Home Office minister makes statement on eVisas

Following reports of planned concessions around the 31 December 2024 deadline for people to get their eVisas, today Seema Malhotra MP the Minister for Migration and Citizenship has made a written statement. A new media factsheet was also published. Apparently 3.1 million people have obtained eVisas between March and November this year, and a mysterious sounding “proportion of customers” have not yet signed up. Parents and carers are specifically encouraged to ensure that children are signed up. The minister stated that:

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.

Those with legacy documents

As I highlighted a while ago, there had already been a move away from the previously hard deadline of 31 December 2024 for using these documents. Today’s statement says:

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

Nothing new here really, they just say that they are doing lots of training around the world for airlines to carry out digital checks.

Extending use of expiring BRPs

For those whose BRP expires at the end of the year, provisions have been put in place for travel:

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.

Of course, anyone who only has an eVisa (and possibly still a BRP that expired earlier than 31 December 2024) will still be exposed to the risk that has been acknowledged here.

Increasing support for vulnerable people and technical issues

Again, I don’t think anything in these bits is new, it refers people to the available assistance for vulnerable people and the ability to contact the resolution centre. It is acknowledged that “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.”

Printed documents

The statement essentially says feel free to print out the grant of permission email and eVisa profile page, but you can’t use it to provide your status. The minister also says this:

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.

I have now heard multiple reports of people having their old BRPs taken from them when they go to enrol their biometrics. So if someone can flag this up to TLS that would be great.

Windrush

The statement says:

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.

So the issue in Windrush was people not having physical proof of their status and eVisas is not the same situation because people now have a status that, let’s remember, for some is “not being visible or showing incorrectly”. Completely different situations.

Conclusion

Remember to keep using the reporting tool set up by the3million and ILPA for any issues experienced with eVisas.