UK eVisa launch could leave non-EU migrants vulnerable | Immigration and Asylum

The government is pushing ahead with a digital visa scheme to prove the residency rights of millions of people from outside the EU without completing the necessary checks, campaigners have warned.

The Home Office has yet to complete an equality impact assessment for the eVisa rollout, despite starting the transition last April, it said in response to a Freedom of Information request from the Observer.

Under a program launched by the last government, the eVisa is replacing the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) as the accepted method for non-EU immigrants who are not British citizens or passport holders to prove their right to enter and reside in the UK.

Campaigners have warned that the switch to eVisa could cause problems for older residents and those who lack confidence in technology or reliable internet access.

The Home Office is yet to publish a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) despite concerns that switching to eVisa could expose some people's immigration status to hacking.

The department is reviewing two old impact assessments for the introduction of e-Visa for EU nationals under the 2020 post-Brexit settlement regime, with an updated report subsequently announcing the launch of eVisa to prove rental and work rights for non-EU residents. They said they are reviewing it. It will be published in due course.

Border Force checks passports at London Gatwick Airport. Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

A data protection impact assessment will also be published. It's not clear if this has been completed.

A report published in September by the Open Rights Group warned that the target groups for the eVisa rollout were particularly vulnerable to cybercrime. This means that language barriers and low digital literacy make them less likely to recognize phishing attempts, Trojans and malware, potentially exposing them to cybercrime. Accounts for hacking and resulting immigration status.

Sara Alsherif, Migrant Digital Justice Program Manager at Open Rights Group, said: Given the delays to plans due to poor systems and poor implementation, publishing DPIAs is essential to help parliament and the public understand what went wrong and help the government fix it. problem. It is disappointing that the Home Office continues to pump out information rather than engage in frank discussion about how to sort out the confusing situation.

It is unacceptable for the Home Office to rely on an assessment that is problematic in the EU agreement itself. The eVisa scheme will affect around 4 million people from a variety of backgrounds in the UK. This includes approximately 200,000 people with legacy documents. They are mostly older and are unlikely to have had contact with the Home Office for many years. You need to know what evaluation was made.

The government was forced to postpone the eVisa transition deadline from the end of 2024 to the end of March 2025 due to slow adoption and technical glitches. Of the four million people who should switch to eVisa, nearly a quarter have not yet done so.

The BRP will no longer serve as proof of immigration status after the deadline and people may be blocked from re-entering the UK from abroad without an eVisa, although passport ink stamps and visa artwork from before the BRP will still be valid. Switching to eVisa will change how people prove their rights, but will not change their basic immigration status.

Immigration rights officer Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz said the fact that the Home Office had not yet published a comprehensive policy impact assessment of the legally mandated eVisa switch showed a complete lack of consideration for those affected. Practice charity.

The only group we have begun to consider so far are EU immigrants. The absence of impact assessments on non-EU immigrants suggests a serious lack of attention to how the policy affects people of color and other protected groups. The government's rush to launch eVisa means it is not meeting its equality obligations. Meanwhile, millions of people with the right to live, work and rent in the UK are facing enormous levels of stress and uncertainty as the digital transition continues to be poorly managed.

The Home Office said: The eVisa rollout uses existing equality impact assessment documents that are currently valid and relevant. We are continuously reviewing our equality impact assessments to ensure that the eVisa rollout and the systems that support it are fair, accessible and do not create barriers for people accessing or using the immigration system.

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