Fears of new Windrush as thousands of UK migrants face cliff-edge visa changes | Immigration and Asylum

Lawyers and immigrant rights campaigners have warned of a repeat of the Windrush scandal after the government set a deadline for immigrants to switch to new digital visas.

By the end of this year, the estimated 500,000 more non-EU immigrants allowed to remain in the UK will have to replace their physical biometric Residence Permit (BRP), which proves their right to live, rent, work and claim benefits. Digital electronic visa.

To access your e-Visa, you will need to open a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) digital account. The Home Office recently sent out an email to a pilot group of BRP holders inviting them to open a digital account, but many migrants found their lawyer's email address as their Home Office contact, so they turned to their lawyer rather than themselves.

Additionally, personal information was excluded from the invitation for data security reasons, so lawyers had no way of knowing which of their potentially thousands of clients the email would be addressed to. That means the email couldn't be forwarded.

Zoe Bantleman, legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association, said that after December 31, anyone who does not have access to an electronic visa will be unable to prove their status in the UK. The Home Office placed them in a similar position to the Windrush generation. You have status, but you cannot prove it.

Given the poor state of the Home Office's communications on this issue, it is reasonable to assume that thousands of people will not apply for an electronic visa before the end of 2024.

From this summer, all BRP holders will be able to open a UKVI digital account without an invitation. But immigration lawyers worry that the government's planned outreach will miss out on many elderly or poor people who do not speak English as their first language or do not have ready access to the Internet.

Zoe Dexter, housing and welfare manager at human rights charity Helen Bamber Foundation, described the government's plans as confusing. She said: The Home Office's move to digitize identity proof will have huge financial consequences for hundreds of thousands of people, including refugees and survivors of trafficking and torture. Their identity is tied to the benefits they receive.

Critics warn the Home Office has failed to put in place measures to deal with the possibility of technical failures, creating a cliffhanger ahead of the deadline. People can still apply for a UKVI digital account after December 31, but if they are unaware of the new rules they may only discover this when they are unable to prove their right to return from holiday or claim benefits, causing confusion.

Skip past newsletter promotions

Analysis and opinions on the week's news and culture from top Observer writers

Privacy Policy: Our newsletter may contain information about charities, online advertising and externally funded content. Please see our privacy policy for more details. We use Google reCaptcha to secure our website, which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

After newsletter promotion

Bethan Lant, of immigration rights charity Praxis, said this was a recipe for disaster. People will not be able to prove their status through no fault of their own. Because the Home Office has not communicated well and has given them the edge, after which even basic things will be difficult to access. We're not saying don't go digital, we're not saying you shouldn't do these things. This means being more engaged, doing it carefully, gently, and over a period of time.

A Home Office spokesperson said: Electronic visas provide secure confirmation of someone's UK immigration status, increase security and bring about cost savings for the British public. It also uses proven technology to provide greater convenience to customers and status checkers. The phased rollout in April is a significant step towards replacing physical documents with electronic visas by 2025, a key part of the transformation and digitization of the UK's border and immigration system.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/18/digital-visa-switch-uk-immigrants-december-deadline The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos