UK Visa Portal spilled thousands of applicants’ passports and selfies online — and hasn’t fixed the leak

The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits SF on April 30. Tickets are going fast. Register now. Get Disrupt Early Bird savings of up to $410 by May 29, 11:59 p.m. PT. Register now. TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIApps EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest UK Visa Portal spilled thousands of applicants’ passports and selfies online — and hasn’t fixed the leak Zack Whittaker 4:49 PM PDT · May 26, 2026 A website called UK Visa Portal is publicly exposing the passports and selfie photos of applicants who signed up and paid the site to obtain a U.K immigration visa, TechCrunch has learned. An anonymous person notified TechCrunch about the security lapse, saying that the website is exposing at least 100,000 documents from people who uploaded their passports and selfies to the website as part of the application process. The website is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some have complained that they mistakenly paid a fee to this company instead of using the official GOV.UK website. TechCrunch confirmed that UK Visa Portal is the source of the data leak and verified the authenticity of the exposed data by contacting affected individuals to ask if their information was accurate. UK Visa Portal does not have a way to report security issues through its website, nor does its website provide names or contact information for the company’s management. TechCrunch sent an email to the address listed on UK Visa Portal’s website to alert the company that it has an ongoing security lapse and to ask who in management can accept specific details to resolve the issue. Given the sensitivity of the exposed data, TechCrunch explained that it could not share specifics with the company’s general customer support inbox because it could not guarantee that the exposed data would not be misused. Instead, TechCrunch heard back from the company’s purported attorneys and public relations firm. TechCrunch explained again that given the nature of the exposed files, it could only share details directly with the company’s management, and asked that they put TechCrunch in touch with them. TechCrunch has not heard back from UK Visa Portal’s management. The security lapse has still not been fixed. While the security issue is ongoing, TechCrunch believes it’s in the public interest that people who use the company’s services are aware of the issue. TechCrunch is not publishing precise details in an effort to minimize any further risk to their information. It is not necessary to use a third-party service to apply for a U.K. electronic travel authorization, unless you are retaining an immigration attorney, and applicants should apply through the U.K. government’s website. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Zack Whittaker Security Editor Zack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch. He also authors the weekly cybersecurity newsletter, this week in security. He can be reached via encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal. You can also contact him by email, or to verify outreach, at zack.whittaker@techcrunch.com. May 27 Athens, Greece StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone. Most Popular 6 kitchen gadgets that make adulting feel easier Lauren Forristal You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’ Russell Brandom Six search engines worth trying now that Google isn’t really Google anymore Amanda Silberling Jensen Huang says he’s found a ‘brand new’ $200B market for Nvidia Julie Bort The SpaceX IPO filing is filled with AI bets, Starship dreams, and Elon Musk at the center Sean O'Kane Kirsten Korosec Sam Altman makes ‘mic drop’ offer to every Y Combinator startup Julie Bort Intuit to lay off over 3,000 employees to refocus on AI Ram Iyer X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct Google SearchSpotifyOuraTrump MobileMetaTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.