Many unable to access eVisas to prove right to be in UK, Home Office admits | Home Office

The Home office recognized that many people who have the right to live and work in the UK are unable to access their eVisas and provide proof that they are allowed to be in the country.

Human rights activists said problems with access to e-visas could lead to a scandal involving hundreds of thousands of people. Those affected have the right to be in the UK but cannot show their right to work or to rent a home.

At the end of this month, the Home Office is moving to a digital immigration system and most physical documents proving the right to remain in the UK, such as biometric residence permits, will expire.

The Guardian has learned that some of a particularly large group of migrants have been unable to obtain e-visas despite applying for and being eligible for them.

Hundreds of thousands of people are on a particularly onerous Home Office visa, known as the 10-year route, where they have to pay large sums of money to renew it.

There are many people on this route people of color who have low incomes. There are delays of about a year for those in this group each time they renew their visas, and they are granted “3C leave” while they wait, allowing them to work or rent property.

But many who have applied for e-visas while waiting for their visas to be renewed have run into a roadblock when applying online. Although one screen says that a person has their eVisa, an error message appears when you try to open it. It says: “We cannot show you proof of your status. This may be because your status is not yet ready to be viewed on this service.”

The Home Office said in response that there are alternative ways of providing proof when people’s eVisas do not work. But some people struggling to access their e-visas told the Guardian that some employers and estate agents were reluctant to accept other evidence and this was hampering their ability to find work or a place to live.

Nick Beales, head of campaigning at the Refugee and Migrant Forum in Essex and London, said the e-visa issues could lead to a Windrush-style scandal.

He said: “In June the High Court ruled that the Government’s failure to provide people on 3C leave with digital proof of status was unlawful. However, the new government has refused to implement this decision, suggesting that, like their predecessors, they have learned nothing from the Windrush scandal and remain committed to preserving the hostile environment.

“With the digitization of the visa system in one month, it is extremely important that everyone with immigration status has immediate access to e-visas. Otherwise, it is certain that in 2025 tens of thousands of people on 3C leave will be wrongfully fired, deprived of disability benefits and other basic services.”

Home Office sources told the Guardian that because the digital visa system was developed gradually, some people who applied before their digital record status was created did not have a digital 3C leave.

The department insists that having a digital-only immigration status will make things more secure, but many people say they have been unable to access the e-visas.

Others who have received them may not be able to access their digital account online due to lack of internet access or technical problems in the system. eVisa is updated online and there is no QR code to download.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The rights of all individuals can still be proven for those who cannot view their immigration status online through a range of channels through which a person’s right to work can be confirmed, training and other benefits. As we move to a digital system, an increasing number of people with 3C leave will be able to view and prove their immigration status online.”