The Open Rights Group has called out the UK government’s new e-visa initiative, warning that the digital ID scheme could lead to a digital Windrush scandal where people who have the right to be in the UK are unable to prove it, with potentially life-changing consequences.

A new report from the group, E-Visas: Hostile and Broken, compiles Home Office communications, expert opinions, case studies and technical explainers to examine widespread concerns regarding both migrants’ rights and digital rights in the UK.

According to the Open Rights Group, the government’s insistence on digital-only IDs creates a number of threats to human rights by not providing alternative means to prove a person’s immigration status, especially for vulnerable groups.

That, combined with what the advocacy group calls problematic design choices, poor planning, and poor implementation, could create scope for a host of technical errors, as well as raising data protection concerns.

In particular, the report highlights that the potential for errors is exacerbated by the fact that datasets are not tightly linked by single identifiers, meaning that data can be mismatched and incorrect results returned during a live e-Visa check.

The Open Rights Group claims it has gathered evidence of various e-Visa errors, including incorrect account details, system crashes preventing people from accessing their status, and a lack of technical ability among those responsible for verifying immigration status under the new e-Visa scheme.

The report argues that the Home Office has overlooked several privacy and human rights concerns in rolling out the digital ID plan. Among these, the Open Rights Group highlights the ‘high barrier to access’ for migrants, many of whom lack digital literacy or up-to-date technology.

Additionally, there are concerns that this vulnerable group could be especially susceptible to cybercrime under the new initiative, causing the advocacy group to urge the government to stop the e-Visa scheme immediately and provide an alternative to the digital-only, online-only status for migrants.

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Sara Alsherif, programme manager for migrant digital justice at Open Rights Group, said: “The e-Visa scheme is yet another failed IT project that could have life-changing consequences for thousands of people in the UK.

“The Home Office has not learned lessons from previous mistakes nor listened to the concerns of migrants and the groups that represent them. With the deadline for e-Visa applications just months away, we urge the new Home Secretary to take urgent action in order to prevent a digital Windrush scandal next year.”

The government said it would provide up to £4 million of support from this month to a UK-wide network of voluntary and community sector organisations to provide independent support for vulnerable customers, as part of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas.