20 Groups Call for ICO Probe Over eVisa Data Errors

Twenty civil rights organizations sent a letter to Dame Chi Onwurah MP calling for publication of data-security incident figures and an investigation into the Information Commissioner's Office over its handling of eVisa problems. The Independent reported that millions of foreign nationals registered for eVisas after physical documents were phased out at the end of 2024.

Some users have had personal information and immigration histories wrongly shared with strangers due to merged identities in the system.

The letter states that eVisa failures prevent individuals from proving their status to enter the country, apply for jobs or pay rises, enroll in education, or claim benefits. The organizations described the problems as systemic and rooted in design and architectural choices. They asked the science, innovation and technology select committee to examine the ICO's response.

The ICO received 851 complaints about the Home Office between December 2023 and December 2025, according to a data request response cited by The Independent. John Edwards resigned as Information Commissioner in June 2025 after a workplace investigation found he used vulgar and highly sexualised language with staff. Science secretary Liz Kendall said such conduct does not belong in the workplace.

Edwards told MPs he preferred to work collaboratively with government to identify errors rather than launch formal investigations or impose fines. The ICO was among the few bodies informed of a data breach involving Afghan resettlement scheme applicants, while the public and MPs remained unaware for nearly two years.

The office chose not to open a formal investigation and took no contemporaneous notes of that decision.