eVisas: Potential Problems and Practical Pointers - A conversation with Shara Pledger

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Introduction of the Guest

Hi, and welcome to this latest immigration law conversation video. Today, I've got a returning guest: Shara Pledger is back once again! She hasn't been here for some time, but when we previously talked about some business immigration visas and visit visas, those videos were really helpful.

Today, Shara, who's a specialist corporate immigration lawyer, is back to talk about a hot topic: that of eVisas.

Shara, for those who haven't seen our previous videos, thank you for coming back. First, tell us a bit about you and what you do.

Yeah, thanks very much, and thanks for having me back. So, as you mentioned, I'm a corporate immigration specialist. I've been working in immigration law for over 12 years now, and I'm now based at Pinsent Masons, where I head up the corporate immigration team there.

The Move from BRPs to eVisas

Fantastic. So, today we've decided to talk about an important topic. We're recording this at the end of November 2024, and there's a big date looming—the end of this year—in terms of BRPs and the introduction of eVisas. Tell us a bit about what's happening. What are the Home Office doing, and how is this relevant to immigrants, employers, and everybody in between?

Yeah, effectively, we are in the middle of a big simplification process with the Home Office. All sorts of things are happening in the field of immigration to do with that.

This specific issue relates to documentation. At the moment, as we speak today, there are people in the UK who might have a number of different ways of proving their immigration status. That might be something that's stuck into their passport, it might be an additional document they carry around with them such as a plastic biometric residence permit (BRP), or it might be that they have digital proof of immigration status only—an eVisa.

What we are moving towards by the end of the year is stepping away from those physical immigration documents and putting everybody into the same scheme of having digital proof of status—the digital eVisa.

This means that we have this very hard cutoff date at the end of 2024. On 31st December 2024, people with biometric residence permits will see their permits expire. It's really important to say this doesn't mean that people's status will change from 1st January. This is about how they prove their status, not about the status they have.

It's a bit similar to thinking about your passport. For example, my passport is expiring in 2027. I won't stop being a British national in 2027; I just won't have a valid passport at that time unless I take the steps to renew my documentation. That's what everybody needs to be thinking about doing if they don't have digital proof of status already.

Implications for Lawyers and Employers

That's really helpful, Shara. With that date looming, I was going to call this video Avoiding the Cliff Edge because it does feel a bit like a cliff edge. A lot of people watching this will be immigration lawyers advising individual clients. What sort of actions should people be encouraging their clients to take? And feel free, as a corporate lawyer, to throw in what you'd be advising your corporate clients to do as well.

Yeah, I mean, the bulk of the action that needs to be taken is obviously on the part of the individual. Regardless of whether you're sponsored, a student, or whatever it happens to be, you are responsible for your own immigration status. If your document is expiring, it's your job to make sure that you take the necessary steps to get whatever comes next.

That said, if you are the sponsor of a worker, for example, you will obviously be a bit concerned if somebody's got a document that might be expiring. What you need to do will probably depend on how long you've had a relationship with that particular individual.

If this is someone you've employed relatively recently—in the past couple of years—chances are you probably did a digital Right to Work check for them anyway, which means you don't actually rely on their biometric residence permit."

For example, you may already rely on a digital report produced directly by the Home Office that confirms this person has status that expires on a specific date. That date probably isn't 31st December 2024; it's likely a date into 2025, 2026, or maybe even later.

For people who have been working with you for a little longer, it might be that you did look at their physical BRP, and that means you've conducted a Right to Work check based on a document that will be expiring. In that kind of scenario, you might think, "I need to get in touch with this individual. I need to make sure they've taken the right steps to get their further proof of status and ensure they can now tell me what their status is moving forward."

For those individuals, you'll probably be doing a follow-up Right to Work check, but nothing more. You don't need to worry about helping someone go through the application process. As I said, that's very much the job of the individuals. Luckily, it's a simple thing to do.

I'm sure we'll get onto discussing the mechanics of doing it, but just to highlight, it's an online application process that is free of charge and should be quite quick. Whether you're looking at this from the perspective of an individual or an employer, the actual steps required are pretty minimal.

Challenges with the Transition to eVisas

That's helpful. We've hinted already that there might be some problems or issues with this transition to eVisas. What are the potential problems you've seen already or foresee with the transition?

