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Home Office Brexit app will work on Apple devices
An agreement has been reached to make the app for EU nationals to apply for settlement in the UK work on iOS-based products
The Home Office mobile phone app for EU nationals applying for settlement in the UK after Brexit will work on Apple mobile devices.
The identity document check app was developed by the Home Office to allow applicants to verify their identity by submitting information such as their address and scanning their ID.
But after trials for the app began last year, it emerged that it was not compatible with Apple devices because they did not allow third-party developers to access the near-field communication (NFC) capabilities needed to scan passport chips.
Although the app is still only available for Android devices, home secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday 1 April that Apple will make the identity document check app available on their devices by the end of the year.
In addition to the app, EU citizens can also apply via a number of channels, including by post. The Home Office has also set up more than 50 locations where applicants can have their passports scanned and verified.
The app is provided with support from UK-based facial recognition provider iProov in partnership with Canadian security systems provider WorldReach Software. ReadID provides the functionality for reading and verifying the chip present in e-passports and identity cards.
Read more about Brexit
- Leaving the EU could mean a new cyber security regime for the UK – firms need to understand how the changes might affect them.
- Salaries and hiring in the UK have remained stagnant since the announcement the UK would be leaving the EU, but the tech sector has not followed this trend.
- UK privacy watchdog ICO has been advising UK firms to prepare for a no-deal Brexit and has added some guidance for SMEs.
The Home Office has also developed a new case working system to support the EU Settlement Scheme and has created a new resolution centre to resolve queries across all the application channels.
Since going live on Saturday 30 March, the scheme has received 50,000 applications from EU nationals, bringing the total number to 280,000 since testing began in August 2018.
