Canadian citizen’s personal details shared with Russian woman in major eVisa data breach
Woman ‘traumatised’ by major eVisa mix-up
- The Home Office erroneously shared a Canadian citizen's passport information, contact details and immigration history with a Russian woman in a significant data breach.
- The Canadian woman said she was “extremely traumatised” by the experience after a Russian woman, based in London, gained access to her personal information and contacted her.
- This incident, which occurred in December 2024, has been highlighted by migrant rights groups as an example of wider "unresolved" problems with the government's eVisa system.
- Nineteen migrant rights groups and charities have formally requested the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to investigate the eVisa system, citing systemic risks to privacy and human rights.
- Critics argue that despite the Home Office's claim that most of the 10 million eVisas issued work without problems, there are ongoing technical failures and data integrity issues affecting foreign nationals.