I mean, in theory, it should all work pretty smoothly. But, obviously, when it comes to anything involving large-scale technical projects, there's always the possibility of something going a little wrong.

One common issue people have been experiencing is what's called 'entangled status.' That's when the individual registers for their eVisa, logs into the system to view their details, and finds that the information the Home Office has is not quite right. For instance, there might be an error with their name, date of birth, nationality, photo, or similar details.

If something like that happens, it's really important not to panic. People aren't about to lose their status just because there's a technical issue with the Home Office system. But what they do need to do is address it—don't just ignore it. If you log into the system and see that something's not quite right, get in contact with the Home Office and have it corrected. They will want the information to be accurate.

There's actually a specialist page on the Home Office website specifically for addressing issues with your eVisa. They're aware this can happen and have a system in place to fix it. So, again, it's quite a simple thing to do.

Navigating the Home Office's Information

That's really helpful. What I'll try to do is put links to the Home Office policies, and from those pages, people can navigate to the various sections. As we discussed before we started recording, the Home Office policy on eVisas is a bit scattered, and there's lots of information in different places.

Yeah, that's right. The Home Office has helpfully run several public sessions over the past few months. Employers and education sponsors, for example, have been able to join these sessions to get information about eVisas.

What they'd really like is for large-scale employers and education providers to engage directly with the people they interact with daily—those who will be affected. The aim is to share this information and ensure everyone knows what needs to be done.

The unfortunate thing is, as you said, the information is quite spread out. There are many pages on the Home Office website dealing with similar things. For example, you'll find one page about how to access an eVisa if you don't already have an online account. There's another page explaining how to view it if you do have an online account. Then, there's yet another page explaining what to do if the information is wrong.

It can be a little confusing to figure out where exactly you need to go for the right information. However, as soon as you start Googling, it should be relatively easy to get directed to the correct place.

Practical Tips for eVisas

Just in terms of practicality, you mentioned the mechanics of doing this. What are some practical tips for getting your eVisa or even resolving problems?

I mean, to be honest, the most obvious tip right now is: don't delay it.

Obviously, we have 31st December as the deadline, but I wouldn't recommend waiting until the 31st of December. If there are any issues you experience, it would be good to have the opportunity to get those corrected before the end of the year. With the holiday period coming up, it's also likely that there might be delays.

One issue that sometimes arises involves the app you use through your smartphone to machine-read details in documents. This could be the chip in a biometric permit or a passport. Occasionally, those chips break. If you're stuck in a scenario where, for whatever reason, you can't complete the ID process to get this registered, it's better to know that now rather than finding out, say, on the 20th of December. This is particularly important if you're hoping to travel over the Christmas or New Year period—say, on the 23rd or something.

So, definitely take steps now to get all this registered if you can.

It is slightly unfortunate timing, I think, from the Home Office's perspective to have chosen 31st December. It's a time of year when many people travel. Plenty of people will leave the UK to visit family at the end of the year with a valid biometric permit. Then, they might seek to return in January with a biometric permit that has now expired.

If they haven't taken the additional steps to register their eVisa in time, they may find themselves refused boarding by their flight provider or, indeed, have a bit of an issue at the border. To avoid that travel inconvenience, it's important to make sure you follow the steps as early as possible.

If something does go wrong, address it as quickly as you can through the relevant Home Office channel.

What if Someone Doesn't Already Have a BRP?

If someone hasn't already got a biometric residence permit, what should they do?

It used to be that there was a quite confusing process where you had to apply to the Home Office to say, "Look, I have indefinite status—normally in the UK—but I have that in a paper document, which is quite old. Can that be transferred to a biometric card?"

The Home Office would then take quite a long time to process that application, eventually issue a biometric card, and you would then have to take that biometric permit and register for your eVisa.

At the end of last month, however, the Home Office stopped generating biometric residence permits. So now we can cut out that middle step of the process.

You can make an application based on the fact that you currently have non-biometric proof of your status and convert that straight into digital proof of your status instead. It's a slightly different process to follow—again, one which might take slightly longer.

