eVisas To Replace Physical Visas by 2025

 

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are developing an end-to-end digitalised immigration system. As part of this strategy, from 2025 eVisas are set to replace physical visas. This article outlines what eVisas are, how they are obtained and some of the potential problems users might encounter.

What is an eVisa?

 An eVisa is an online record of an immigration status. Since 2018, millions of individuals have already received eVisas. This is because they were used for the EU Settlement Scheme and a limited number of other applications. However, millions more still only have (and are still being granted) physical documents only. This includes biometric residence permits (BRP), passport endorsements such as indefinite leave to enter stamps, and vignette stickers in passports.

Individuals with eVisas will have created a UKVI account online and they can use this to view their status and share it with others such as employers and landlords. They can then travel to the UK without carrying any physical document, except for their passport, which will be digitally linked to the UKVI account. Until the end of 2024 physical visa documents will still be valid but from 2025, migrants will need to evidence their status digitally.

The benefits of the eVisa are that they are secure and cannot be lost or damaged like a physical document. They also remove much of the administrative burden of physical documents needing to be created and collected after an application is decided. It is also designed to be a quick and easy way to prove status to third parties securely.

How do you obtain an eVisa?

There are three main categories of individuals as outlined below:

1. If you used the UK Immigration: ID Check app when applying for your visa, this process would have involved setting up a UKVI account and therefore you will be set up with an eVisa already. You will be impacted the least by the changes. However, you should access the eVisa to that your details are correct and that your current passport is linked to the account. You should also update the account going forward as required.
2. If you have a BRP but have not yet set up a UKVI account, then you will be directed to do so. This process involves providing certain personal details on the online portal, completing an identity check using an app to scan your BRP and your face and completing a short application to link the eVisa to the account. Once this has been done you should add your passport to the account to ensure that it is digitally linked. You will then be able to travel on it from 1 January 2025. Prior to this you will still be using your BRP to travel.
3. If you do not have an eVisa or a BRP then you will need to make a “no time limit” application to obtain a BRP which you can use to get an eVisa using the method outlined above. You face the highest risk of adverse consequences if action is not taken as we do not yet know whether expired BRPs or physical documents will be acceptable as evidence of status from 2025. Also, if you are unable to obtain a BRP prior to them being phased out at the end of this year, it is not yet clear what steps will be necessary to obtain the eVisa.

What are the current and potential problems?

A full roll out of the eVisa scheme was expected by June 2024 but this has not yet happened. The Home Office guidance requests that individuals wait for email confirmation that they can set up an eVisa. However, issues have arisen where emails have been sent to legal representatives without noting which individual the email relates to.

As with many things, when the technology works, and you know how to use it, there are clear benefits to digital status. However, concerns have been raised that many vulnerable individuals will be left behind by the digitalisation of the immigration system. There are fears that from 2025 there will be migrants who are legally resident in the UK but have not yet set up their eVisa, or they have but it is displaying incorrect information. There may then be adverse consequences for them in terms of travelling and re-entering the UK, proving right to work to employers or right to rent to landlords.

There have been calls for a transition period and/or backup options to be put in place prior to the cliff-edge of 31 December 2024. If not, then there is the prospect of another “Windrush” situation. It has been reported that as many as four million migrants may still need to do this and time is running out. If you are affected by this, you should consider obtaining legal advice.

This article has been produced for general information purposes and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor. Please contact our Business Immigration Team at Cleaver Fulton Rankin for further advice or information.

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