Factsheet answers common questions and offers practical advice for individuals with expiring BRPs or those who have lost their documents
The Home Office has today published a helpful new factsheet about the move to eVisas for all holders of a biometric residence permit (BRP).
Image credit: WikipediaYou can read the factsheet here on the Home Office media blog.
An eVisa is an online record of a person's immigration permission in the UK, and any conditions that apply.
As we reported on EIN last month, the Home Office recently announced that all BRP holders should now take action to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access their eVisa.
The Home Office has said that the move to electronic eVisas is a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be 'digital by default' by 2025.
In today's factsheet, the Home Office emphasises:
All BRP holders should visit www.gov.uk/eVisa now to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. Holders of other physical immigration documents, including passports containing visa vignette stickers or ink stamps (for those who hold indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain), and BRCs, can also find information here on what they need to do to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. BRP holders should keep their expired BRPs as it may enable a more streamlined process for future applications to stay in the UK.
Using a phased approach to implementing digital services, the intention is that by 2025 most customers will have a secure and seamless digital journey when they interact with the UK's immigration system.
It is free, and straightforward for customers who hold physical documents to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. Creating a UKVI account will not change, impact or remove customers' current immigration status or their rights in the UK.
The factsheet provides many helpful answers to queries about eVisas. It clarifies the role of UKVI accounts, explains the difference between a UKVI account and an eVisa, and gives guidance on the use of expired BRPs. It offers practical advice for individuals with expiring BRPs or those who have lost their documents, detailing the steps they need to take to maintain their immigration status.
The Home Office factsheet also assures that the move to digital-only evidence of immigration status will not lead to a repeat of the Windrush scandal, stating: "We are committed to ensuring that all customers, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system, and nobody should be left behind as a result of our digital transformation. We understand that individuals may have concerns about proving their status in the absence of a physical document. However, unlike Windrush individuals whose immigration status was automatically conferred on them by an Act of Parliament, so in some cases they had no physical proof, those who receive an eVisa have secure evidence of their status. They also receive a written notification, setting out their immigration status, which they can retain for their own records. They will also have access to online services which enable them to share evidence of their immigration status with third parties, such as an employer or a landlord."
Details of help and support that is available for vulnerable groups and those who are digitally excluded are outlined in the factsheet.
Yesterday, the EU citizens' rights group the3million delivered a petition to Downing Street, asking the Government to protect against what it warned will be a 'catastrophic eVisa cliff-edge' on 31 December 2024.
According to the3million, the eVisa system is deeply flawed and the rush to implement the system by the end of the year risks jeopardising the rights of more than 4 million people in the UK and unfairly subjecting them to the 'hostile environment'. The petition calls on the Home Office to urgently put a safety net in place to avoid catastrophe.
In June of this year, the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA) and over 200 other organisations and individuals working in the field of immigration law expressed similar concerns, warning that the cliff-edge deadline of 31 December could adversely affect millions of migrants in the UK.