A woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office’s post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister.
Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a “known issue” with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government’s drive to digitise the UK’s immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people.
Politico reported that Webb, who has lived in the UK for eight years, was told at the departure gate she would not be able to board her flight home. “My digital settled status had become linked to my identical twin sister’s details rather than my own, meaning my status could not be properly matched to my identity,” she said.
“I was informed that this is a known technical issue affecting some twins within the Home Office system.”
Webb said Home Office staff promised her over the phone the problem would be fixed, though a confirmation email was then sent to her sister instead of to her.
“I had no idea the issue had been corrected until I was allowed to board my flight home,” Webb said. “Had I not spent hours on the phone trying to resolve the matter, I have no idea how long I could have remained stranded abroad.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Over ۱۰ million people have already successfully used eVisas to prove their immigration status. As we expand our digital system, we are committed to data accuracy and ensuring that the safeguards in place to support eVisa users are accessible to anyone reliant on the digital system.
“In the rare cases where errors are identified, the majority of cases are resolved within ۲۴ hours.” The Home Office indicated the problem Webb encountered had since been fixed and that staff would contact her directly.
Serious concerns have been expressed about the eVisa system. In July ۲۰۲۵, the Guardian reported up to ۲۰۰,۰۰۰ people who had lived in the UK legally for decades were at risk of being caught up in a Windrush-style scandal because the Home Office was unable to get in touch with them to transfer their old immigration documents to the new digital system.
Monique Hawkins, the acting chief executive of the immigration campaign group the۳million, said it had seen previous cases similar to Webb’s, adding that it highlighted vulnerabilities in the system and it was “crucial that people have a genuinely stable means by which to prove their status”.
She told Politico the eVisa rollout had been “rushed”, adding: “We regularly see people not only denied boarding, but also compensation, as carriers and the Home Office play a blame game shifting responsibility between each other.”
