Minister announces significant revision to eVisa rollout timetable

Statement

The Home Office is developing a border and immigration system that is more digital and streamlined. eVisas - which over 6 million people have been successfully using for several years - are a key part of this transformation and will enhance people's experience and increase the immigration system's security and efficiency. We understand that the move away from physical documents represents a change and that this will be a significant adjustment for many. For this reason, eVisas have, and continue to be, rolled out incrementally and with support available to help customers use the eVisa and online services. The majority of BRP cards are due to expire on 31st December 2024 and customers are being supported to move to eVisas. We welcome feedback on how we can improve our services and continue to support customers through the roll out.

Benefits of eVisas

It is important to recognise that there are significant benefits from eVisas. Creating a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account is free, straightforward and does not change or remove a customer's underlying immigration status. For example, if someone has leave to remain until September 2025 but their Biometric Residence Card (BRP) expires on 31 December 2024, their leave until September 2025 is unaffected. eVisas are secure and cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with, unlike a physical document. They can be accessed anywhere and in real time.

Using their UKVI account, customers can share relevant information about their status securely with third parties, such as employers, landlords, travel operators or private service providers. Customers will also benefit from automated access that government departments and partners, including the Department for Work & Pensions, the NHS, Border Force and carriers will securely have to their immigration status, streamlining processes and access to key services.

An eVisa is like an electronic version of a BRP and is used to view and prove status for example to work or to rent a home. The eVisa is created by the Home Office for each customer to reflect their accurate immigration status, in line with their physical document. The eVisa is then accessed by the customer setting up a UKVI account with their own log-in – a process which has been shown to be very straightforward in the vast majority of cases.

New statistics we are publishing today have shown that over 3.1 million people, mostly with BRPs, have successfully made the transition to eVisas from March to November this year. There are still a proportion of customers who have not yet signed up, and we would strongly encourage them to do so. We also encourage all parents or carers to create accounts for their children.

This account creation process has been more difficult for a small proportion of customers, for example where they have lost their BRP and have no other form of identity document. We have already made changes to improve the process for these customers, including creating UKVI accounts automatically for newly recognised refugees since 1st November. But we remain concerned that some of the risks of the roll out, particularly to those making the transition from BRPs and legacy documents, were not clearly identified and managed under the previous administration and have been consulting stakeholders on other issues raised by them, along with the wider concern that this change could lead to another Windrush.

For these reasons, we have been working intensively since the summer to understand the challenges being experienced, to listen and respond to the issues raised, and to adjust the roll out plans accordingly.

That is why today I am updating the House on changes we have made to the roll out to address some of the areas of concern, and on how we will continue to engage with stakeholders and communities through the transition.

Legacy document holders

We have streamlined the process for legacy document holders making the transition to eVisas. The updated No Time Limit (NTL) application process was further streamlined in October, building on enhancements delivered to the old version of the form in September, and addressing concerns about the evidential burden placed on applicants. This new form that went live at the end of October also creates a UKVI account as part of the process, removing the need for NTL customers to take the additional step to create their account and access their eVisa. Any customers who continue to have to use the old process because they have no valid ID document will have an account created manually for them by caseworkers. This is a big step forward in smoothing the journey for legacy document holders.

Those holders of legacy documents (such as passports containing ink stamps or a vignette sticker) will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, where their legacy documents currently permit them to do so, including for proving the right to rent or for travel to the UK. It should be noted that stamps in expired passports have not been acceptable to prove right to work since 2014. The position for legacy document holders does not change at the end of the year, but we encourage them to transition to eVisas by making a No Time Limit (NTL) application, to access the significant benefits that eVisas bring to customers. More information on this process is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/online-immigration-status-evisa.

Working with carriers

The Home Office has developed technology to enable carriers to check immigration status automatically via systems checks. Over the course of the last 3 years, the Home Office has engaged extensively with carriers about the roll out of ETA and eVisas to travel, to ensure they are fully prepared for the coming changes. This engagement has included direct communications with carriers on an individual basis, regular carrier forums and direct training sessions for carrier staff. As we get closer to the end of the year, we have enhanced our engagement with airlines to ensure their understanding of eVisas and automated checking of status. We are training staff across the world on the options available to them to check immigration permissions, including use of direct digital checks, the online View and Prove service and the 24/7 carrier support hub which they can contact to confirm a passenger's immigration status where necessary.

We are committed to delivering an approach which enables people to demonstrate their status and access the services in the simplest and most secure way possible. We will continue engaging extensively with our stakeholders to ensure that there is a strong understanding of all changes to our border and legal migration system, and a clear messaging campaign to spread public awareness about our move to eVisas.

