UK immigration will be digitalised by the end of the year. Lawyers are concerned

By the end of this year the only valid proof of UK immigration status for many purposes will be an online record known as an eVisa. The Government is urging millions currently relying on physical immigration documents totake immediate action to obtain their eVisa.

Alongside this, as part of our transition to a fully digital immigration system, tens of millions of visitors to the UK each year who don’t currently need a visa will have to apply for the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). This will operate much like the ETIAS authorisation that Brits will soon need for travel to Europe, or the ESTA for the USA.

Arriving with an ETA

Most nationals require a visitor visa for short trips to the UK such as tourism, visiting family, attending events or business trips. So-called non-visa nationals from countries such as the USA, Australia, Japan, EU nations and others who wouldn’t need a visitor visa, will now need prior permission in the form of an ETA. They will need one to enter the UK as a visitor, a Creative Worker (for up to three months) or for transiting the UK.

The £10 online application has been rolled out for the Gulf States of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Government recently removed Jordan from the list of non-visa nationals, following large numbers of asylum claims from the country. From 8 January it will be a requirement for all non-European non-visa nationals, applications opening from November. The programme will extend to European non-visa nationals applying from March 2025, for entry from 2 April.

The rationale behind this major change from the previous government is to ensure smoother security checks. However, it hasn’t had the smoothest of landings. Tourism bodies are concerned about extra red-tape discouraging visitors. Heathrow airport has urged the new Government to exempt those only using UK airports for transit, citing a 90,000 drop in transfer passengers on routes already included in the system.

Of more concern to immigration practitioners is the digitalisation of the immigration status of all those currently relying on physical documents to prove their right to work, rent and enter the UK, specifically, the fast-approaching deadline at the end of this year.

Applying for the eVisa

If a person already has immigration permission, applying for the eVisa is free and it isn’t compulsory. The Government insists it will be a more secure method to share immigration status digitally with employers, landlords and others.

Holders of pre-settled status and settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as those who used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check mobile App’ to make an immigration application already have an eVisa. They need not do anything other than update UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) with their latest passport/national identity card details and current contact details. Those with British or Irish citizenship need not do anything either. Everyone else is warned to transition as soon as possible.

Biometric residence permits (BRPs) and biometric residence cards (BRCs) for certain family members of European citizens which currently confirm immigration status will expire by 31 December 2024. Holders will need eVisas to prove their status after this. Meanwhile, people with stamps and vignette stickers in passports already face problems proving their status for some purposes if these are in old passports and are also advised to get eVisas.

To access the eVisa system, people should create a UKVI account on the www.gov.uk/eVisa website. They will need a BRP number or alternatively, the Unique Application Number (UAN) from their last visa application, as well as a valid passport or identity document details. Applicants then use the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app on a tablet, smartphone or laptop to confirm their identity with photos of their documents and face, before filling out a short application form to link their UKVI account to an eVisa. They should receive an email within a few days confirming that their digital eVisa is available. It is worth checking it before travelling outside the UK.

What can possibly go wrong?

Those who have not managed to create a UKVI account by 1 January 2025 do not lose their immigration status, just a way to prove it and associated rights such as work, study, rent and accessing public services. Immigration practitioners are concerned about how the Home Office will inform four million BRP holders of the changeover and process their applications by the end of the year. We have had to help many Europeans and their family members who had pre-Brexit documents that said “Permanent Residence” and so were understandably unaware they had to apply for the post-Brexit EUSS and missed the June 2021 Settlement Scheme deadline.

Whatever the resources of the Home Office’s current marketing campaign, the eVisa has made far fewer headlines than Brexit. Yet the Home Office has imposed another arbitrary ‘cliff edge’ deadline instead of phasing in digital immigration statuses more gradually. The precariousness this creates for millions currently relying on documents to prove their right to work, rent, access services and travel is already being compared to the pointless callousness of the Windrush scandal. With the clock ticking, people who struggle to read English or access the internet are disadvantaged.

Those granted indefinite leave before 2012 who have not already transferred their status to a BRP are required to make what’s called a no time limit (NTL) application first. UKVI indicate that the process will be sped up, but it will still take months to process the NTL necessary to apply for an eVisa. An estimated 200,000 older residents with old-style passport endorsements or vignette passport stickers instead of BRPs risk being caught out. Elderly applicants or anyone who struggles with technology may need help making an NTL application and there is currently limited infrastructure to support them.

EU citizens who were granted indefinite leave to enter or remain before BRPs were introduced or had permanent residence under free movement rules may be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme instead of making an NTL application, but this also entails extensive evidence covering their residence history in the UK and the official deadline for applications has already passed, making the process much harder as they need to have a valid reason for not having applied previously.

There are also concerns over whether the Home Office has the capacity to deal with technical failures and glitches in the digital immigration status system. Individuals applying for eVisas and trying to prove their status to employers and landlords have been impeded by multiple identities on the system.

There remain crucial details that need confirming. For instance, we do not know how this change will affect those who travel abroad and return without having transitioned to an eVisa. Carriers are obliged to check that a person will be allowed to enter the UK and face fines if they fail to do this. If a person still has a valid, old-style endorsement in a passport, carriers should be able to check this. However, if a person had a BRP which expires at the end of this year but hasn’t yet got an eVisa, how will the carrier be able to confirm their status? Will they refuse to let that person travel back to the UK? What happens if the eVisa system shows the carrier incorrect information? It has been known to show the wrong permission or even another person’s details entirely. In theory our border force should be able to check people’s records just from their passport, if the carrier allows them to travel, but we would like assurances.

Support for elderly and vulnerable people

The biggest challenge will be to ensure that many elderly and vulnerable people and those who may have difficulties with the process are fully aware of the change and able to access the means to apply for an eVisa.

The Government announced it will free £4 million to voluntary and community organisations including Migrant Help, Citizens Advice Scotland, the Welsh Refugee Council, and Advice NI to support those who need help. The full list will be updated as hopefully more organisations join.

What should employers be aware of?

Employers should check the date that their records show an employee’s right to work expires and make sure they carry out follow up checks where needed. If records show the work permission is valid beyond the expiry of an employee’s BRP on 31 December as the work visa runs out after this an eVisa is not required. However, if the right to work check only involved checking the BRP (acceptable procedure up to April 2022), the employer will need their worker to transition to an eVisa so that they can prove their right to work beyond the end of this year, until their actual work visa runs out.

Employers should look out for updated right to work guidance that will reflect the digital transformation at the end of this year.