day. Simply right now, I spoke to somebody who, following main surgical procedure overseas, has been unable to return to her dwelling within the UK due to a technical failure within the Residence Workplace course of to hyperlink passports.
“Transparency on this subject is essential, and ought to be one thing the Residence Workplace welcomes if it actually believes it has been profitable. With out it, there is no such thing as a method of understanding whether or not the Residence Workplace is successfully monitoring failures, or offering the sources for sooner decision of such failures.”
Pc Weekly contacted the Residence Workplace about when it’s planning to publish the information, and why it has not already given the figures cited in court docket, however obtained no on-the-record response.
Based on additional knowledge held by the3million, which hosts an on-line reporting software for individuals experiencing eVisa points, 917 individuals reported issues with the system on to the organisation between April 2024 and now.
“In Q1 2026, numerous eVisa holders reported a recurring technical fault during which a ‘ghost’ software appeared on their account, blocking them from updating their journey doc particulars. In every case, a earlier UKVI software was exhibiting as pending regardless of the person having no stay software,” it mentioned in a snapshot report of eVisa issues.
“Though the amount of submissions reporting this subject was low, it factors to a deeper and longstanding concern: that technical faults or unannounced back-end adjustments made by the Residence Workplace can render somebody’s sole proof of immigration standing unreliable or inaccessible.”
Nonetheless, the3million mentioned it estimates that for each eVisa drawback reported to it, “there are 500 individuals on the market who don’t report back to us”. The group has beforehand gone on the report to say the instances reported to it are seemingly “simply the tip of the iceberg”.
Potential knowledge safety investigation
Though the UK knowledge regulator has been actively contemplating whether or not to research the Residence Workplace’s eVisa system over knowledge safety issues since November 2025 – after 19 civil society teams wrote an open letter highlighting the “excessive quantity” of information high quality and integrity errors linked to the scheme – it has but to decide to an precise investigation.
In a single case solely reported on by Pc Weekly, the technical errors with knowledge held by the Residence Workplace have been so extreme that the regulator beforehand discovered there had been a breach of UK knowledge safety legislation.
Talking with Pc Weekly, the particular person affected mentioned that ongoing technical errors with the eVisa system meant his account continued to show an expired pupil visa, as a substitute of his new partner visa, and unsuitable passport info for nearly half a yr.
Pc Weekly beforehand contacted the Data Commissioner’s Workplace (ICO) about why it has not but opened a proper investigation or publicly responded to the letter, regardless of widespread knowledge safety points being reported with the system.
“We commonly interact with authorities departments, together with the Residence Workplace, to make sure that knowledge safety obligations are met and potential dangers are mitigated,” mentioned an ICO spokesperson. “We are able to affirm that we’ve got obtained the letter outlining these issues, and are persevering with to fastidiously assess the problems raised earlier than responding.”
In December 2025, Pc Weekly obtained a Freedom of Data (FoI) Act response from the ICO concerning the quantity of eVisa complaints it had obtained since paper paperwork have been phased out on the finish of December 2024.
Nonetheless, the regulator mentioned on the time that it was unable to say what number of eVisa-related instances there have been, as a result of it will require a guide search of lots of of complaints raised in opposition to the Residence Workplace.
“The reason being that we don’t report the requested info in a method that’s simply reportable and would require a guide search of lots of of data to search out the knowledge that you’re requesting,” it mentioned.
“We maintain 851 instances concerning the Residence Workplace within the earlier two years. Assuming that one yr is roughly half that, then there would nonetheless be 425 instances to manually search. Every search might take roughly three to 4 minutes to finish, which might nonetheless take it over the associated fee restrict. It also needs to be famous that a number of the searches would take significantly longer.”
Pc Weekly requested the ICO whether or not it now has a transparent concept of what number of eVisa-related knowledge safety complaints have been raised in opposition to the Residence Workplace, however it didn’t reply up to now.
