Yahoo News What are the new eVisa rules? Everything we know
The government has been accused of having 'a total lack of regard for the people who are affected' by the new eVisa system.
A rollout of digital eVisas in the UK risks putting people from outside the EU who have a right to live in the country in a vulnerable position, campaigners have warned.
Those less confident with technology or without reliable internet access, could particularly run into problems. This includes older people with legacy documents who haven't been in touch with the Home Office for years, the Observer reports.
In response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the newspaper, the Home Office said it had not yet completed an equality impact assessment for the rollout.
Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz of migrant rights charity Praxis, said the failure to publish a comprehensive policy on how this transition will affect people "suggests a total lack of regard for the people who are affected".
The government relying on assessments from the EU Settlement Scheme, which was not without its problems, and publishing no impact assessment for non-EU migrants, suggests "a serious lack of interest in how its policies affect people of colour and other protected groups," she added
eVisas are replacing biometric residence permits as the accepted way for non-EU migrants to prove their right to live in the UK, and were beset by delays and setbacks right up to the deadline of 31 December 2024.
On 4 December, migration and citizenship minister Seema Malhotra told the Guardian the government was delaying the switch to a fully digital immigration system amid fears of a Windrush-style scandal
Those with biometric residence permits or EU settlement scheme biometric residence cards due to expire on 31 December will now be able to use them until 31 March.
What are the new rules?
Physical records of a person’s right to be in the UK are being phased out and replaced by eVisas.
Electronic visas are nothing new in the UK and were used for the EU settlement scheme after Brexit. The big change is that eVisas are becoming the only way to access these documents, with physical copies no longer accepted.
The move doesn't apply to a traditional passport, which people will still need to enter the country, but does impact effectively every other document that someone entering the UK may need.
This includes biometric residence permit (BRP), a visa vignette sticker or ink stamp usually put in a passport, or biometric residence card (BRC).
The eVisa will be free for all people who use them.
The aim is to reduce fraud in the immigration system and remove the risk of important documents being lost.
The eVisa will be tied to a person's biometric information - physical features like fingerprints - to protect against identity fraud.
It will mean Border Force officers inspecting someone's immigration status will be able to carry out checks using an online service, and visa holders will be able to access their digital record anywhere instantly.
Eventually, the government hopes to do away with passports as well and rely entirely on biometrics to manage how people enter the country.
When do the changes come into effect?
The new rules were due to apply from 1 January.
Originally all of the physical documents that were being phased out were due to expire on 31 December, but with the extension, this is no longer the case, with the government essentially softening the hard deadline.
The government has allowed people to apply for the new eVisas since 17 April, but people applying for them from abroad have struggled to gain access to the system.
Some expired documents will still be able to be used to gain entry to the UK and all of them will be able to be used to set up an eVisa.
What do campaign groups say?
Despite the delay to the rollout, campaigners say they are still concerned people could be prevented from returning to the UK.
A letter to Malhotra from Kezia Tobin, head of policy and advocacy at the3million and Zoe Bantleman, legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA), said: "We are not confident that a temporary three-month period to 31 March 2025 will be sufficient to address the underlying issues with the current implementation of eVisas."
In the letter they said: "We are now facing the situation where, less than four weeks before millions of physical BRP/Cs are set to expire, carriers will be informed that they may carry people whose cards have expired. Based on our previous experience, we are emphatic that this message will not filter down to every carrier, every check-in staff member and third party, and every boarding gate staff member."
The letter explained that with transport carriers obliged to cover the cost of returning someone who is not allowed to enter the country, they would likely "err on the side of caution" if there was any confusion, and deny the person boarding.
The groups also voiced concerns about the "subjection of citizens of a further 82 countries to immigration checks at check-in desks and boarding gates around the world, at a time when the Home Office has publicly acknowledged that the eVisa rollout is suffering problems and delays for vulnerable individuals".
It called for the government to "urgently consider pausing the ETA rollout for all countries beyond the six to which ETAs have already been rolled out".
