New guide empowers migrants to understand and exercise their data rights in UK
The guide is part of ORG’s Digital Rights Toolkit, designed to make data protection more accessible for communities often excluded from the digital system. It walks readers through the process of submitting Subject Access Requests (SARs) – formal inquiries that allow individuals to ask any organisation, including government bodies, what personal data it holds about them, how it is being used, and with whom it is shared.
A new publication from the Open Rights Group (ORG) and Positive Action in Housing (PAIH), titled Know Your Digital Rights: A Guide to Subject Access Requests, provides a clear, step-by-step explanation of how people in the UK can access, correct, or challenge the use of their personal data.
Developed as part of ORG’s Digital Rights Toolkit, the guide is tailored to support migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who often face barriers when navigating digital systems used by government agencies, employers, and service providers. It explains in accessible language what the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018 mean in practice, outlining when and how individuals can make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to obtain copies of their personal data from public or private organisations.
The publication includes ready-to-use templates, examples, and detailed guidance on how to request information from the criminal justice system, how to correct inaccurate data, and how to file complaints if an organisation fails to comply. It also clarifies legal time limits, potential fees, and exceptions — turning complex data protection rules into concrete actions that anyone can take.
The accompanying foreword from Positive Action in Housing connects the guide to everyday realities faced by migrants and asylum seekers. Many individuals, it notes, live in digital exclusion or fear data misuse, particularly under the UK’s ‘hostile environment’ policies, where information-sharing can affect immigration status and access to services.
This guide matters because it turns abstract rights into practical tools. It helps individuals take back control over their data, identify when their information is mishandled, and request accountability from institutions. At the same time, civil society organisations can leverage it to strengthen their casework, support clients in exercising data rights, and advocate for fairer digital governance.
By simplifying the process of understanding and asserting data rights, Know Your Digital Rights bridges the gap between law and lived experience – ensuring that technology and policy serve the people they affect most.