Extending use of expiring BRPs

While we encourage all BRP holders to switch to using their eVisa via their UKVI account before their BRP expires, if a customer has not created a UKVI account by 1 January 2025 and their BRP has expired, they will be able to do so quickly and easily next year, using their expired BRP if needed.

However, we have also listened to concerns about the risk to customers who are travelling after 31 December, where their underlying status has not expired. In order to smooth the transition to eVisas, we have decided to allow carriers to accept a BRP or EUSS BRC expiring on or after 31 December 2024 as valid evidence of permission to travel until at least 31 March and this date will be kept under review. Customers travelling in the early part of the year are therefore advised to continue carrying their expired BRP, as this will add to the range of checking options already available to carriers.

While this will not affect the way that Border Force conducts its passenger checks, it will provide confidence and reassurance to travellers that they will not face unnecessary delays when proving their travel status with airlines and other carriers, and it reflects our strong desire to act on the concerns that have been raised with us and ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption for travellers at a busy time of the year.

Increasing support for vulnerable people

We have a number of support services in place to help vulnerable customers to transition to eVisas. There are several national grant funded bodies and community-based organisations spread across the UK ready to offer immediate, free and specialist support for vulnerable individuals in their transition to an eVisa throughout the rest of 2024, and beyond. Further information about the four national grant funded organisations and the support that they can provide is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evisa-community-support-for-vulnerable-people.

Customers can contact the Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. Individuals can also nominate a 'helper' and give them limited access to their account, so that they can assist with creating a UKVI account, with completing details to access an eVisa, and with submitting any immigration application. Where a person is unable to manage their own affairs due to, for example, age or disability, a 'proxy', who is authorised, can create and manage the account on behalf of the person.

We recognise that some customers may need further assistance with IT-related aspects of creating a UKVI account. Assisted Digital (in-country only) is a free service provided by UKVI to support digitally excluded customers in creating a UKVI account. More information is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/assisted-digital-help-online-applications.

Printed documents

Successful visa applicants receive written confirmation by email or letter that they have been granted permission, which they can keep for their personal records. Where this document cannot be used as evidence of their status these printed documents can be used when interacting with the Home Office should any subsequent issues be encountered with their eVisa. Customers may also wish to print out their eVisa profile page if they would like a physical version for their own records.

We have been recording immigration status information digitally since the turn of the century, and if someone encounters an issue with their eVisa we can search those records to find their information and confirm their status. BRP holders are also able to retain their expired BRPs for their own records, and legacy document holders who make the switch to an eVisa will also still have their physical documents as evidence of their immigration status.

Customers can continue to use the online Right to Work and Rent services, which have been used by millions of people for over two years to prove their rights. This includes using an expired BRP to access these services, provided the person has valid immigration status.

Technical issues

We have designed our digital services to be highly resilient, rigorously tested, and deployed across multiple data centres. Services are proactively monitored for failures, which will highlight any potential problems to allow support teams to resolve them as quickly as possible where they occur. We recognise a small number of customers have experienced issues with their eVisas, which we are working hard to address. This includes a customer's status not being visible or showing incorrectly.

We encourage any users experiencing issues to contact the Home Office to enable these to be investigated and resolved. Where necessary, the Resolution Centre can enable individuals' status to be verified through alternative means. Customers can contact the Resolution Centre using an online webchat service or by phone.

Windrush

We are conscious of the lessons learnt from Wendy Williams extensive review into the Windrush scandal. This government is committed to ensuring that all customers, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system. We understand that individuals may have concerns about proving their status in the absence of a physical document.

Many Windrush individuals had an immigration status that was automatically conferred on them by an Act of Parliament, so in some cases they had no physical proof. The transition to eVisas is in part designed to address that situation by ensuring that everyone with a right to stay in the UK has an eVisa which provides secure and permanent evidence of their status, as well as giving them access to online services which enable them to share evidence of their immigration status with third parties, such as an employer or a landlord.

We hope that these announcements demonstrate how seriously this Government takes the need to ensure that everyone has a smooth transition to eVisas, and that any potential problems are anticipated in advance as far as we are able, or dealt with as quickly and smoothly as possible where not. Above all, we recognise the concerns that people have raised with us, and the issues that have needed to be resolved, and we are both taking action to address them, and committing to maintain an ongoing dialogue with all customers and stakeholders to continue that process in the weeks to come.

A copy of the eVisa partner pack will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.