UK watchdog urged to probe GDPR failures in Home Office eVisa rollout

Civil society groups are urging the UK's data watchdog to investigate whether the Home Office's digital-only eVisa scheme is breaching GDPR, sounding the alarm about systemic data errors and design failures that are exposing sensitive personal information while leaving migrants unable to prove their lawful status. In a joint …

[Roj Blake]

If Found Guilty

If found to have been in breach of the regulations, HM Home Office will be forced to pay an eye-wateringly large fine...

To HM Government.

[seven of five]

Re: If Found Guilty

That will teach them!

[heyrick]

Hehehe...

In what alternate reality do they think the ICO is going to do anything remotely useful?

[IGotOut]

I'm shocked

A government IT project is a complete shit show of incompetence.

Shocked I tells ya.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: I'm shocked

It's a clear sign they have not contracted enough usual suspects.

[codejunky]

Well

Its a good job they dont intend to do an ID card system

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

Illegal immigrants can breath easy then.

[codejunky]

Re: Well

@AC

"Illegal immigrants can breath easy then."

You seem to believe ID cards have anything to do with illegals.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

codejunky> You seem to believe ID cards have anything to do with illegals.

Do you think they come for the weather?

[codejunky]

Re: Well

@AC

"Do you think they come for the weather?"

Your comment makes no sense. Wanting to bring in ID cards has nothing to do with illegals. I am sure they dont come here for the ID card or not for the ID card. Where is this relationship between illegal and ID card?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

Is that the considered opinion of an actual illegal immigrant? Or do you have illegal immigrant "friends" ?

[Smeagolberg]

Re: Well

'Wanting to bring in ID cards has nothing to do with illegals'

BBC, 26 Sep, 2025:

'Ministers say that "by the end of the parliament" digital ID will be compulsory when checking someone's right to work. They claim that this will in turn reduce on of the "key pull factors" for people arriving in the UK in small boats.

"You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID", the prime minister said. "It is as simple as that."'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c740vjrp81po

Perhaps someone should have told those ministers that ID cards have nothing to do with "illegals", because some of them were boasting about the connection at the time.

Or, The Independent, 26 Sep, 2025:

"Ex-MI6 boss backs calls for digital ID cards to help deter small boat crossings"

"The prime minister is expected to announce his backing for the “Brit card” scheme, which would verify an individual’s right to live and work in the UK, in a speech on Friday.

The plan, which would require a law change to implement, comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action to tackle migration"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-digital-id-brit-card-uk-labour-illegal-migrants-b2834065.html

'Wanting to bring in ID cards has nothing to do with illegals''. Really...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

>>for people arriving in the UK in small boat

It's visa overstays that make up the vast majority of irregulars. And they can live and work in the UK without ever being challenged by anyone. That's why it's so easy and attractive to illegally stay in the UK.

[codejunky]

Re: Well

@Smeagolberg

"'Wanting to bring in ID cards has nothing to do with illegals''. Really...?"

Yes really. We know Starmer claimed it had something to do with stopping illegals from working, except it wont. They already need certain identifications to get jobs yet that doesnt stop them. Do you remember this?- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25914594

It wont stop them from working, they will just stay in the shadow economy

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

It wont stop them from working, they will just stay in the shadow economy

Is this the voice of experience talking?

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Well

Do you think they come for the weather?

Cold and wet. Our ancient ancestors needed their heads examined.

Ignoring the weather, Blighty is no longer a nice place to live and work

[Cynical Pie]

Re: Well

Nigel, is this your burner account?

[Tubz]

and this lot want to run an ID system on approx 70m UK population, with every scum bag on the planet just awaiting to try and breach it! STARMER FU !!!!!

[Smeagolberg]

Yep. But not just Starmer. Politiancs of all parties have been puching for this for years.

Interesting to read about the intent to make providing 5 years of social media history part of the US "e-visa" application.

[Mike 137]

Lousy engineering 101

"Because the scheme is digital-only, there is no physical document to fall back on when errors occur"

This idiotic lack of resilience has become the order of the day. In the name of "progress" we're rendering ourselves ever more open to accidents by eliminating independent backups for almost all our critical services.

[Smeagolberg]

Re: Lousy engineering 101

But, but... didn't JLR and M&S keep doing business seamlessly when their systems were hacked? Didn't they...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Paperless, online only, smart devices, virtual, etc

I’ve met them all. Smart young things that either assume everyone has a smart device and knows how to use them OR knows some don’t have such access but don’t care.

We are breeding a very ignorant generation.

[Blazde]

Re: Paperless, online only, smart devices, virtual, etc

But getting a smartphone is easy! Click here to download our app(*) to help you select the phone that's right for you.

* Android/iOS only

[Eric 9001]

Re: Paperless, online only, smart devices, virtual, etc

It's not even merely some Android/iOS version (i.e. Android 4.0.1), it's only a new enough version (regularly pushed forward so older devices cease to work) and also unmodified too (i.e. no root access).

[Pete Sdev]

Don't worry

No need to worry, as it's only Johnny Foreigners being affected and they can't even vote, absolutely FA will be done about it.

The condition of the UK's waterways reflects it's general state.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Don't worry

The heads of the water companies should be dunked in the rivers their companies pollute. That may work where fines don't seem work

[xyz123]

Re: Don't worry

Water company execs should be legally compelled to drink one glass of water per day from a random river they have control over dumping into.

[xyz123]

the Prime Minister has [allegedly] ordered the EVisa system to have "leaks" so when he sells the data to Russia/China for a whopping great cash payment, he can allege it was "them hackerz wut did it".

It explains why security staff have been 'let go' when they complain about bad security processes and the bringing in of unvetted contractors from different countries.

[seldom]

Specify in the requirements "The software must leak confidential data".

That's the only way you could avoid a government contract IT system not to have leaks.