UK's eVisa system confused identical twins, stranding woman at airport

Full text

LONDON — The U.K.’s Brexit settlement scheme left a woman stranded at a foreign airport — after confusing her for her identical twin sister and stopping her from boarding her flight home.

The error is the latest in a string of problems caused by the system’s design affecting tens of thousands of EU citizens living in Britain.

When Brexit hit, EU nationals already resident in the U.K. at the time were given “settled status” granting them the right to stay once free movement ended.

But instead of getting a physical document to prove their status, the Home Office decided they would only be given a digital “eVisa” stored on a Home Office computer.

Just one problem: the information in the eVisa computer isn’t always correct. The Home Office system sometimes gets confused, including, POLITICO has learned, between identical twins.

Known issue

The system’s problem with identical twins is a “known issue,” the Home Office told Nidia Webb over the phone as she tried to work out why she had been stranded in a foreign country.

When Webb, who has lived in the U.K. for eight years, tried to fly home from a holiday in Spain earlier this month, she was denied boarding at the gate.

The problem? Her settled status wasn’t showing up in the system. The flight departed without her.

After spending hours on the phone with a Home Office helpline, the problem became clear.

“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 told POLITICO.

“I was informed that this is a known technical issue affecting some twins within the Home Office system.” The Home Office did not dispute her account and said it would be contacting her to ensure the issue was resolved.

Webb was assured over the phone that she would get an update when the issue with her eVisa account had been fixed. But in a result which failed to inspire confidence, the Home Office sent the confirmation email to her twin sister.

The Home Office system sometimes gets confused, including between identical twins. | Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

“I had no idea the issue had been corrected until I was allowed to board my flight home,” Webb said — a fact which compounded an already stressful situation.

“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,” she added.

Webb was forced to pay for a new flight home out of her own pocket — money her travel insurer said she should try to recover from the Home Office.

The eVisa database keeps a record of a person’s full name, date of birth, nationality, and a facial photograph. But these traits are by definition often a very close match for identical twins, including Webb, whose name is similar to that of her sister.

Many such cases

Monique Hawkins, acting CEO of the3million, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K., said problems with the eVisa system sometimes left people unable to prove their identity when they needed it most.

“We have seen many cases where someone else’s immigration status is entangled with another person’s eVisa account. We had hoped, after repeatedly raising this issue, that the Home Office had taken more steps to prevent it happening. It just shows how, despite claims that the eVisa system is highly resilient, it can fail people at the critical moments they need it to work,” she said.

Hawkins said it was “crucial that people have a genuinely stable means by which to prove their status” and described the digital-only system as “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.”

While a Home Office spokesperson did not dispute Webb’s account, they defended the eVisa system, arguing it had worked for many people.

“Over 10 million people have already successfully used eVisas to prove their immigration status,” the spokesperson said. “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 24 hours.”

More than 76,000 people have their names, immigration status, or photographs mixed up in the U.K.’s immigration database, the Guardian reported in 2024. This number includes other nationalities subject to eVisa and not just EU citizens.

Webb’s story comes after POLITICO revealed that the European Union’s own digital border system, EES, is also sometimes confused by identical twins .

As identity and border systems are increasingly digitalized, twins are facing more problems across the board, say campaigners. “Too often twins are considered as one as opposed to as individuals and we urge those making these technological decisions to consider twins’ individuality,” Rafi Cooper, head of communications at Twins Trust, said.