Tech
Error-prone eVisa system a precursor of digital ID | Computer Weekly
Technical errors with the Home Office’s electronic visa (eVisa) system are causing “high levels of stress, fear and exhaustion” for migrants in the UK, who are being left to navigate the digitisation of their immigration status with minimal support, research has found.
The report, Exclusion by design: Digital identification and the hostile environment for migrants, said the error-prone eVisa system represents a precursor of what’s to come with mandatory digital ID, arguing that efforts to digitise the immigration system represent an opportunity to test such systems on a precarious section of the population before extending them out more broadly.
On 31 December 2024, the physical immigration documents of millions of people living in the UK expired after being replaced with a real-time, online-only immigration status by the Home Office.
With paper documents having been completely phased out, people are now expected to use a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) digital account to generate “share codes”, which they are supposed to use to prove their immigration status when dealing with a range of third parties, including employers and letting agencies.
This means the eVisa system – which trawls more than 90 disparate government databases to generate and determine someone’s immigration status each time they log in – is the only means by which people can prove their lawful residence in the UK, as well as evidence their associated rights and entitlements.
‘Substantial barriers’
However, the research – published on 5 December 2025 by academics Derya Ozkul from the University of Warwick and Marie Godin from the University of Leicester, in collaboration with Migrant Voice and the Open Rights Group – has found that the mandatory eVisa system is deeply impacting the daily lives of migrants, including their ability to work, rent or buy, travel, study, and access vital public services.
“The transition to a fully digital immigration status system marks a significant shift in how migrants interact with the UK’s immigration infrastructure,” it said, noting that while digitisation is being presented as a modernisation effort aimed at improving efficiency and security, the research demonstrates that its current implementation has created substantial barriers for many migrants.
It also found that the “frequent technical problems” are being made worse by a lack of support from the Home Office, and that migrants’ sense of vulnerability is being heightened by the wider hostile environment in which this digitisation is taking place.
“Worries of being unable to prove legal status – within a hostile environment that emphasises enforcement, detention and deportation – were pervasive,” said the report, adding that research participants shared “a deep fear of losing their rights” if they made mistakes.
“Because the system requires migrants to regularly update their information, even minor or inadvertent errors were perceived as potentially jeopardising their status,” it said. “This created a persistent sense of vulnerability. Moreover, the burden of managing these risks and the anxiety associated with them falls entirely on migrants.”
It added that this was creating “a deep sense of mistrust” towards the Home Office among migrants with negative experiences of the system, which were particularly acute for those with limited digital literacy, language barriers, disabilities or caring responsibilities.
The findings echo many of the sentiments previously shared with Computer Weekly by people experiencing technical errors with the eVisa system, who spoke in June 2025 about the “anxiety-inducing” psychological toll of not being able to reliably prove their immigration status in the face of a hostile and unresponsive bureaucracy.
“Our report highlights the experiences of migrants across the UK – of different nationalities, legal statuses and family situations – who were forced to adapt to the new system with little time or support,” said Godin.
“Many described confusion and anxiety as they navigated a complex, glitch-prone platform, fearing that even small mistakes could cost them the right to work, rent or travel. The constant pressure to manage their digital status and fix technical issues left many exhausted, reinforcing migrants’ perceptions that the shift to digitalisation prioritised control over fairness, efficiency and accessibility.”
Ozkul said she hopes the report can serve as a warning about “what can go wrong when systems are made compulsory and digital-only, without offering any alternatives”.
Highlighting how the proposed introduction of digital ID in the UK has been framed around the need to curb illegal immigration, the report said the online-only eVisa has effectively positioned migrants “as a testing ground” for its broader national digital ID ambitions.
“While migrants have served as ‘technological testing grounds’ in other contexts (Molnar 2020), such experiments have typically focused on managing external borders rather than governing populations within state borders,” it said.
“In this respect, the UK represents a distinctive and troubling case: it has piloted a digital identity system on migrants residing within its territory, effectively normalising experimental forms of digital identification on a specific, already precarious group before considering similar digital infrastructures for the general public.”
Policy recommendations
The report goes on to make a number of policy recommendations that can help alleviate the situation for migrants. In the short term, this includes providing non-digital alternatives for migrants, ensuring there is transparency over what data is stored and which government agencies it may be shared with, and creating accessible repeal and redress mechanisms.
In the longer term, it said the Home Office should establish meaningful two-way communication with civil society organisations supporting migrants; introduce clear legal safeguards to prevent individuals or organisations, such as shop staff or political activists, from demanding proof of digital immigration status without lawful authority; and stop the experimental use of technology on migrants.
