Helpful brief overview about eVisas; new Home Office guidance; Open Rights Group warns of a digital Windrush scandal
The House of Commons Library has today published a concise new research briefing on eVisas. You can access the original briefing here and you can read a full copy below.
Image credit: WikipediaThe briefing provides an overview of the UK's transition to eVisas by the end of 2024. It explains what an eVisa is, how it affects MPs and their constituents, and offers guidance on how individuals can access and verify their eVisa status. It also addresses common questions about residence permits, biometric residence cards, and expired passports, and outlines steps for those whose immigration permission is expiring.
The briefing will be useful for anyone wanting an understanding of the process of transitioning to eVisas, the potential issues they may encounter, and the consequences of not obtaining an eVisa by the December 2024 deadline. It offers practical advice on managing digital immigration status and resolving technical difficulties.
Also today, the Home Office has updated its eVisa guidance. The general guidance on Online immigration status (eVisa) has been updated with information about children needing a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. A new section on how to manage a UKVI account on behalf of a child has been added to updated guidance on Using your UK Visas and Immigration account.
New guidance was published today with details of charities and voluntary organisations that can provide free help and information to vulnerable people who need to create a UKVI account and access their eVisa. You can access the list of organisations here.
The Home Office announced that up to £4 million in funding will be made available to voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK to provide free assistance to vulnerable individuals. Currently, four national organisations – Migrant Help, Citizens Advice Scotland, the Welsh Refugee Council, and Advice NI – are offering free support to help people transition to eVisas. In the coming weeks, many more community-based groups will join this network to expand the support available. Seema Malhotra, Minister for Migration and Citizenship, emphasised: "I want to reassure those who need it that free advice and support is available."
The Home Office has also confirmed the launch of a targeted advertising campaign this autumn, aimed at enhancing ongoing communication efforts to raise awareness about the transition to eVisas among those affected.
The updated Home Office media factsheet on eVisas can be accessed for further details.
Meanwhile, a report published yesterday by the Open Rights Group raised significant concerns about the move to eVisas and warned that it could lead to a digital Windrush scandal. You can download the 36-page report here.
The report highlights flaws in the rollout of the eVisa scheme and criticises the Home Office for poor planning and implementation, noting that many migrants remain unaware of the upcoming changes. It warns that technical issues, such as system crashes, data mismatches, and a lack of preparedness, could leave visa holders unable to prove their immigration status when needed, leading to severe consequences.
According to the Open Rights Group, even the term "eVisa" is misleading, as users will not receive a digital visa that can be stored on their devices for easy access, but instead register for an account that will allow them to generate a new online status each time it is required.
The report states: "The Home Office says that migrants will be given a 'digital status', but this is a misleading term. This plan does not replace physical documents with digital equivalents, but rather introduces an online and real-time process heavily reliant on automated decision-making to generate a new result determining individual's status. This automated process, which appears to recalculate the person's status each time a user needs to prove it, also appears to be generating incomplete and inaccurate records, giving users very little opportunity to challenge, appeal or correct their status or deal with problems from the underlying mistakes in data held about them. Research suggests that mistakes are in large part generated because the live data matching being attempted is simply incapable of being done accurately, and instead is done on a best-efforts basis to match names and identities in different databases."
Sara Alsherif, Programme Manager for Migrant Digital Justice at Open Rights Group, said: "The e-Visa scheme is yet another failed IT project that could have life-changing consequences for thousands of people in the UK. The Home Office has not learned lessons from previous mistakes nor listened to the concerns of migrants and the groups that represent them. With the deadline for e-Visa applications just months away, we urge the new Home Secretary to take urgent action in order to prevent a digital Windrush scandal next year."
In its media factsheet on eVisas, the Home Office assures that the move to digital-only evidence of immigration status will not lead to a repeat of the Windrush scandal, and it says nobody should be left behind as a result of the digital transformation of the immigration system.
House of Commons Library
Research Briefing
eVisas
Published Wednesday, 18 September, 2024
Research Briefing | Immigration
UK visas and residence permits are going digital. Some foreign residents need to actively sign up for their eVisa or risk being unable to re-enter the UK.
Home Office, which is responsible for immigration, is about to stop issuing immigration documents. Instead of visa stickers giving permission to travel to the UK and wallet-sized residence permits indicating permission to live here, the department will provide access to a digital eVisa. Physical visas and permits will no longer be issued to most people from "autumn 2024" and almost all existing ones have an expiry date of 31 December 2024.
What is an eVisa?
An eVisa is a digital record of a person's immigration status. It can be viewed online and accessed by people and organisations who need to check someone's status, such as employers (once given a 'share code') and government departments (automatically).
UK Visas and Immigration, the part of the Home Office responsible for migration, says eVisas are more secure, cannot be lost and are easier for holders to update, among other benefits.
