Digital ID cards - Learning from the failures of the current digital-only eVisa immigration system

The government has announced the introduction of mandatory digital ID cards for all UK residents, with the aim of tackling irregular working. 

the3million is warning that the policy risks extending the failures of the existing digital-only immigration system to the entire population. 

Monique Hawkins, Head of Policy and Advocacy for the3million, said: 

“The hostile environment measures put in place by previous governments already mean that everyone has to prove their rights whenever opening a bank account, securing a job, renting a property, or trying to travel home to the UK. 

Whereas at the moment British and Irish people can do this by showing their passport, over 10 million migrants in the UK are already forced to rely on a form of digital ID known as an eVisa - having no access to physical proof. 

Making digital ID mandatory for all British citizens is just another performative measure of control, enabling the state to grab ever more data. Employers are already facing high fines if they don’t check people’s right to work. This isn’t working - it’s not preventing irregular work, but rather creating more fear, which is then exploited by unscrupulous employers. 

We already see the damaging effects of this system on millions of migrants, and now the government is proposing to roll out this flawed model to everyone in the UK.”

The digital-only eVisa system was first introduced for 6 million EU citizens who continued to live in the UK after Brexit. Then, since January 2025, over 4 million migrants have also moved onto the fully digital platform to prove immigration status. 

“We’ve documented case after case where people have lost jobs, been denied housing or been wrongly charged for NHS treatment - not because they lacked the right to be here, but because glitches and errors in the system failed them,” said Monique Hawkins.

Real life cases illustrate how system failures are already harming lives*: 

• Sekai, a refugee from Zimbabwe, lost two job offers after a technical fault caused her eVisa photo to disappear, leaving her unable to prove her right to work. 
• Oliwia, a Polish citizen who moved to the UK as a child, was left unemployed for three months after her digital status was incorrectly showing the wrong name and expiry date.
• Mark, an American citizen with a High Potential Individual visa, was left unable to travel out of the UK because his eVisa stopped working. He missed his brother’s wedding. 

the3million is calling on the government to launch an independent review of the Home Office’s implementation of the digital-only immigration status in consultation with impacted communities. 

An early day motion on this subject has gained the support of 38 MPs who are asking for secure alternatives to be considered and people who incurred losses due to the system’s failures to be compensated.

For more information, get in touch at [email protected].

*People’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.