Home Office eVisa scheme is ‘broken’, says Open Rights Group

The online-only, real-time nature of the Home Office’s upcoming electronic visa (eVisa) scheme, which trawls dozens of disparate government databases to generate a new immigration status each time someone logs in, is error-prone and “deeply problematic”, according to the Open Rights Group (ORG).

Under long-planned changes to the UK’s immigration system, physical documents are set to be replaced with an online immigration status that will be accessed via a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) digital account.

According to the Home Office, the eVisas will explain “the immigration status of the holder, including the conditions of the immigration permission such as any limitations on their right to work” and allow them to “share relevant information about their status securely with third parties, such as employers or private service providers such as letting agencies”.

It claims there are a number of benefits in moving to electronic visas, including that it cannot be lost, stolen or damaged; that people can “prove their rights instantly, accurately and securely to anyone who requests it while sharing only necessary information”; and that it will enable people to “easily keep the Home Office updated with any changes in their details or documentation” via their UKVI account.

The Home Office has been issuing eVisas for several years – including to European Union citizens who applied to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) after Brexit, those applying for Skilled Work visas, and people from Hong Kong applying for the British National Overseas visa – but paper documents will be completely phased out and replaced with the digital status from 1 January 2025.

However, according to a report published by the ORG, the eVisa should not be understood as a digital equivalent of physical immigration papers – which remain constant every time they are viewed and can be used offline – as users must be connected to the internet to generate their immigration status in real time, every time they need to prove it.

The campaign group argues the eVisa scheme will lead to a repeat of the Windrush scandal, where countless migrants will be unable to prove their immigration status.

“When users enter their details to log into the Government View and Prove system [in their UKVI account], they are not accessing their status directly, but rather their credentials are being used to search and retrieve dozens of different records held on them across different databases,” it said, adding that research has identified over 90 different platforms and casework systems that immigration data may be pulled from within the UKVI ecosystem to determine a person’s status.

“View and Prove uses an algorithmic and probabilistic logic to determine which data to extract and which e-records to use when it encounters multiple records, i.e. in instances where people have renewed or changed their immigration status, or appealed an incorrect decision. It is these real-time and opaque automated checks that generate a person’s immigration status, which they can then share with an employer, landlord or international carrier.” 

The ORG said the online-only design choice creates multiple problems for users, including making it “impossible” for an individual to be certain that they will get a correct result on any particular occasion; increased potential for incorrect decisions as a result of people’s records being pulled from “numerous servers”: and the details of two different people being conflated in instances where they, for example, share the same name or date of birth.

When contacted about the ORG eVisa report, the Home Office directed Computer Weekly to its media factsheet and press notice about the scheme.

“We are committed to ensuring that all customers, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system, and nobody should be left behind as a result of our digital transformation,” it said in the former.

“We understand that individuals may have concerns about proving their status in the absence of a physical document. However, unlike Windrush individuals whose immigration status was automatically conferred on them by an Act of Parliament, so in some cases they had no physical proof, those who receive an eVisa have secure evidence of their status.

“They also receive a written notification, setting out their immigration status, which they can retain for their own records. They will also have access to online services which enable them to share evidence of their immigration status with third parties, such as an employer or a landlord.”

It added that to ensure those “with historic and paper-based evidence of their immigration status can take advantage of the benefits eVisas bring,” the Home Office will be conducting “focused communication activity” to raise awareness about the coming eVisa deadline.

It will also provide up to £4m of support to a UK-wide network of voluntary and community sector organisations so they can assist “vulnerable customers” in the transition from physical to digital visas.