Tens of thousands of people each year could be prevented from obtaining information about their own immigration status under new data protection powers, Home Office figures reveal.
Changes proposed in the data protection bill, which was debated by MPs on Wednesday, would deprive applicants of a reliable means of obtaining files on themselves from the department through what are known as subject access requests (SARs).
The decision to grant the Home Office an exemption to such requests in immigration matters has already been criticised by campaign groups.
But the large number of subject access requests in recent years suggests removing the right will have significant impact on those seeking to regularise their nationality or immigration status.
According to the Home Office there were almost 25,950 SARs in 2016, the last year for which the department has released figures. The number of requests has been rising steadily since 2010, when there were 22,204 requests. The figures are far higher than generally appreciated and indicate that SARs have become an important source of information in such cases.
The3million, a grassroots organisation representing EU citizens living in the UK, and the Open Rights Group argue that the exemption for data protection for immigrants is unlawful and will make EU citizens and others “second-class citizens” without full access to government files. It is threatening legal action if the government goes ahead with the plan.
The Law Society has condemned the proposal and said it would hamper effective scrutiny of Home Office decision-making in immigration cases in future.
A spokesman for the Law Society said: “When the government removed legal aid for most immigration cases, they made it harder for people to challenge Home Office decisions. Now they are seeking to remove the last avenue people have to understand and contest these decisions, which will put the immigration status of tens of thousands of people at risk.
“There is no clear benefit or valid justification in exempting the Home Office from the same data rules as everyone else. Yet thousands are set to be denied the basic right to access their own personal data.
“The Windrush scandal has shown us what is at stake. The Home Office should not be given the power to prevent vital access to personal data and undermine fundamental rights. The government must listen to the groundswell of opposition and ditch this exemption to prevent real harm coming to those the immigration system is supposed to be serving.”
Responding to criticism of the exemption in the data protection bill last month, the Home Office said: “It is wrong to say that the proposed narrow exemption in the data protection bill is an attempt to deny people access to their data. People will still be able to request data as they can now and will be met in all cases except where to do so could undermine our immigration control.
“They will have the right to complain to the information commissioner if they disagree with any use of the immigration exemption and we would always want to assist those whose claims are in question.”
On Wednesday, MPs voted against an amendment that would have removed the Home Office’s exemption from the Bill.