Unfortunately, if you don't have more recent details in the Home Office system, that might delay things slightly. If that's your situation, I'd definitely recommend getting it done as quickly as you can. There won't be any problem—you're not going to lose your status at the end of the year if it hasn't all come through and been confirmed by that date.

However, what you don't want is to be stuck thinking, "If I travel, I might have a really difficult time trying to come back to the UK." Nobody wants to ruin a holiday worrying the entire time about whether or not they'll be permitted to board the plane back home again.

The message is the same regardless of your circumstances: just get it done.

eVisas for Children and Expired BRPs

If people have children, they need to know that individual accounts are required for children as well. As a parent, you can manage that account, and eventually, it can be transferred over to your child. However, each person needs their own individual eVisa.

I've also encouraged people to keep expired biometric residence permits. They used to have to be returned to the Home Office, but now, because of the chip in them, which is still readable, people are encouraged to keep those as well.

That's quite a recent change. As you said, it used to be the case—up until very recently—that if you received a positive decision, it would include a section about how to return your previous biometric card. It also threatened fines if you didn't return the card, so it was a pretty important step to follow.

The Home Office has now shifted its guidance to be more helpful. They've tried to ensure people have some alternative form of proof to say, "I'm not making this up." If there's a problem with the online system, at least you have your most recent physical card, which should assist at the border, if not with a flight provider.

Entry Clearance and eVisas

As I understand it, entry clearance eVisas are coming, but not yet. It seems likely sometime next year.

That does appear to be the plan. The Home Office has been very clear in its communication that those initial vignettes—the little stickers in passports confirming original visas—are not going away yet. You'll still see those if you're applying for a visa, even into 2025.

If you're applying for your first visa to come to the UK, you'll usually start with a sticker in your passport. That's not the case for everyone, though. For instance, EU nationals already transitioned to eVisas from the start. Clearly, the processing systems are in place for this to happen. It's just a matter of waiting for the next phase to roll out to other nationalities.

We're in a bit of a halfway stage right now. Some people will still get the sticker in their passport.

Simplification of the Process

What I noticed recently—just this week—is that it's now much easier to register for your online account quickly.

Previously, when biometric cards were still being issued, you would get your passport vignette, arrive in the UK, collect your biometric permit, and then register for your online proof of status. Now, they've simplified that process by removing the BRP step altogether.

When you get your passport vignette, you can now make an immediate application to register for your eVisa directly.

Final Advice for Individuals and Organisations

That's really helpful. If people are watching this video and are worried personally, I know there's been government funding made available for organisations to advise individuals, hopefully for free. You can also consult your immigration lawyer—there may be a charge for that, but they can certainly help.

In terms of you personally, Shara, perhaps to finish off—if there's anything else you want to tell us about eVisas, or if in your work as a corporate immigration lawyer there are corporate clients watching this who might want to reach out to you—what can you help them with, and how should they do that? Any final words of wisdom?

Yes, absolutely. If you're an individual watching this, as I've said, look for those organisations with government funding or consult a good immigration lawyer.

For organisations and businesses, this transition is quite similar to what we saw when EU nationals suddenly needed to have immigration status post-Brexit. There was a lot of messaging back then about being sensitive in the way you approach your workforce. I think there are a lot of parallels here.

You don't want to go out to your workforce and cause concern, upset, or panic with your messaging. It's about being very clear that nobody's about to lose their job and nobody's immigration status is about to change. There might be the odd individual for whom you need to conduct right-to-work checks, but beyond that, it's really about being useful and helpful.

The key message is to ensure people take the correct steps. Certainly, when I've worked with some of my larger employer clients, it's all been about that messaging—making sure the workforce knows what to do. For example, if you're travelling over the December-January period, have you made sure you've registered for your eVisa? Employers don't need anything from employees, don't need them to come back with confirmations, or anything like that. It's simply about ensuring individuals have done what's necessary to make their travel smooth and their holiday enjoyable.

It's really about care—taking the time to provide the workforce with the information they need.

Closing

Shara, that's fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing with us today. Hopefully, we've helped people have a more peaceful Christmas, without stressing so much about their eVisas and travelling or getting back into the UK.

What I'll do is include links to the Home Office resources below this video, and I'll also put links to your contact information if people want to reach out to you. Thank you so much for joining me today, Shara.

Thanks very much.