Millions of people already have an eVisa. In particular, EU citizens who secured post-Brexit residence rights received an eVisa and no physical permit. Other people, such as those on the special Hong Kong visa route, have been getting eVisas when they move to the UK or extend their immigration permission.
But many existing residents will need to sign up for an eVisa or they will not have access to one. This includes people with permanent residence rights (indefinite leave to remain) who did not expect to have to interact with the immigration system again. Some people who do not need to extend their immigration permission until 2025 or 2026 may also need to actively register for an eVisa.
Why does this matter to MPs and their constituents?
Migrants often need to prove that they have immigration permission when seeking employment, housing, welfare benefits and non-emergency hospital treatment. Carriers, such as airlines, also require proof of immigration permission (or exemption) before taking someone to the UK. Lacking this proof can therefore cause inconvenience or major hardship, as with the Windrush scandal.
Migrants' rights groups say that people who fail to set up their eVisa by the end of 2024, or who are affected by technical glitches, will inevitably experience such problems.
How do constituents get access to their eVisa?
By creating a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account online. The UKVI account gives access to the eVisa. The Free Movement website has a step-by-step guide, as does the Home Office YouTube account. Creating an account is free.
From March to August 2024, the Home Office advised people not to try to access their eVisa unless they had received an individual email notification. This is no longer the case and people should sign up for their eVisa now, whether or not they have been invited to.
Some people may already have a UKVI account as well as a physical permit. Such people are not required to take any action, but if travelling abroad should make sure that their passport is linked to the account.
How do constituents know if they already have an eVisa?
The Home Office says "Customers who are not sure if they already have a UKVI account and eVisa can either check here on GOV.UK or refer to their original grant email or letter".
If someone already has an eVisa, do they still need a residence permit?
Yes. Residence permits will be in use, including for travel to the UK, until the end of 2024. The Home Office also says that people may be asked for an expired residence permit in future applications to extend their immigration permission.
Does this also affect people with 'biometric residence cards'?
Yes. There is separate information available for people with biometric residence cards, which were issued to non-EU citizens with immigration permission deriving from EU law.
What about people with permanent residence in an expired passport?
Some longstanding residents of the UK secured permanent residence rights before residence permits were introduced. Their proof of these rights would be a sticker or stamp in an old passport.
At present, people with older documents demonstrating their permanent residence need to apply for a biometric residence permit and then use that to set up their UKVI account. They cannot go directly to an eVisa. The Home Office says it intends to allow people with these older documents to skip the residence permit stage "by the end of 2024".
People in this position need to prove that their right of permanent residence has not lapsed due to absences from the UK. This means supplying passports showing travel since being granted permanent residence or documents (such as utility bills) showing continuous presence in the UK. Some people may struggle to do this.
If a constituent's immigration permission is expiring, should they apply to extend it or for an eVisa?
To extend it. eVisas and residence permits are separate from a person's actual immigration permission (technically known as 'leave to remain', but which they may think of as just their 'visa'). Applying for an eVisa but letting the underlying immigration status expire may have disastrous consequences.
What if constituents struggle to access their eVisa or experience technical glitches?
The government has highlighted some support measures, such as the Assisted Digital service to help people who do not feel confident using a computer.
It has also given grants to charities so that they can assist particularly vulnerable groups, such as disabled people or domestic abuse victims.
People having problems can use an eVisa webchat, call the UK Visas and Immigration resolution centre on 0300 790 6268 or +44 (0)203 875 4669, and/or lodge a complaint.
Helping someone else with their eVisa does not amount to providing immigration advice or services (which is a criminal offence if done by someone without a licence), according to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. This means that a charity worker, for example, could help someone with an eVisa so long as they do not stray into advice on immigration status.
What happens to people who fail to get an eVisa by 31 December 2024?
Getting an eVisa is not compulsory for people who already have physical permits. The expiry of the permit after 31 December 2024 does not affect their underlying immigration status. The Home Office has also said that people will be allowed to prove their immigration status within the UK – for example, to employers – using their existing documents after 2024:
"BRP [biometric residence permit] holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid immigration status – although they are encouraged to register for a UKVI account and to use that to access those services.
Holders of legacy paper documents, including passports containing ink stamps and visa vignette stickers, can continue to use their document to prove their immigration status as before. However they are encouraged to take action at www.gov.uk/eVisa in order to make use of the benefits and convenience that a UKVI account offers, and to reduce unnecessary delays when proving their status."
But someone who has not set up their eVisa should not leave the UK, as they may be unable to return. Carriers, such as airlines, will not allow people to board a flight without proof that the person is entitled to enter the UK. With physical visas and resident permits being phased out, the Home Office will automatically notify carriers of each passenger's permission to travel, but carrier notification is triggered "when they [passengers] present their travel document which is linked to their UKVI account". Someone who has not set up a UKVI account or linked their passport to it may be denied boarding even if they do have valid immigration status in the UK.
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