The new eVisa introduced by the Home Office

Since 2018 the Home Office has introduced a more digital approach for applicants to prove their identity, and confirm their right to live, rent and work in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme and the UK Immigration: ID Check app – these electronic records of an applicant’s immigration status are known as an eVisa. The purpose of developing a digital immigration system is to replace physical documents with an online record to demonstrate your immigration status in the UK. The aim is extend the eVisa system to holders of Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and Biometric Residence Card (BRC) (all of which have an expiry date of up to 31 December 2024) and to switch them over to the digital immigration system, where immigration status’ and the conditions of an applicant’s permission to enter or stay in the UK can be viewed online from 1 January 2025. To do so, holders of BRPs and BRCs will need to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) ?account to be able to access their eVisa.??

The eVisa can be used to travel to the UK alongside a current passport, which must be registered and linked to the UKVI account.

The advantages of eVisas are:?

• they are secure and cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with, unlike a physical document?where numerous applicants regularly report losing their cards and have to apply for a replacement;
• you will not need to wait for, or collect, a physical document after your application is decided, although you might still need to enrol your biometrics in person;
• it will be quicker and easier to prove your status at the UK border when travelling, and share your status with third parties such as employers, education providers and landlords;
• creating a UKVI account is free;
• change or amendment of details can be done quickly;
• Holders of other physical immigration documents, including those who hold indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain passports containing vignette visa stickers or ink stamps can also apply.

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Applicants can view their eVisa by logging into the ‘View and Prove’ service using their UKVI account and share relevant information about their status securely with third parties, such as employers, education providers or landlords.

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The UKVI started emailing migrants and their legal representatives in April 2024 with instructions on how to create a UKVI account. These email invitations are being sent in phases, and by the end of 2024, the UKVI anticipate notifying all BRP and BRC holders of the new changes and the need to create an account as the physical cards become invalid by the close of 2024.

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The new eVisa system has been heavily criticised for the following reasons:

• migrants living in the UK must set up their UKVI accounts in order to access their right of residence. Many applicants won’t even know that they need to view their status online until they are trying to rent, getting a new job or returning to the UK, only after the deadline has passed. In such cases applicants will not be able to produce the correct documentation;
• issues with the Home Office’s IT system have previously caused significant obstacles due to technical errors such as the UK Immigration: ID Check app previously failing to recognise biometric chips on passports or displaying an error message for several weeks at a time. Whilst the Home Office will have a technical support line to assist applicants, it will struggle to meet the demands where millions of applicants are calling at the same time due to the system not working;
• A lot of elderly clients may struggle to use the digital system or be aware that a UKVI account needs to be set up – in years to come there is likely to be another Windrush Scheme where millions of applicants are unable to prove their right to reside in the UK, due to not having physical documentation to evidence the same;
• The Home Office allege it is being proactive in encouraging people to create a UKVI account, but hundreds of generic emails inviting people to set up their accounts are failing to reach the intended recipients. Where migrants used a legal representative to submit their application it is the ?the representatives who are receiving these emails from the Home Office. These emails from the Home Office do not include the migrants’ names and are titled “do not reply…”, which means migrants are not being directly informed that they need to set up digital accounts and legal representatives have no way of identifying which of their clients these emails relate to.
• There is no mention that eVisas will be extended to those individuals who are awaiting their asylum decision and consequently hold an ARC. It takes an extraordinarily long time to change details, update or renew an ARC once it expires after 2 years. As a result, asylum seekers continue to experience problems when dealing with employers (where they have a right to work in shortage occupations) and landlords.

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The Home Office is rapidly developing its use of digitalisation with the aim of establishing a more user-friendly and efficient immigration system. Whilst the online eVisa system has the potential to increase the efficiency for many users of this system, it is unclear whether the Home Office will effectively be able deliver on its aims given the identified limitations of going digital.?

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If you require assistance with any of the issues raised in this article, please contact a member of our immigration team.