Report claims UK eVisa system uses migrants as digital ID testing ground

A new report raises alarm over the UK’s mandatory digital immigration status system, claiming that migrants may have been used as a testing ground for the government’s wider digital ID ambitions.

The “Exclusion by Design: Digital Identification and the Hostile Environment for Migrants” report comes from researchers at the University of Warwick and University of Leicester, working with Migrant Voice and the Open Rights Group.

It examines the rollout of the Home Office’s eVisa platform, which from June 2025 requires nearly all migrants entering or residing in the UK to prove their legal status exclusively through digital means.

Since July 15, the UK has been preparing to officially transition to electronic visas, replacing physical visa documents with the eVisa, a secure online record of immigration status linked with a person’s passport. Millions of people already hold eVisas, which were designed to replace biometric residence cards (BRC), passport endorsements and vignette stickers in passports.

According to the new report, the transition from physical documents such as Biometric Residence Permits to an online-only system has created “substantial barriers” for migrants. This includes legal uncertainty, emotional distress and exclusion from work, housing, travel and access to public services.

Technical glitches, limited digital literacy, language barriers and inadequate support have compounded the difficulties, according to the report, leaving many migrants fearful that even minor errors could jeopardize their rights.

The researchers argue that the eVisa system effectively pilots a digital identity infrastructure on a precarious population, normalizing experimental forms of digital identification before extending them to the wider public.

The UK’s former head of MI6 (the country’s intelligence service), Sir Alex Younger, called for the introduction of digital ID cards to combat irregular migration and employment earlier this year. The UK government has since introduced a mandatory national digital identity plan, with Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones meeting with digital ID providers recently, as parliament sees heated debates over the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Exclusion by Design report highlights how migrants are forced to repeatedly generate temporary “share codes” to prove their status, creating what it calls a “politics of exhaustion” that places disproportionate burdens on the most vulnerable.

The report suggests that migrants’ experiences vary depending on their digital literacy, language proficiency and socio-economic resources. Those already marginalized face the greatest risks of exclusion, while even those able to navigate the system report feeling trapped and mistrustful of its reliability. Across all groups, participants described the platform as “unreadable, unreliable, unstable, stressful, and time-consuming.”

The report makes a series of recommendations, including immediate support services, multilingual guidance, rapid remedies for technical errors and better communication with employers, landlords and service providers. Longer-term reforms call for legal safeguards, meaningful engagement with civil society, and an end to the purported experimental use of migrants as a test population for digital identity systems.

“By prioritising accessibility, transparency and accountability, the Home Office can ensure that the digitalisation of public services does not compromise migrants’ rights,” the authors write. “Failure to act will perpetuate systemic exclusion, deepen inequalities and erode trust in public authorities.”

The Home Office has yet to respond to the findings.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  Home Office Biometrics (HOB)  |  immigration  |  UK  |  UK digital ID