Woman stranded in Spain after UK’s eVisa system mistakes her for twin sister

英国电子签证系统将女子误认为其双胞胎姐妹，致其滞留西班牙

A woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office’s post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister. 一名在英国合法定居的女子在西班牙机场滞留，原因是英国脱欧后的签证系统将其与她的双胞胎姐妹搞混了。

Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a “known issue” with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government’s drive to digitise the UK’s immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people. 妮迪亚·韦伯（Nidia Webb）遭遇了所谓的电子签证（eVisa）“已知问题”。该系统是政府推动英国移民系统数字化的一部分，但目前已出现的问题引发了数千人的担忧。

Politico reported that Webb, who has lived in the UK for eight years, was told at the departure gate she would not be able to board her flight home. “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 said. 据《政客》（Politico）报道，已在英国居住八年的韦伯在登机口被告知无法登机。她说：“我的数字定居身份与我同卵双胞胎姐妹的资料关联在了一起，而不是我本人的，这意味着我的身份无法与我的个人信息正确匹配。”

“I was informed that this is a known technical issue affecting some twins within the Home Office system.” “我被告知，这是内政部系统中影响部分双胞胎的已知技术问题。”

Webb said Home Office staff promised her over the phone the problem would be fixed, though a confirmation email was then sent to her sister instead of to her. 韦伯表示，内政部工作人员曾在电话中承诺会解决该问题，但随后确认邮件却发给了她的姐妹，而不是她本人。

“I had no idea the issue had been corrected until I was allowed to board my flight home,” Webb said. “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.” “直到我获准登机回家，我才知道问题已经解决了，”韦伯说，“如果我没有花几个小时打电话试图解决这件事，我不知道自己还要在国外滞留多久。”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Over 10 million people have already successfully used eVisas to prove their immigration status. 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.” The Home Office indicated the problem Webb encountered had since been fixed and that staff would contact her directly. 内政部发言人表示：“已有超过1000万人成功使用电子签证证明其移民身份。随着我们扩展数字系统，我们致力于确保数据准确性，并确保为支持电子签证用户而设立的保障措施能够惠及所有依赖该系统的用户。在极少数发现错误的情况下，大多数案件都能在24小时内得到解决。”内政部表示，韦伯遇到的问题现已修复，工作人员将直接与她联系。

Serious concerns have been expressed about the eVisa system. In July 2025, the Guardian reported up to 200,000 people who had lived in the UK legally for decades were at risk of being caught up in a Windrush-style scandal because the Home Office was unable to get in touch with them to transfer their old immigration documents to the new digital system. 人们对电子签证系统表达了严重关切。2025年7月，《卫报》报道称，多达20万在英国合法居住数十年的民众面临陷入“疾风世代”（Windrush）式丑闻的风险，因为内政部无法联系到他们，以将其旧的移民文件转移到新的数字系统中。

Monique Hawkins, the acting chief executive of the immigration campaign group the3million, said it had seen previous cases similar to Webb’s, adding that it highlighted vulnerabilities in the system and it was “crucial that people have a genuinely stable means by which to prove their status”. 移民权益组织“the3million”的代理首席执行官莫妮克·霍金斯（Monique Hawkins）表示，他们此前也见过类似韦伯的案例。她补充说，这凸显了该系统的脆弱性，并强调“人们拥有真正稳定的方式来证明自己的身份至关重要”。

She told Politico the eVisa rollout had been “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.” 她告诉《政客》，电子签证的推广过于“仓促”，并补充道：“我们经常看到人们不仅被拒绝登机，还无法获得赔偿，因为航空公司和内政部在互相推诿责任。”