UK Immigration System Error Strands Woman Abroad Due to Identical Twin Mix-Up

A woman residing in the UK under the post-Brexit settled status scheme found herself stranded abroad after the Home Office's digital system failed to recognize her right to return. The incident involved Nidia Webb, who had lived in the UK for eight years and was attempting to re-enter the country after a holiday in Spain.

Upon attempting to board her flight, Webb was denied passage because her settled status was not appearing correctly in the system. After hours of troubleshooting with the Home Office helpline, it was revealed that her digital settled status had been erroneously linked to her identical twin sister's records instead of her own. This technical glitch meant her status could not be properly verified against her identity.

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My digital settled status was linked to my identical twin sister's data instead of my own, which meant my status could not be properly linked to my identity.

"My digital settled status was linked to my identical twin sister's data instead of my own, which meant my status could not be properly linked to my identity," Webb told Politico. She was informed by the Home Office that this is a "known problem" affecting some twins within their system. The ministry acknowledged the issue and stated they would contact her to ensure it was resolved.

Adding to the stress, Webb received confirmation that her e-visa account issue was fixed via an email sent to her twin sister. She only realized the problem was resolved when she was finally permitted to board her flight home. This case underscores the challenges faced by tens of thousands of EU citizens living in Britain under the settled status scheme, which relies on digital verification rather than physical documents, and highlights potential flaws in the system's ability to distinguish between identical twins.

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I was informed that it is a known technical problem that affects some twins in the Home Office system.