“The Home Office can take immediate steps to reduce the anxiety that migrants are experiencing by giving them the safety of a physical or digital backup that will allow them to prove their status in any circumstances,” said Sara Alsherif, migrants digital justice programme manager at Open Rights Group, which collaborated with the authors on creating the report.
“However, root and branch reform of this system is also needed and lessons must be learnt, especially as the government intends to roll digital ID out to everyone in the UK.”
The report itself added that implementing the recommendations would significantly reduce the risks and inequities created by the current digital immigration system.
“By prioritising accessibility, transparency and accountability, the Home Office can ensure that the digitalisation of public services does not compromise migrants’ rights,” it said. “Failure to act will perpetuate systemic exclusion, deepen inequalities and erode trust in public authorities.”
Computer Weekly contacted the Home Office about the contents of the report, but received no response.
Meta is giving Instagram users a rare glimpse into why certain posts are showing up on their Reels, the platform’s feed of algorithmically curated videos. Starting today, users will now see a list of what Instagram considers to be your top, recent interests. This kind of peek behind the algorithmic curtain is already uncommon in social media apps, but Meta is taking it a step further by allowing Instagram users to influence their algorithm directly by picking topics they want to see more or less often in Reels.
This feature, called “Your Algorithm,” drops as Instagram and TikTok continue to battle for prominence with younger users. It’s these users who potentially want more control over what they’re consuming as they scroll through video feeds, as well as other personalization options. The new feature is landing on Instagram first for those in the US, with a global rollout for English users in the works.
The change arrives around the same time as the European Commission claims Meta will offer users in the European Union more options about how their data is being used for personalized ads. Instagram’s current approach, where users can pay a subscription to not see ads, does not meet the standards for choice set up under the Digital Markets act, according to the EU. Users in this locale are expected to see a choice soon whether to share all their data, or opt for a smaller sliver to be used for advertising purposes.
Instagram currently has the lead in overall app adoption among young users, but TikTok isn’t that far off. According to a 2025 study by the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of US adults under 30 used Instagram whereas 63 percent used TikTok.
When a user opens the new “Your Algorithm” tab on Instagram, they’ll see a brief summary of what they’ve “been into” while scrolling through Reels. The topics displayed are based on recent user activity, and the summaries are made using generative AI. Meta’s examples of topics that users could add with the new feature include “Horror movies,” “Chess,” and “College football.”
Courtesy of Meta
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When 15-year-old Carlee Jade Clements wakes up, her first thought is to record a Get Ready With Me video to share with her friends on TikTok. “I love recording everything and posting it the moment I have it,” says Clements, who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Like many teenagers, Clements communicates with the world primarily through social media: Snapchat for messaging her friends, Pinterest for inspiration, TikTok for … well, everything. Unlike many teenagers, she also uses social media professionally; Clements has over 37,000 followers on Instagram, where she often posts product reviews (skin care, slime) and photos from her modeling and acting gigs.
But as of December 10, 2025, that will change. That’s when Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age regulation will go into effect, which will prevent Australians under 16 years old from having social media accounts. “It’s gonna be very weird and quiet and isolated,” says Clements. “I’m going to feel like I’m cut off from the world.”
Globally, people are starting to realize how social media can negatively impact adolescents. Even teenagers themselves are seeing this: Almost half of adolescents in the US claim these platforms harm people their age. Australia is the first country to take serious action. In December 2024, legislators passed the Social Media Minimum Age Bill, which will penalize tech platforms (including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Reddit) that allow under-16s to access their platforms.
In response, platforms are locking accounts and adopting age verification requirements. Some platforms, including Meta, started to enforce it early.
Teen content creators are taking steps, too. Zoey Bender, age 14, likes to post GRWM videos and tips: for making friends in high school, for starting seventh grade, for dealing with braces. “I love being creative about it,” says Bender, who has 58,000 followers on TikTok. “It’s my outlet.”
Her handle used to be @heyitszoey. In November, she and her dad, Mark, changed it to @_heyitszoeyandmark, with the hopes that her account won’t be deleted on December 10 because it’s now managed by an adult. She says that many other teenagers with large followings are doing the same; Clements’ mom already manages her Instagram account.
That means that once the age restrictions are in place, their professional accounts will likely still exist—although as teen and kid accounts are suspended, their engagement will likely go down, and they may lose followers, too. That would mean a decline in free products and in revenue, though it’s generally not a huge amount: Ava Jones, 12, who has 11,500 followers on Instagram, estimates that she makes $1,000-$2,000 Australian ($600-$1,300 US) per year, which she generally spends on makeup and clothes. “If that went away, I’d have to do more chores at home,” she says.
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